House Study Bill 555 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT BILL BY CHAIRPERSON KAUFMANN) A BILL FOR An Act relating to employment policies for persons seeking 1 elective office, making penalties applicable, and including 2 effective date provisions. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 5553YC (5) 88 ss/rn

H.F. _____ Section 1. Section 55.4, Code 2020, is amended to read as 1 follows: 2 55.4 Leave of absence for public employee candidacy. 3 1. Any public employee who becomes a candidate for any 4 elective public office shall, upon request of the employee and 5 commencing any time within thirty days prior to a contested 6 primary, special, or general election and continuing until 7 after the day following that election, automatically be 8 given a period of leave. If the employee is under chapter 9 8A, subchapter IV , the An employee may choose to use accrued 10 vacation leave, accrued compensatory leave or leave without pay 11 to cover these periods. The appointing authority or employer 12 may authorize other employees to use accrued vacation leave 13 or accrued compensatory leave instead of leave without pay to 14 cover these periods. An employee who is a candidate for any 15 elective public office shall not campaign while on duty as an 16 employee. 17 2. This section does not apply to employees of the federal 18 government or to a public employee whose position is financed 19 by federal funds if the application of this section would be 20 contrary to federal law or result in the loss of the federal 21 funds. 22 3. An appointing authority or employer shall not take any 23 adverse action against an employee for seeking election to any 24 public office or prohibit an employee from seeking election 25 to a public office in the event the employee informs the 26 appointing authority or the employer that the employee intends 27 to seek such election. 28 Sec. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of immediate 29 importance, takes effect upon enactment. 30 EXPLANATION 31 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 32 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 33 This bill requires any appointing authority or employer 34 to grant an employee 30 days of leave upon request if the 35 -1- LSB 5553YC (5) 88 ss/rn 1/ 2

H.F. _____ employee informs the appointing authority or employer that 1 the employee is a candidate for an elective public office. 2 Current law requires a public employer to grant a public 3 employee such leave requests. The bill also prohibits an 4 appointing authority or an employer from taking adverse actions 5 against an employee seeking election to a public office or 6 from prohibiting an employee from seeking election to a public 7 office, in the event the employee informs the appointing 8 authority or employer that the employee intends to seek 9 election to a public office. 10 By operation of law, a person who violates a provision of the 11 bill is guilty of a simple misdemeanor. A simple misdemeanor 12 is punishable by confinement for no more than 30 days or a fine 13 of at least $65 but not more than $625 or by both. 14 The bill becomes effective upon enactment. 15 -2- LSB 5553YC (5) 88 ss/rn 2/ 2