House File 2481 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2481 BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY (SUCCESSOR TO HSB 636) A BILL FOR An Act relating to judicial selection, including the nominees 1 to the court of appeals, and the appointments, resignations, 2 and residency requirements of district judges, district 3 associate judges, associate juvenile judges, and associate 4 probate judges. 5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 6 TLSB 5569HV (2) 89 cm/jh

H.F. 2481 Section 1. Section 46.14, subsection 1, Code 2022, is 1 amended to read as follows: 2 1. Each judicial nominating commission shall carefully 3 consider the individuals available for judge, and within sixty 4 days after receiving notice of a vacancy shall certify to the 5 governor and the chief justice the proper number of nominees, 6 in alphabetical order. Such nominees shall be chosen by the 7 affirmative vote of a majority of the full statutory number 8 of commissioners upon the basis of their qualifications and 9 without regard to political affiliation. Nominees shall be 10 members of the bar of Iowa, shall be residents of the state or 11 district of the court to which they are nominated , and shall 12 be of such age that they will be able to serve an initial and 13 one regular term of office to which they are nominated before 14 reaching the age of seventy-two years. Nominees for district 15 judge shall file a certified application form, to be provided 16 by the supreme court, with the chairperson of the district 17 judicial nominating commission. Absence of a commissioner or 18 vacancy upon the commission shall not invalidate a nomination. 19 The chairperson of the commission shall promptly certify 20 the names of the nominees, in alphabetical order, to the 21 governor and the chief justice by sending by electronic mail 22 the certification to the governor and chief justice or the 23 governor’s and chief justice’s designees on the day of the 24 nomination . 25 Sec. 2. Section 46.14A, Code 2022, is amended to read as 26 follows: 27 46.14A Court of appeals —— nominees. 28 Vacancies in the court of appeals shall be filled by 29 appointment by the governor from a list of nominees submitted 30 by the state judicial nominating commission. Three Five 31 nominees shall be submitted for each vacancy. Nominees to the 32 court of appeals shall have the qualifications prescribed for 33 nominees to the supreme court. 34 Sec. 3. Section 602.2301, subsection 2, Code 2022, is 35 -1- LSB 5569HV (2) 89 cm/jh 1/ 9

H.F. 2481 amended to read as follows: 1 2. Notwithstanding sections 602.6304 , 602.7103B , and 2 633.20B , the chief justice may order any county magistrate 3 appointing commission the state commissioner of elections 4 to delay, for budgetary reasons, publicizing the notice the 5 sending of a notification to the governor that a vacancy in 6 the office of a vacancy for a district associate judgeship 7 judge , associate juvenile judgeship judge , or associate probate 8 judgeship judge has occurred or will occur . 9 Sec. 4. Section 602.6201, subsection 2, Code 2022, is 10 amended to read as follows: 11 2. A district judge must be a resident of the judicial 12 election district or a resident of a county contiguous with 13 the judicial election district in which appointed and retained 14 before assuming office and must be a resident of the judicial 15 election district during the entire term of office . Subject 16 to the provision for reassignment of judges under section 17 602.6108 , a district judge shall serve in the district of the 18 judge’s residence while in office, regardless of the number of 19 judgeships to which the district is entitled under the formula 20 prescribed by the supreme court in subsection 3 . 21 Sec. 5. Section 602.6302, subsection 2, Code 2022, is 22 amended to read as follows: 23 2. An order of substitution shall not take effect unless 24 a copy of the order is received by the chairperson of the 25 county magistrate appointing commission or commissions and 26 the governor no later than May 31 of the year in which the 27 substitution is to take effect. A copy of the order shall also 28 be sent to the state court administrator. 29 Sec. 6. Section 602.6303, subsection 2, Code 2022, is 30 amended to read as follows: 31 2. An order of substitution shall not take effect unless 32 a copy of the order is received by the chairperson of the 33 county magistrate appointing commission or commissions and 34 the governor no later than May 31 of the year in which the 35 -2- LSB 5569HV (2) 89 cm/jh 2/ 9

H.F. 2481 substitution is to take effect. The order shall designate the 1 county of appointment for each magistrate. A copy of the order 2 shall also be sent to the state court administrator. 3 Sec. 7. Section 602.6304, Code 2022, is amended by striking 4 the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 5 602.6304 Appointment and resignation of district associate 6 judges. 7 1. The district associate judges authorized by sections 8 602.6301 and 602.6302 shall be appointed by the governor 9 from persons nominated by the district judicial nominating 10 commission in the same manner as district judges under chapter 11 46. 12 2. A district associate judge who seeks to resign from the 13 office of district associate judge shall notify in writing the 14 governor, the chief judge of the judicial district, and the 15 state commissioner of elections as to the district associate 16 judge’s intention to resign and the effective date of the 17 resignation. 18 3. When a vacancy occurs or will occur within one hundred 19 twenty days in the office of the district associate judge, the 20 state commissioner of elections shall forthwith so notify the 21 governor. The governor shall call a meeting of the commission 22 within ten days after such notice. If the governor fails to do 23 so, the chief justice shall call such meeting. 24 Sec. 8. Section 602.6305, subsections 2 and 3, Code 2022, 25 are amended to read as follows: 26 2. A person does not qualify for appointment to the office 27 of district associate judge unless the person is at the time 28 of appointment a resident of the judicial election district in 29 which the vacancy exists, licensed to practice law in Iowa , 30 and will be able, measured by the person’s age at the time of 31 appointment, to complete the initial term of office prior to 32 reaching age seventy-two. An applicant for district associate 33 judge shall file a certified application form, to be provided 34 by the supreme court, with the chairperson of the county 35 -3- LSB 5569HV (2) 89 cm/jh 3/ 9

H.F. 2481 magistrate appointing commission. A nominee to the office of 1 district associate judge must reside in the judicial election 2 district to which the nominee is nominated or in another 3 judicial election district in the same judicial district as the 4 judicial election district to which the nominee is nominated. 5 3. A district associate judge must be a resident of the 6 judicial election district in which the office is held before 7 assuming office and during the entire term of office. A 8 district associate judge shall serve within the judicial 9 district in which appointed, as directed by the chief judge, 10 and is subject to reassignment under section 602.6108 . 11 Sec. 9. Section 602.6502, Code 2022, is amended to read as 12 follows: 13 602.6502 Prohibitions to appointment. 14 A member of a county magistrate appointing commission 15 shall not be appointed to the office of magistrate , and shall 16 not be nominated for or appointed to the office of district 17 associate judge, office of associate juvenile judge, or office 18 of associate probate judge . A member of the commission shall 19 not be eligible to vote for the appointment or nomination of 20 a family member, current law partner, or current business 21 partner. For purposes of this section , “family member” 22 means a spouse, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, 23 first cousin, nephew, niece, father-in-law, mother-in-law, 24 son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, 25 father, mother, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, 26 stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, or half sister. 27 Sec. 10. Section 602.7103B, Code 2022, is amended by 28 striking the section and inserting in lieu thereof the 29 following: 30 602.7103B Appointment and resignation of full-time associate 31 juvenile judges. 32 1. Full-time associate juvenile judges shall be appointed 33 by the governor from persons nominated by the district judicial 34 nominating commission in the same manner as district judges 35 -4- LSB 5569HV (2) 89 cm/jh 4/ 9

H.F. 2481 under chapter 46. 1 2. A full-time associate juvenile judge who seeks to 2 resign from the office of full-time associate juvenile judge 3 shall notify in writing the governor, the chief judge of the 4 judicial district, and the state commissioner of elections as 5 to the full-time associate judge’s intention to resign and the 6 effective date of the resignation. 7 3. When a vacancy occurs or will occur within one hundred 8 twenty days in the office of a full-time associate juvenile 9 judge, the state commissioner of elections shall forthwith so 10 notify the governor. The governor shall call a meeting of the 11 commission within ten days after such notice. If the governor 12 fails to do so, the chief justice shall call such meeting. 13 Sec. 11. Section 602.7103C, subsections 2 and 3, Code 2022, 14 are amended to read as follows: 15 2. A person does not qualify for appointment to the office 16 of full-time associate juvenile judge unless the person is 17 at the time of appointment a resident of the county in which 18 the vacancy exists, licensed to practice law in Iowa , and 19 will be able, measured by the person’s age at the time of 20 appointment, to complete the initial term of office prior to 21 reaching age seventy-two. An applicant for full-time associate 22 juvenile judge shall file a certified application form, to 23 be provided by the supreme court, with the chairperson of 24 the county magistrate appointing commission A nominee to the 25 office of full-time associate juvenile judge must reside in the 26 judicial election district to which the nominee is nominated 27 or in another judicial election district in the same judicial 28 district as the judicial election district to which the nominee 29 is nominated . 30 3. A full-time associate juvenile judge must be a resident 31 of a county the judicial election district in which the office 32 is held before assuming office and during the entire term of 33 office. A full-time associate juvenile judge shall serve 34 within the judicial district in which appointed, as directed by 35 -5- LSB 5569HV (2) 89 cm/jh 5/ 9

H.F. 2481 the chief judge, and is subject to reassignment under section 1 602.6108 . 2 Sec. 12. Section 633.20B, Code 2022, is amended by striking 3 the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 4 633.20B Appointment and resignation of full-time associate 5 probate judges. 6 1. Full-time associate probate judges shall be appointed by 7 the governor from persons nominated by the district judicial 8 nominating commission in the same manner as district judges 9 under chapter 46. 10 2. A full-time associate probate judge who seeks to resign 11 from the office of full-time associate probate judge shall 12 notify in writing the governor, the chief judge of the judicial 13 district, and the state commissioner of elections as to the 14 full-time associate probate judge’s intention to resign and the 15 effective date of the resignation. 16 3. When a vacancy occurs or will occur within one hundred 17 twenty days in the office of a full-time associate probate 18 judge, the state commissioner of elections shall forthwith so 19 notify the governor. The governor shall call a meeting of the 20 commission within ten days after such notice. If the governor 21 fails to do so, the chief justice shall call such meeting. 22 Sec. 13. Section 633.20C, subsections 2 and 3, Code 2022, 23 are amended to read as follows: 24 2. A person does not qualify for appointment to the office 25 of full-time associate probate judge unless the person is at 26 the time of appointment a resident of the county in which 27 the vacancy exists, licensed to practice law in Iowa , and 28 will be able, measured by the person’s age at the time of 29 appointment, to complete the initial term of office prior to 30 reaching age seventy-two. An applicant for full-time associate 31 probate judge shall file a certified application form, to 32 be provided by the supreme court, with the chairperson of 33 the county magistrate appointing commission A nominee to the 34 office of full-time associate probate judge must reside in the 35 -6- LSB 5569HV (2) 89 cm/jh 6/ 9

H.F. 2481 judicial election district to which the nominee is nominated 1 or in another judicial election district in the same judicial 2 district as the judicial election district to which the nominee 3 is nominated . 4 3. A full-time associate probate judge must be a resident 5 of a county the judicial election district in which the office 6 is held before assuming office and during the entire term of 7 office. A full-time associate probate judge shall serve within 8 the judicial district in which appointed, as directed by the 9 chief judge, and is subject to reassignment under section 10 602.6108 . 11 EXPLANATION 12 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 13 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 14 This bill relates to judicial selection, including the 15 nominees to the court of appeals, and the appointments, 16 resignations, and residency requirements of district judges, 17 district associate judges, associate juvenile judges, and 18 associate probate judges. 19 Under current law, the nominees for district judge shall 20 file a certified application that is to be provided to 21 the supreme court. The bill provides that the nominees no 22 longer are required to submit a certified application and the 23 chairperson of the commission shall promptly send a certified 24 list of nominees by electronic mail to the governor and chief 25 justice of the supreme court or their designees on the day of 26 the nomination. 27 Under current law, the state judicial nominating commission 28 submits three nominees for a vacant court of appeals position. 29 The bill provides that five nominees shall be submitted for 30 each vacancy. 31 Under current law, a district judge, a full-time associate 32 judge, a full-time associate juvenile judge, and a full-time 33 associate probate judge must be a resident of the judicial 34 election district in which appointed. The bill provides that 35 -7- LSB 5569HV (2) 89 cm/jh 7/ 9

H.F. 2481 a district judge must be a resident of the judicial election 1 district or a county contiguous with the judicial election 2 district before assuming office and must be a resident of 3 the judicial election office during the entire term. The 4 bill provides that a full-time associate judge, a full-time 5 associate juvenile judge, and a full-time associate probate 6 judge must be a resident of the judicial election district 7 before assuming office and during the entire term of office. 8 Under current law, district associate judges, full-time 9 associate juvenile judges, and full-time associate probate 10 judges are appointed by the district judges of the judicial 11 election district from persons nominated by the county 12 magistrate appointing commission. The bill provides that 13 district associate judges, full-time associate juvenile judges, 14 and full-time associate probate judges shall be appointed by 15 the governor from persons nominated by the district judicial 16 nominating commission in the same manner as district judges 17 under Code chapter 46. 18 The bill provides that a district associate judge, full-time 19 associate juvenile judge, or full-time associate probate judge 20 who seeks to resign shall notify in writing the governor, 21 chief judge of the judicial district, and state commissioner 22 of elections as to the district associate judge’s, associate 23 full-time juvenile judge’s, or associate full-time probate 24 judge’s intention to resign and the effective date of the 25 resignation. When a vacancy occurs or will occur within 120 26 days in the office of the district associate judge, associate 27 full-time juvenile judge, and associate full-time probate 28 judge, the state commissioner of elections shall notify the 29 governor. The governor shall call a meeting of the commission 30 within 10 days after such notice. If the governor fails to do 31 so, the chief justice shall call such meeting. 32 The bill provides that a person does not qualify for 33 appointment to the office of district associate judge, 34 associate full-time juvenile judge, or associate full-time 35 -8- LSB 5569HV (2) 89 cm/jh 8/ 9

H.F. 2481 probate judge unless the person is at the time of appointment 1 licensed to practice law in Iowa, and will be able, measured 2 by the person’s age at the time of appointment, to complete 3 the initial term of office prior to reaching age 72. Nominees 4 must reside in the judicial election district to which they are 5 nominated or in another judicial election district in the same 6 judicial district as the judicial election district to which 7 they are nominated. 8 Under current law, a member of a county magistrate 9 appointing commission shall not be appointed to the office 10 of magistrate, district associate judge, office of associate 11 juvenile judge, or office of associate probate judge. The 12 bill provides that a member of a county magistrate appointing 13 commission shall not be appointed to the office of magistrate 14 but may be nominated for or appointed to the office of district 15 associate judge, office of associate juvenile judge, or office 16 of associate probate judge. 17 -9- LSB 5569HV (2) 89 cm/jh 9/ 9