H.F. 2528 Section 1. Section 161A.3, Code 2022, is amended by adding 1 the following new subsections: 2 NEW SUBSECTION . 8A. “Farm lease” means an oral or written 3 lease including a lease described in chapter 562, if all of the 4 following apply: 5 a. The land subject to the lease is to be used for farming, 6 regardless of whether lease payments are on a fixed rent, 7 commodity share, or other basis. 8 b. A soil and water conservation practice could be 9 established on the land using cost-share moneys allocated 10 under section 161A.73, regardless of whether the commissioners 11 considered allocating cost-share moneys to establish a soil and 12 water conservation practice on the land. 13 NEW SUBSECTION . 15. “Water quality practice” means any 14 practice that limits sediment or nutrients from being conveyed 15 by surface water runoff or leaching, as identified in the Iowa 16 nutrient reduction strategy as defined in section 455B.171. 17 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 161A.67 Farm lease —— best farming 18 practices disclosure form. 19 1. Before entering into a farm lease, the parties to 20 that lease shall complete and sign a best farming practices 21 disclosure form which shall be deemed to be an addendum to the 22 farm lease. 23 2. The best farming practices disclosure form shall include 24 all of the following: 25 a. A description of erosion control practices, soil and 26 water conservation practices, and water quality practices as 27 approved by the committee and established by rules adopted by 28 the department. 29 b. A statement that the parties to the farm lease have 30 elected to include or not to include any of the practices 31 described in paragraph “a” as part of the farm lease. 32 3. The parties may use a best farming practices disclosure 33 form prepared by the parties or any other person, if the form 34 satisfies the requirements of the commissioners of the district 35 -1- LSB 5237YH (4) 89 da/ns 1/ 4

H.F. 2528 where the statement is filed. However, the committee shall 1 adopt a model best farming practices disclosure form that may 2 be filed in any district. The commissioners shall not file 3 a best farming practices disclosure form unless it has been 4 completed and signed by the parties. The filed best farming 5 practices disclosure form shall continue until the termination 6 of the farm lease unless the parties otherwise agree. 7 4. a. If the farm lease covers farmland located in more 8 than one district, the requirements of this section are 9 satisfied if the best farming practices disclosure form has 10 been filed with the commissioners of any of those districts. 11 The commissioners of the district where the farmland is located 12 shall notify the commissioners of the other districts of the 13 filing. 14 b. If a best farming practices disclosure form has not been 15 filed with the commissioners of any district where the farmland 16 is located within thirty days after the lease has been entered 17 into by the parties, the commissioners of that district shall 18 send a written warning to the parties by ordinary mail stating 19 that the form must be completed and signed by the parties, and 20 filed as provided in this section, within thirty days of the 21 date that the warning was delivered. 22 c. If a best farming practices disclosure form has not 23 been filed with the commissioners of the district thirty days 24 after the delivery of the warning described in paragraph “b” , 25 the commissioners shall report that fact to the division, 26 and the division shall recommend to the committee that the 27 committee impose a civil penalty on one or both parties. The 28 committee may order one or both parties to pay a civil penalty 29 for the amount recommended by the division or a different 30 amount. However, a party shall not pay a civil penalty of more 31 than five hundred dollars for failing to file a best farming 32 practices disclosure form. The moneys shall be collected by 33 the department and deposited into the conservation practices 34 revolving loan fund established pursuant to section 161A.71. 35 -2- LSB 5237YH (4) 89 da/ns 2/ 4

H.F. 2528 5. This section does not authorize the commissioners of a 1 district or the department to enforce a provision in a farm 2 lease or a best farming practices disclosure form. 3 Sec. 3. Section 161A.71, subsection 1, Code 2022, is amended 4 to read as follows: 5 1. The division may shall establish a conservation 6 practices revolving loan fund composed of any money 7 appropriated by the general assembly for that purpose, moneys 8 collected from civil penalties imposed pursuant to section 9 161A.67, and of any other moneys available to and obtained 10 or accepted by the committee from the federal government 11 or private sources for placement in that fund. Except 12 as otherwise provided by subsection 3 , the assets of the 13 conservation practices revolving loan fund shall be used only 14 to make loans directly to owners of land in this state for the 15 purpose of establishing on that land any new permanent soil 16 and water conservation practice which the commissioners of 17 the soil and water conservation district in which the land is 18 located have found is necessary or advisable to meet the soil 19 loss limits established for that land. A loan shall not be 20 made for establishing a permanent soil and water conservation 21 practice on land that is subject to the restriction on state 22 cost-sharing funds of section 161A.76 . Revolving loan funds 23 and public cost-sharing funds may be used in combination for 24 funding a particular soil and water conservation practice. 25 Each loan made under this section shall be for a period not 26 to exceed ten years, shall bear no interest, and shall be 27 repayable to the conservation practices revolving loan fund in 28 equal yearly installments due March 1 of each year the loan is 29 in effect. The interest rate upon loans for which payment is 30 delinquent shall accelerate immediately to the current legal 31 usury limit. Applicants are eligible for no more than twenty 32 thousand dollars in loans outstanding at any time under this 33 program. “Permanent soil and water conservation practices” 34 has the same meaning as defined in section 161A.42 and those 35 -3- LSB 5237YH (4) 89 da/ns 3/ 4

H.F. 2528 established under this program are subject to the requirements 1 of section 161A.7, subsection 3 . Loans made under this program 2 shall come due for payment upon sale of the land on which those 3 practices are established. 4 EXPLANATION 5 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 6 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 7 This bill amends the “soil conservation districts law” (Code 8 chapter 161A) administered by the division of soil conservation 9 and water quality (division) which is part of the department 10 of agriculture and land stewardship (DALS) with the state soil 11 conservation and water quality committee (committee) housed 12 within DALS (Code section 161A.4). The state is divided into 13 100 soil and water conservation districts (districts) with each 14 district governed by a group of five elected commissioners 15 (Code section 161A.5). 16 The bill provides that before entering into a farm lease, 17 the parties to that lease must complete and sign a best farming 18 practices disclosure form (form) to be part of the lease as 19 an addendum. The form must include a description of erosion 20 control practices, soil and water conservation practices, 21 and water quality practices as approved by the committee and 22 established by rules adopted by DALS. The form must then be 23 filed with the commissioners of the district where the land 24 is located and continues in effect until the farm lease is 25 terminated unless otherwise agreed by the parties. The bill 26 provides for the enforcement of the filing requirement. The 27 commissioners must deliver a written warning to the parties 28 providing the parties 30 days to comply. If the parties do not 29 comply with the filing requirement, the commissioners report 30 that fact to the division which recommends an enforcement 31 action to the committee. A party cannot pay a civil penalty of 32 more than $500 for failing to file a form. Moneys collected by 33 DALS are deposited into the conservation practices revolving 34 loan fund (Code section 161A.71). 35 -4- LSB 5237YH (4) 89 da/ns 4/ 4