HSB 608 (LSB 5692YC (3) 90)

HOUSE FILE _____ 

BY  (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY BILL BY CHAIRPERSON HOLT)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to procedures to review the exercise of the power of eminent domain.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 6A.1, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   6A.1  Exercise of power by state —— withdrawal by general assembly.
   1.  Proceedings may be instituted and maintained by the state of Iowa, or for the use and benefit thereof, for the condemnation of such private property as may be necessary for any public improvement which the general assembly has authorized to be undertaken by the state, and for which an available appropriation has been made. The executive council shall institute and maintain such proceedings in case authority to so do be not otherwise delegated.
   2.  a.  At any time during a proceeding under subsection 1 or a proceeding attempting or contemplating an exercise of the state’s power under Article I, section 18, of the Constitution of the State of Iowa, twenty-one or more members of the house of representatives may file with the chief clerk of the house, or eleven or more members of the senate may file with the secretary of the senate, a petition seeking the withdrawal of such a proceeding.
   b.  Upon the filing of a petition under paragraph “a”, the chief clerk of the house or secretary of the senate, as applicable, shall notify the governmental entities and parties involved in the proceeding and, following receipt of such notice, all hearings, depositions, trials, or similar operations of the proceeding must immediately cease until all of the following occur:
   (1)  A greater than three-fifths majority of each house of the general assembly vote in favor of resumption of the proceeding.
   (2)  More than three-fifths of the members of each house of the general assembly deliver to the chief clerk of the house or secretary of the senate, as applicable, a signed affidavit stating that the member, being duly sworn to uphold the Constitution of the State of Iowa and the Constitution of the United States, has made due independent inquiry into the facts and circumstances of the proceeding, and, in the opinion of the member, the proposed exercise of power of eminent domain is consistent with the protections afforded property owners under both the Constitution of the State of Iowa and the Constitution of the United States, the proposed exercise of power of eminent domain is for a constitutionally bona fide public use, and the mechanism for determining the amount of compensation to be provided to the owner of private property proposed to be taken is reasonable and fair.
    Sec. 2.  Section 476.13, Code 2024, is amended by adding the following new subsections:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  4.  a.  Notwithstanding the Iowa administrative procedure Act, chapter 17A, prior to final board action, an applicant before the board under this chapter or a person whose real property is subject to an eminent domain taking claim arising from an application before the board may petition the district court for an eminent domain declaratory review.
   b.  The district court for Polk county shall have exclusive venue for the judicial review under this subsection.
   c.  Relief under this subsection is limited to a declaration of the parties’ rights, status, and other legal matters relating to the constitutional and statutory provisions governing eminent domain takings.
   d.  The court may combine several substantially similar petitions into one review or relief order at its own discretion or upon the application of any party.
   e.  All orders or judgments under this subsection may be reviewed as other judgments, orders, or decrees.
   f.  This subsection does not limit the authority of the board to proceed with an application under consideration at the time of the petition.
   NEW SUBSECTION.  5.  a.  A person may commence a new action under subsection 4 if any of the following conditions apply:
   (1)  More than eighteen months have passed after the commencement of an action described in subsection 4 involving the person.
   (2)  The person is an applicant before the board under this chapter or the person’s real property is subject to an eminent domain taking claim arising from an application before the board and the person determines in good faith that facts and circumstances as presented in a previous proceeding under subsection 4 materially differ from the facts and circumstances at the time of the commencement of the new action.
   b.  Notwithstanding subsection 4, paragraph “b”, the new proceeding must be in a district court of a county other than Polk county, and the district judge assigned to the matter must be a district judge other than the judge who presided in the previous action under subsection 4. The court shall make all determinations of fact and law in the new action de novo, giving no precedential value to determinations in the earlier action.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill allows 21 or more members of the house of representatives, or 11 or more members of the senate, to file a petition with the chief clerk of the house or the secretary of the senate, as applicable, to withdraw from an eminent domain proceeding. Upon receipt of the petition and notice to the involved entities and parties, all trials, depositions, hearings, and similar operations of the proceeding must cease. The bill authorizes resumption of the proceeding following a greater than three-fifths majority vote by both houses and submission of a signed affidavit from more than three-fifths of the members of each house.
   The bill allows an applicant before the Iowa utilities board (IUB) under Code chapter 476 or a person whose real property is subject to an eminent domain taking claim arising from an application before IUB to file a petition seeking declaratory review from the Polk county district court. Relief by the court is limited to a declaration of the parties’ rights, status, and other legal matters relating to eminent domain. The bill does not limit IUB’s authority to proceed with an application that was under consideration at the time of such a petition.
   The bill allows a person to commence a new action in a district court of a county other than Polk county with a different district court judge if more than 18 months have passed since the commencement of a prior action or the facts and circumstances presented in the prior proceeding have changed. In such a proceeding, the bill requires the court to review the issues without giving precedential weight to the findings in the prior action.