House Study Bill 613 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT BILL BY CHAIRPERSON HIGHFILL) A BILL FOR An Act providing for unified fire and emergency service 1 departments. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 5395YC (2) 87 ec/rn

H.F. _____ Section 1. NEW SECTION . 28E.33 Unified fire department —— 1 requirements. 2 1. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the 3 contrary, cities that provide fire protection service and 4 emergency medical services may enter into an agreement under 5 this chapter to establish a unified fire department to provide 6 fire protection and emergency medical service protection 7 subject to the requirements of this section. To establish 8 a unified fire department under this section, at least one 9 city entering into the agreement shall be subject to the civil 10 service system under chapter 400. 11 2. Except as otherwise provided for a unified fire 12 department established pursuant to an agreement under this 13 section, the inclusion of a city in a unified fire department 14 shall not affect the prior establishment of a civil service 15 system under chapter 400 or a pension or retirement system 16 under either chapter 410 or 411. 17 3. An agreement to establish a unified fire department under 18 this section shall be subject to the following requirements: 19 a. The agreement shall specify that the city having the 20 largest population as of the most recent decennial census at 21 the time of the agreement shall be deemed the employer for 22 employees of the unified fire department and that the civil 23 service commission for the unified fire department shall be the 24 civil service commission established for that city. 25 b. Employees of the unified fire department shall be subject 26 to the requirements established for employees under chapter 27 400. 28 c. An employee of the unified fire department who was not 29 previously subject to the requirements of chapter 400 prior to 30 the agreement shall, for purposes of chapter 400, be granted 31 full civil service rights pursuant to section 400.7 at the time 32 the employee becomes subject to the requirements of chapter 400 33 based on all similar prior service by that employee for a city 34 not subject to the requirements of chapter 400. 35 -1- LSB 5395YC (2) 87 ec/rn 1/ 3

H.F. _____ Sec. 2. Section 411.2, subsection 1, Code 2018, is amended 1 to read as follows: 2 1. Except as provided in subsections 2 through 5 6 , 3 each city in which the fire fighters or police officers are 4 appointed under the civil service law of this state, shall 5 participate in the retirement system established by this 6 chapter for the purpose of providing retirement allowances only 7 for fire fighters or police officers, or both, of the cities 8 who are so appointed after the date the city comes under the 9 retirement system, or benefits to their dependents. 10 Sec. 3. Section 411.2, Code 2018, is amended by adding the 11 following new subsection: 12 NEW SUBSECTION . 6. A fire fighter employed by a unified 13 fire department established pursuant to section 28E.33 shall 14 not be eligible to participate in the retirement system under 15 this chapter. However, a fire fighter who was a member of the 16 system prior to the date the agreement creating the unified 17 fire department became effective, and who became a member of 18 the unified fire department on the date the agreement became 19 effective for the city employing the fire fighter, shall remain 20 a member of the retirement system. 21 EXPLANATION 22 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 23 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 24 This bill relates to the creation of a unified fire 25 department under Code chapter 28E to provide fire protection 26 service and emergency medical services. 27 New Code section 28E.33 provides for the authority 28 to establish a unified fire department and establishes 29 requirements for the establishment of a unified fire 30 department. The bill requires that at least one city entering 31 into the agreement to create the unified fire department shall 32 be subject to the civil service system under Code chapter 400 33 and provides that the employer and civil service commission 34 applicable to the unified fire department shall be the largest 35 -2- LSB 5395YC (2) 87 ec/rn 2/ 3

H.F. _____ city with a civil service commission at the time of the 1 agreement. The bill provides that employees of the unified 2 fire department shall be subject to the civil service system 3 under Code chapter 400 and specifies the civil service rights 4 granted to employees of the unified fire department who were 5 not subject to Code chapter 400 prior to the creation of the 6 unified fire department. 7 Code section 411.2, concerning participation in the 8 statewide fire and police retirement system established under 9 Code chapter 411, is amended to provide that a fire fighter 10 employed by a unified fire department shall not become a member 11 of the retirement system except for certain fire fighters who 12 were members of the retirement system at the time the unified 13 fire department was created. 14 -3- LSB 5395YC (2) 87 ec/rn 3/ 3