SSB 1120 (LSB 1212XD (6) 90)

SENATE/HOUSE FILE _____

BY  (PROPOSED JUDICIAL BRANCH BILL)

A BILL FOR

An Act concerning judicial branch administration, including mental health advocates, access to and confidentiality of certain department of revenue taxpayer information for jury list compilation, contracting authority, apportionment of district associate judges, remote testimony and video recordings, and access to criminal history records.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

DIVISION I
PATIENT ADVOCATES

    Section 1.  Section 229.19, subsection 1, paragraph d, subparagraph (7), Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   (7)  To utilize the related best practices for the duties identified in this paragraph “d” developed and promulgated by the judicial council.
DIVISION II
JURORS —— TAX INFORMATION

    Sec. 2.  Section 422.20, subsection 3, paragraph a, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  Unless otherwise expressly permitted by section 8A.504, section 8G.4, section 11.41, section 96.11, subsection 6, section 421.17, subsections 22, 23, and 26, section 421.17, subsection 27, paragraph “k”, section 421.17, subsection 31, section 252B.9, section 321.40, subsection 6, sections 321.120, 421.19, 421.28, 421.59, 422.72, and 452A.63, and 607A.22, this section, or another provision of law, a tax return, return information, or investigative or audit information shall not be divulged to any person or entity, other than the taxpayer, the department, or internal revenue service for use in a matter unrelated to tax administration.
    Sec. 3.  Section 422.72, subsection 1, paragraph c, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   c.  (1)  The Except as explicitly provided in this section, the department shall not authorize the examination of tax information by officers and employees of this state, another state, or of the United States if the officers or employees would otherwise be required to obtain a judicial order to examine the information if it were to be obtained from another source, and if the purpose of the examination is other than for tax administration. However, the 
   (2)  The director may provide sample individual income tax information to be used for statistical purposes to the legislative services agency. The information shall not include the name or mailing address of the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s social security number. Any information contained in an individual income tax return which is provided by the director shall only be used as a part of a database which contains similar information from a number of returns. The legislative services agency shall not have access to the income tax returns of individuals. Each request for individual income tax information shall contain a statement by the director of the legislative services agency that the individual income tax information received by the legislative services agency shall be used solely for statistical purposes.
   (3)  The director may provide tax information to the state court administrator to be used to prepare grand and petit master jury lists. Tax information provided shall be limited to the name, date of birth, last four digits of the social security number, and address of the taxpayer and spouse. The information provided shall not include the financial information of the taxpayer. Each request for tax information shall contain a statement by the state court administrator that the tax information received by the judicial branch shall be used solely to prepare grand and petit master jury lists.
   (4)  This subsection does not prevent the department from authorizing the examination of state returns and state information under the provisions of section 252B.9 or 607A.22.
   (5)  This subsection prevails over any general law of this state relating to public records.
    Sec. 4.  Section 422.72, subsection 3, paragraph a, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  Unless otherwise expressly permitted by section 8A.504, section 8G.4, section 11.41, section 96.11, subsection 6, section 421.17, subsections 22, 23, and 26, section 421.17, subsection 27, paragraph “k”, section 421.17, subsection 31, section 252B.9, section 321.40, subsection 6, sections 321.120, 421.19, 421.28, 422.20, and 452A.63, and 607A.22, this section, or another provision of law, a tax return, return information, or investigative or audit information shall not be divulged to any person or entity, other than the taxpayer, the department, or internal revenue service for use in a matter unrelated to tax administration.
    Sec. 5.  Section 607A.22, Code 2023, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  1A.    The state court administrator may use taxpayer information provided by the department of revenue as permitted by section 422.72, subsection 1, paragraph “c” , when preparing grand and petit master jury lists.
    Sec. 6.  NEW SECTION.  607A.48  Public access to juror information.
   Public access to juror and prospective juror information shall be limited. Information on the year of birth and address information identifying the city and zip code of prospective jurors shall be available to the public. However, more specific address information, phone numbers, and the date and month of birth of prospective jurors are confidential and not subject to disclosure without an order of the court.
DIVISION III
CONTRACTING AUTHORITY

    Sec. 7.  NEW SECTION.  602.1209A  State court administrator may contractually limit vendor liability.
   1.  The state court administrator may authorize the procurement of goods and services in which a contractual limitation of vendor liability is provided for and set forth in the documents initiating the procurement.
   2.  a.  The state court administrator shall consider all of the following criteria when determining whether to permit a contractual limitation of vendor liability with regard to any procurement of goods or services:
   (1)  Whether authorizing a contractual limitation of vendor liability is necessary to prevent harm to the state from a failure to obtain the goods or services sought, or from obtaining the goods or services at a higher price if the state refuses to allow a contractual limitation of vendor liability.
   (2)  Whether the contractual limitation of vendor liability is commercially reasonable when taking into account any risk to the state created by the goods or services to be procured and the purpose for which they will be used.
   b.  The state court administrator may consider additional criteria.
   3.  Notwithstanding subsection 1, a contractual limitation of vendor liability shall not include any limitation on the liability of any vendor for intentional torts, criminal acts, or fraudulent conduct.
DIVISION IV
APPORTIONMENT OF DISTRICT ASSOCIATE JUDGES

    Sec. 8.  Section 602.6301, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   602.6301  Number and apportionment of district associate judges.
   1.  There shall be one district associate judge in counties having a population of more than thirty-five thousand and less than eighty thousand; two in counties having a population of eighty thousand or more and less than one hundred twenty-five thousand; three in counties having a population of one hundred twenty-five thousand or more and less than one hundred seventy thousand; four in counties having a population of one hundred seventy thousand or more and less than two hundred fifteen thousand; five in counties having a population of two hundred fifteen thousand or more and less than two hundred sixty thousand; six in counties having a population of two hundred sixty thousand or more and less than three hundred five thousand; seven in counties having a population of three hundred five thousand or more and less than three hundred fifty thousand; eight in counties having a population of three hundred fifty thousand or more and less than three hundred ninety-five thousand; nine in counties having a population of three hundred ninety-five thousand or more and less than four hundred forty thousand; ten in counties having a population of four hundred forty thousand or more and less than four hundred eighty-five thousand; and one additional judge for every population increment of thirty-five thousand which is over four hundred eighty-five thousand in such counties. However, a county shall not lose a district associate judgeship solely because of a reduction in the county’s population. If the formula provided in this section results in the allocation of an additional district associate judgeship to a county, implementation of the allocation shall be subject to prior approval of the supreme court and availability of funds to the judicial branch.  The supreme court shall prescribe, subject to the restrictions of this section, a formula to determine the number of district associate judges who will serve in each judicial election district. The formula shall be based upon a model that measures and applies an estimated case-related workload formula of judicial officers, and shall account for administrative duties, travel time, and other judicial duties not related to a specific case. A district associate judge appointed pursuant to section 602.6302 or 602.6307 shall not be counted for purposes of this section and the reduction of a district associate judge pursuant to section 602.6303 also shall not be counted for purposes of this section.
   2.  For purposes of this section, “vacancy” means the death, resignation, retirement, or removal of a district associate judge, or the failure of a district associate judge to be retained in office at the judicial election, or an increase in judgeships under the formula prescribed in subsection 1.
   3.  In those judicial election districts having more district associate judges than the number of judgeships specified by the formula prescribed in subsection 1, vacancies shall not be filled.
   4.  In those judicial election districts having fewer or the same number of district associate judges as the number of judgeships specified by the formula prescribed in subsection 1, vacancies shall be filled as the vacancies occur.
   5.  In those judicial districts that contain more than one judicial election district, a vacancy in a judicial election district shall not be filled if the total number of district associate judges in all judicial election districts within the judicial district equals or exceeds the aggregate number of judgeships to which all of the judicial election districts of the judicial district are authorized by the formula in subsection 1.
   6.  An incumbent district associate judge shall not be removed from office because of a reduction in the number of authorized judgeships specified by the formula prescribed in subsection 1.
DIVISION V
REMOTE TESTIMONY AND VIDEO RECORDINGS

    Sec. 9.  Section 602.3205, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   602.3205  Audio and video recordings.
   1.  Except as provided in subsection 2 or 3, a certified shorthand reporter’s audio and video recordings used solely for the purpose of providing a verbatim written transcript of a court proceeding or a proceeding conducted in anticipation of use in a court proceeding shall be considered the personal property and private work product of the certified shorthand reporter.
   2.  An audio or video recording of a certified shorthand reporter appointed under section 602.6603 shall be provided to the presiding judge or chief judge for an in camera review upon court order for good cause shown.
   3.  a.  An audio or video recording of a certified shorthand reporter shall be provided to the board upon request by the board if a disciplinary proceeding is pending regarding the certified shorthand reporter who is a respondent under the provisions of section 602.3203 or the rules of the board of examiners of shorthand reporters, 
Iowa court rules, ch. 46
.
   b.  The audio and video recordings provided to the board pursuant to this subsection shall be kept confidential by the board in a manner as provided in section 272C.6, subsection 4.
    Sec. 10.  Section 624.1, subsection 1, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  All issues of fact in ordinary actions shall be tried upon oral evidence taken in open court, except that depositions may be used as provided by law.  “Open court” includes remote testimony of a witness by telephone, videoconference, or other remote means of communication approved by the court.
DIVISION VI
ACCESS TO CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS

    Sec. 11.  Section 692.2, subsection 5, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   5.  A person other than the department of public safety shall not disseminate criminal history data maintained by the department to persons who are not criminal or juvenile justice agencies, except as set forth in section 692.3.
    Sec. 12.  Section 692.3, subsection 3, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  The information described in this section subsections 1 and 2 may be redisseminated through any written, audio, or visual means utilized by a criminal or juvenile justice agency.
    Sec. 13.  Section 692.3, Code 2023, is amended by adding the following new subsections:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  4.  A person may disseminate criminal history data of an accused to the attorney of the accused and to self-represented litigants in a pending criminal matter in district or juvenile court, if the criminal history data is already part of the prosecution’s file and subject to a discovery obligation.
   NEW SUBSECTION.  5.  Upon order of the court, a person may disseminate criminal history data of an accused that is not already part of the prosecution’s file, or criminal history data of a witness, to the attorney of the accused, prosecutors, and to self-represented litigants in a pending criminal matter in district or juvenile court.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to judicial branch administration.
   PATIENT ADVOCATES. The bill removes the requirement that the judicial council develop and promulgate best practices for court-assigned advocates of persons with mental illness. Under the bill, such advocates may use any best practices for their duties.
   JURORS —— TAX INFORMATION. The bill authorizes the director of the department of revenue to provide certain tax information to the state court administrator to be used to prepare grand and petit master jury lists. Tax information provided includes the name, date of birth, last four digits of the social security number, and address of the taxpayer and spouse. The bill prohibits the information provided from including the financial information of the taxpayer.
   The bill provides that prospective juror year of birth and city and zip code address information is available to the public but that more specific address information, phone numbers, and date and month of birth are confidential and are not subject to disclosure without an order of the court.
   CONTRACTING AUTHORITY. The bill allows the state court administrator to enter into contracts with vendors that include limitations of liability for the vendors, after considering certain criteria set forth in the bill. However, the bill prohibits limitations of liability for any intentional torts, criminal acts, or fraudulent conduct by the vendor.
   APPORTIONMENT OF DISTRICT ASSOCIATE JUDGES. The bill provides for a new formula to be prescribed by the Iowa supreme court for apportioning district associate judges based upon a weighted workload. Under current law, district associate judges are apportioned based upon county population.
   The bill provides that in judicial election districts that currently have more district associate judges than the new formula prescribes, vacancies shall not be filled, while districts having fewer or the same shall fill vacancies as they occur. In judicial districts that contain more than one judicial election district, a vacancy in a judicial election district shall not be filled if the total number of district associate judges in all judicial election districts within the judicial district equals or exceeds the aggregate number of judgeships to which all of the judicial election districts of the judicial district are authorized. Incumbents shall not be removed because of a reduction in number of authorized judgeships.
   REMOTE TESTIMONY AND VIDEO RECORDINGS. The bill adds video recordings to Code section 602.3205 (certified shorthand reporter audio recordings). The bill provides that a certified shorthand reporter’s audio and video recordings used solely for the purpose of providing a verbatim written transcript of a court proceeding or a proceeding conducted in anticipation of use in a court proceeding shall be considered the personal property and private work product of the certified shorthand reporter, except that an audio or video recording of a certified shorthand reporter shall be provided to the presiding judge or chief judge for an in camera review upon court order for good cause shown and an audio or video recording of a certified shorthand reporter shall be provided to the board of examiners of shorthand reporters upon request by the board if a disciplinary proceeding is pending regarding the certified shorthand reporter.
   For purposes of oral evidence in court trials, the bill defines the term “open court” to include remote testimony of a witness by telephone, videoconference, or other remote means approved by the court.
   Under current law, all testimony needs to be taken in open court, except for depositions. In the supreme court of Iowa’s decision in In re Estate of Rutter, 633 N.W.2d 740 (Iowa 2001), the court held the phrase “in open court” meant physical presence in the courtroom itself, and ruled that allowing telephonic testimony over objection violated the statute.
   ACCESS TO CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS. The bill allows criminal history data of an accused person to be disseminated to the attorney of the accused and self-represented litigants without a court order, if the criminal history data is already a part of the prosecution’s file and is subject to a discovery obligation. The bill also allows criminal history data of an accused person, or of a witness, to be disseminated to the attorney of the accused, prosecutors, and self-represented litigants upon court order.