Senate File 446 - Introduced SENATE FILE 446 BY COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS (SUCCESSOR TO SF 288) A BILL FOR An Act related to public sector preferences for veterans in 1 appointment and employment. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 2252SV (2) 86 aw/rj

S.F. 446 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 8A.403 Veterans preferences. 1 The department shall administer and enforce the laws of this 2 state under chapter 35C. 3 Sec. 2. Section 35C.1, subsections 1, 3, and 4, Code 2015, 4 are amended to read as follows: 5 1. In every public department and upon all public works in 6 the state, and of the counties, cities, and school corporations 7 of the state all jobs of the state and its political 8 subdivisions filled by appointment or examination , veterans who 9 are citizens and residents of the United States are entitled to 10 preference in appointment and employment over other applicants 11 of no greater qualifications. The preference in appointment 12 and employment for employees of cities under a municipal 13 civil service is the same as provided in section 400.10 . For 14 purposes of this section , “veteran” means as defined in section 15 35.1 except that the requirement that the person be a resident 16 of this state shall not apply. 17 3. In all jobs of the state and its political subdivisions 18 of the state which that are to be filled by competitive 19 examination or by appointment, public notice of the application 20 deadline to fill a job shall be posted at least ten days before 21 the deadline in the same manner as notices of meetings are 22 posted under section 21.4 . 23 4. For jobs in of the state and its political subdivisions 24 of the state that are filled through a point-rated qualifying 25 examination, the preference afforded to veterans shall be 26 equivalent to that provided for municipal civil service systems 27 in section 400.10 35C.3A . 28 Sec. 3. Section 35C.1, subsection 2, paragraph a, Code 2015, 29 is amended to read as follows: 30 a. In all jobs of the state and its political subdivisions, 31 an application form shall be completed. The application form 32 shall contain an inquiry into the applicant’s military service 33 during the wars or armed conflicts as specified in subsection 34 1 . The state and each of its political subdivisions shall 35 -1- LSB 2252SV (2) 86 aw/rj 1/ 3

S.F. 446 provide each applicant who indicates the applicant’s status 1 as a veteran under this section with the written statement 2 developed pursuant to subsection 5. 3 Sec. 4. Section 35C.1, Code 2015, is amended by adding the 4 following new subsection: 5 NEW SUBSECTION . 5. The department of administrative 6 services, in consultation with the office of the attorney 7 general, shall develop a written statement which sets forth in 8 simple and nontechnical terms the rights and duties contained 9 in this chapter. The written statement shall be posted and 10 remain posted on the attorney general’s internet site and the 11 internet sites of the department of veterans affairs and the 12 department of administrative services. 13 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION . 35C.3A Preferences. 14 In all examinations and appointments under this chapter, 15 other than promotions or the appointment of a chief of police 16 or chief of a fire department, veterans who are citizens and 17 residents of the United States, shall have five preference 18 points added to the veteran’s grade or score attained in 19 qualifying examinations or tests for appointment to positions 20 and five additional preference points added to the grade or 21 score if the veteran has a service-connected disability or 22 is receiving compensation, disability benefits, or pension 23 benefits under laws administered by the United States 24 department of veterans affairs. However, the preference 25 points shall be given only upon passing the exam and shall not 26 be the determining factor in passing. Veteran’s preference 27 points shall be applied once to the final scores used to rank 28 applicants for selection for an interview. For purposes of 29 this section, “veteran” means as defined in section 35.1 except 30 that the requirement that the person be a resident of this 31 state shall not apply. 32 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION . 35C.9 Administration —— enforcement. 33 The department of administrative services shall administer 34 and enforce the provisions of this chapter. 35 -2- LSB 2252SV (2) 86 aw/rj 2/ 3

S.F. 446 Sec. 7. REPEAL. Section 400.10, Code 2015, is repealed. 1 EXPLANATION 2 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 3 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 4 This bill relates to appointment and employment preferences 5 for veterans in the public sector. 6 The bill amends Code chapter 35C (veterans preference) 7 to provide that for all jobs of the state and its political 8 subdivisions filled by appointment or examination, veterans 9 who are citizens and residents of the United States are 10 entitled to preference in appointment and employment over 11 other applicants of no greater qualifications and repeals the 12 veterans preferences in city employment that are contained in 13 Code section 400.10. 14 The bill provides a preference of five preference points for 15 veterans in all examinations and appointments by the state and 16 its political subdivisions except for promotions or appointment 17 of a chief of police or a chief of a fire department. The bill 18 further provides an additional preference of five points for 19 veterans with service-connected disabilities. 20 The bill requires that the department of administrative 21 services, in consultation with the attorney general, develop 22 a written statement that sets forth the rights and duties 23 contained in Code chapter 35C, and requires that the statement 24 be provided to certain applicants for all state and political 25 subdivision jobs. 26 The bill requires that the department of administrative 27 services administer and enforce the provisions of Code chapter 28 35C. 29 -3- LSB 2252SV (2) 86 aw/rj 3/ 3