House File 2623 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2623 BY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT (SUCCESSOR TO HF 2191) A BILL FOR An Act relating to elections for school district and city 1 officers, and including applicability provisions. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 5610HV (2) 91 ss/ns

H.F. 2623 Section 1. Section 39.2, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 1 2026, is amended to read as follows: 2 a. All special elections which are authorized or required 3 by law, unless the applicable law otherwise requires, shall 4 be held on Tuesday. A special election shall not be held on 5 the first, second, third, and fourth Tuesdays preceding and 6 following the primary and the general elections or on the 7 first, second, and third Tuesdays preceding and following a 8 city or school election . 9 Sec. 2. Section 39.2, subsection 2, Code 2026, is amended 10 to read as follows: 11 2. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 1 , a special 12 election may be held on the same day as a regularly scheduled 13 election if the two elections are not in conflict within the 14 meaning of section 47.6, subsection 2 . A special election 15 may be held on the same day as a regularly scheduled election 16 with which it does so conflict if the commissioner who is 17 responsible for conducting the elections concludes that to do 18 so will cause no undue difficulties , except that a special 19 election for a city, school district, or merged area shall not 20 be scheduled to coincide with the general election . 21 Sec. 3. Section 39.2, subsection 3, paragraph b, Code 2026, 22 is amended to read as follows: 23 b. If a special election to fill a vacancy is held in 24 conjunction with a regularly scheduled election, the filing 25 deadlines for the special election shall coincide with the 26 filing deadlines for the regularly scheduled election. An 27 election to fill a vacancy in a city office cannot be held 28 in conjunction with a general election if the city election 29 procedures provide for a primary election. 30 Sec. 4. Section 277.1, Code 2026, is amended to read as 31 follows: 32 277.1 Regular election. 33 The regular election shall be held biennially on the first 34 Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each odd-numbered 35 -1- LSB 5610HV (2) 91 ss/ns 1/ 2

H.F. 2623 even-numbered year in each school district for the election of 1 officers of the district and merged area and for the purpose of 2 submitting to the voters any matter authorized by law. 3 Sec. 5. Section 376.1, subsection 1, Code 2026, is amended 4 to read as follows: 5 1. A city shall hold a regular city election on the first 6 Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each odd-numbered 7 even-numbered year. A city shall hold regular, special, 8 primary, or runoff city elections as provided by state law. 9 Sec. 6. TRANSITION. School district and city officers 10 serving on the effective date of this Act whose terms would 11 expire in January of an even-numbered year shall instead serve 12 until the January next following and be eligible for reelection 13 in the November immediately preceding the January in which the 14 school district or city officer’s term of office expires. 15 Sec. 7. APPLICABILITY. This Act applies to regular school 16 district and city elections held after November 2, 2027. 17 EXPLANATION 18 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 19 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 20 This bill relates to elections for school district and city 21 officers. The bill changes the day of school district and city 22 elections from the first Tuesday after the first Monday in 23 November in each odd-numbered year to the first Tuesday after 24 the first Monday of November of each even-numbered year, the 25 same day as the general election. School district and city 26 officers serving on July 1, 2026, whose terms would expire in 27 January of an even-numbered year shall instead serve until the 28 January next following and be eligible for reelection in the 29 November immediately preceding the January in which the school 30 district or city officer’s term of office expires. The bill 31 applies to regular school district and city elections held 32 after November 2, 2027. 33 -2- LSB 5610HV (2) 91 ss/ns 2/ 2