H.F. 2407 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 602.10142 Rural attorney 1 recruitment assistance program —— fund. 2 1. Program created. The judicial branch may establish 3 a program to assist rural counties and municipalities in 4 recruiting attorneys. 5 2. Application. Each interested county or municipality 6 must apply to the judicial branch to be included in the rural 7 attorney recruitment assistance program. Before making a 8 determination of eligibility, the judicial branch shall conduct 9 a county or municipality assessment designed to evaluate 10 the county’s or municipality’s need for an attorney and the 11 county’s or municipality’s ability to sustain and support 12 an attorney. The judicial branch shall maintain a list of 13 counties and municipalities that have been assessed and are 14 eligible for participation in the program. The judicial branch 15 may revise any county or municipality assessment or conduct a 16 new assessment as necessary to reflect any change in conditions 17 within a county or municipality. 18 3. County or municipality eligible to participate. A county 19 or municipality is eligible to participate in the program if 20 all of the following are true: 21 a. The county or municipality has a population of less than 22 twenty-six thousand and is located more than twenty miles from 23 a city with a population of at least fifty thousand, based on 24 the 2020 federal decennial census. 25 b. The county or municipality agrees to provide the county’s 26 or municipality’s portion of the incentive payment pursuant to 27 the provisions of this section. 28 c. The judicial branch determines the county or municipality 29 is eligible. 30 4. Incentive payment to participating attorneys. Any 31 attorney who fulfills the requirements of the program is 32 entitled to receive an incentive payment in five equal annual 33 installments, each in an amount equal to ninety percent of the 34 annual university of Iowa college of law resident tuition and 35 -1- LSB 5389YH (3) 90 cm/ns 1/ 5

H.F. 2407 fees as determined on July 1, 2024. 1 5. Agreement for payment of recruitment assistance —— 2 repayment upon breach. 3 a. Any agreement for the payment of recruitment assistance 4 pursuant to this section must obligate the rural county or 5 municipality served by the attorney to provide thirty-five 6 percent of the total amount of the incentive payments in 7 five equal annual installments. After the rural county or 8 municipality certifies to the judicial branch that the county 9 or municipality has paid the attorney the required amount, 10 the judicial branch shall pay to the attorney the remaining 11 balance. The judicial branch shall pay the required amount out 12 of moneys appropriated pursuant to this section. A county or 13 municipality may prepay its portion of the incentive payments 14 at any time during the five-year period. 15 b. If an attorney has breached the agreement, the attorney 16 shall repay all sums received pursuant to this section under 17 the terms and conditions set by the judicial branch. Failure 18 to make repayment is grounds for discipline by the bar of Iowa 19 and the supreme court. 20 6. County and municipality funding. Any eligible county 21 or municipality may appropriate moneys for the purpose of 22 carrying out the provisions of this section. An eligible 23 county or municipality may enter an agreement with any county, 24 municipality, school district, or nonprofit entity to assist 25 the county or municipality in carrying out the provisions of 26 this section. 27 7. Filing and approval of recruitment assistance 28 agreement. A recruitment assistance agreement entered into 29 pursuant to this section is not effective until it is filed 30 with and approved by the judicial branch. The agreement 31 must provide that the attorney practice law full-time in the 32 eligible county or municipality for at least five years. 33 8. Ineligibility for participation in other programs. A 34 person shall not participate in the program if the person has 35 -2- LSB 5389YH (3) 90 cm/ns 2/ 5

H.F. 2407 previously participated in the program, or any other state or 1 federal scholarship, loan repayment, or tuition reimbursement 2 program that obligates the person to provide attorney services 3 within an underserved area. 4 9. Annual report on status of program. The judicial branch 5 shall annually file with the general assembly a report on the 6 status of the program. 7 10. Fund established. A rural attorney recruitment 8 assistance program fund is created in the state treasury 9 under the control of the judicial branch. The judicial 10 branch may accept gifts, grants, bequests, and other private 11 contributions, as well as state or federal moneys, for 12 deposit in the fund. The judicial branch shall remit all 13 repayments made pursuant to this section to the fund. All 14 moneys deposited or paid into the fund are appropriated to the 15 judicial branch to be used for meeting the requirements of this 16 section and increasing the number of attorneys participating 17 in the program. Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys in the 18 fund that remain unencumbered or unobligated at the close of 19 a fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain available for 20 expenditure for the purposes designated. Notwithstanding 21 section 12C.7, subsection 2, interest or earnings on moneys in 22 the fund shall be credited to the fund. 23 11. Limitation. The program shall not provide assistance 24 for more than five attorneys. This subsection is repealed July 25 1, 2025. 26 EXPLANATION 27 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 28 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 29 This bill creates the rural attorney recruitment assistance 30 program. The bill allows the judicial branch to establish 31 a program for attorneys to assist rural counties and 32 municipalities in recruiting attorneys. The bill requires each 33 interested county or municipality to apply to the judicial 34 branch. The judicial branch is required to conduct a county 35 -3- LSB 5389YH (3) 90 cm/ns 3/ 5

H.F. 2407 or municipality assessment designed to evaluate the county’s 1 or municipality’s need for an attorney and the county’s or 2 municipality’s ability to sustain and support an attorney 3 before admitting a county or municipality into the program. 4 The bill requires the judicial branch to maintain a list of 5 counties and municipalities that have been assessed and are 6 eligible for participation in the program. The judicial branch 7 is allowed to revise any county or municipality assessment or 8 conduct a new assessment as necessary to reflect any change in 9 conditions within a county or municipality. 10 The bill provides that a county or municipality is eligible 11 to participate in the program if it has a population of less 12 than 26,000 and is located more than 20 miles from a city with 13 a population of at least 50,000, based on the 2020 federal 14 decennial census. 15 The bill provides that any attorney who fulfills the 16 requirements of the program is entitled to receive an incentive 17 payment in five equal annual installments, each in an amount 18 equal to 90 percent of the university of Iowa college of law 19 resident tuition and fees as determined on July 1, 2024. 20 The bill provides that any agreement for payment under 21 the program shall obligate the county or municipality served 22 by the attorney to pay 35 percent of the total amount of the 23 incentive payments in five equal annual installments. The 24 bill requires the judicial branch, upon certification that the 25 county or municipality has paid the attorney the annual amount 26 to the judicial branch, to pay the attorney the remaining 27 balance. The bill provides that the judicial branch shall 28 pay the required amount out of moneys appropriated from the 29 state. The bill further provides that a county or municipality 30 may prepay its portion of the incentive payment at any time 31 during the five-year period. The bill requires an attorney 32 that has breached the agreement to repay all sums received. An 33 attorney’s failure to make repayment is grounds for discipline 34 by the bar of Iowa and the supreme court. 35 -4- LSB 5389YH (3) 90 cm/ns 4/ 5

H.F. 2407 The bill allows any rural county or municipality to 1 appropriate moneys for the purpose of funding the program. 2 The bill provides that no recruitment assistance agreement 3 entered into is effective until it is filed with and approved 4 by the judicial branch. The agreement shall provide that the 5 attorney practice law full-time in the eligible county or 6 municipality for at least five years. 7 The bill provides that no person may participate in the 8 program if the person has previously participated in the 9 program, or any other state or federal scholarship, loan 10 repayment, or tuition reimbursement program that obligates the 11 person to provide attorney services within an underserved area. 12 The bill requires the judicial branch to annually file a 13 report with the general assembly about the program. 14 A rural attorney recruitment assistance program fund is 15 created and moneys in the fund are appropriated to the judicial 16 branch to be used for the program and to increase the number 17 of attorneys in the program. The program is limited to five 18 attorneys in the first year. 19 -5- LSB 5389YH (3) 90 cm/ns 5/ 5