HF 486 (LSB 2771YH (2) 91)

HOUSE FILE 486

BY  BARKER

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to residency requirements for individuals holding office as a trustee of a drainage or levee district.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 468.506, subsection 1, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  The bona fide owner of agricultural land in the election district for which the trustee is elected, and a resident of the county in which that district is located or of a county which is contiguous to or corners on that county this state.
    Sec. 2.  Section 468.506, subsection 3, paragraph c, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   c.  The individual must be a resident of the county in which the election district is located or of a county that is contiguous to or corners on that county this state.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   BACKGROUND —— DRAINAGE OR LEVEE DISTRICTS. This bill amends a provision in Iowa’s drainage and levee law (Code chapter 468), which provides for the establishment and management of a drainage or levee district (district) to construct improvements to control (i.e., divert or store) any accumulation of water affecting the value of agricultural or other land located in the district. The establishment of the district creates a number of rights and duties of persons owning land within the district, including an obligation to pay an assessment (tax) on the land based on the increased value of the land benefiting from the improvements.
   BACKGROUND —— BOARD OF TRUSTEES. A district is managed by a governing body which may be a county’s board of supervisors, joint boards of supervisors governing intercounty districts, or, upon a petition of the persons owning land in the district, a board of trustees elected by those persons (see Code section 468.3 and Code chapter 468, subchapter III). If a district is not located within the limits of a city, and the land is consequentially classified as agricultural, a trustee must meet certain eligibility requirements. The trustee must either be an individual who owns agricultural land in the district or an individual who has an interest in a business entity that owns agricultural land in the district (e.g., a partnership or family farm entity described in Code chapter 9H). In both cases, the individual must reside in the county in which the district is located or reside in a county which is contiguous to the county, or corners the county, where the district is located.
   BILL’S PROVISION. The bill replaces the requirement that, in order to hold office as a trustee of a district, an individual must reside in a county where the district is located or a neighboring county, with a requirement that the individual must be a resident in this state.