SF 2431 (LSB 5918SV (2) 91)

SENATE FILE 2431

BY  COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT

(SUCCESSOR TO SSB 3009)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the appointment and duties of township officers and township budgets, and including effective date and applicability provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 12C.4, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   12C.4  Location of depositories.
   Deposits by the treasurer of state shall be in depositories located in this state; by a county officer or county public hospital officer or merged area hospital officer, in depositories located in the county or in an adjoining county within this state; by a memorial hospital treasurer, in a depository located within this state, which shall be selected by the memorial hospital treasurer and approved by the memorial hospital commission; by a city treasurer or other city financial officer, in depositories located in the county in which the city is located or in an adjoining county, but if there is no depository in the county in which the city is located or in an adjoining county then in any other depository located in this state, which shall be selected as a depository by the city council; by a school treasurer or by a school secretary in a depository within this state, which shall be selected by the board of directors or the trustees of the school district; by a township clerk secretary in a depository located within this state which shall be selected by the township clerk secretary and approved by the trustees of the township. However, deposits may be made in depositories outside of Iowa for the purpose of paying principal and interest on bonded indebtedness of any municipality when the deposit is made not more than ten days before the date the principal or interest becomes due. Further, the treasurer of state may maintain an account or accounts outside the state of Iowa for the purpose of providing custodial services for the state and state retirement fund accounts. Deposits made for the purpose of completing an electronic financial transaction pursuant to section 8.89 or 331.427 may be made in any depository located in this state.
    Sec. 2.  Section 39.3, subsection 7, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   7.  “General election” means the biennial election for national or state officers, members of Congress and of the general assembly, county and township officers, and for the choice of other officers or the decision of questions as provided by law.
    Sec. 3.  Section 39.21, subsection 4, Code 2026, is amended by striking the subsection.
    Sec. 4.  Section 39.27, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   39.27  Qualifications for public office.
   Any person elected to an office under the laws of this state shall be an eligible elector. At the time an elected official takes office the official shall be a resident of the state, district, county, township, city, or ward by or for which the person was elected, or in which the duties of the office are to be exercised. An elected official shall continue to be a resident of the state, district, county, township, city, or ward by or for which the person was elected, or in which the duties of the office are to be exercised for the duration of the term of office. This section shall not apply to United States senators or representatives in Congress or to members of the general assembly.
    Sec. 5.  Section 49.41, subsection 2, paragraph b, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   b.  When the state commissioner receives notice from the county commissioner that a candidate for a state or federal office has also been nominated for a county or township office, the state commissioner shall amend the certificate issued pursuant to section 43.73 and notify the commissioners of any other counties to whom the candidate’s name was originally certified and instruct them to remove the candidate’s name from the ballot in those counties.
    Sec. 6.  Section 49.41, subsection 4, Code 2026, is amended by striking the subsection.
    Sec. 7.  Section 50.7, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   50.7  Error on county office —— township office.
   If, in case of such excess, the vote of the precinct where the error occurred would change the result as to a county office if the person appearing to be elected were deprived of so many votes, then the election shall be set aside as to that person in that precinct, and a new election ordered therein; but no person who was not a registered voter in that precinct at the time of the general election shall be allowed to vote at such special election. If the error occurs in relation to an office of a city, school district, township, or of any special district whose elections may be conducted under this chapter, the governing body of the political subdivision involved may order a new election or not, in their discretion.
    Sec. 8.  Section 63A.2, subsection 4, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   4.  Mayors and clerks of cities, precinct election officials, township clerks, assessors, and surveyors.
    Sec. 9.  Section 64.2, subsection 1, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  All other public officers, except as otherwise specially provided, shall give bond with the conditions, in substance, as follows:
  That as ............ (naming the office), in ........ (city, township, county, or state of Iowa), the officer will render a true account of the office and of the officer’s doings therein to the proper authority, when required thereby or by law; that the officer will promptly pay over to the officer or person entitled thereto all moneys which may come into the officer’s hands by virtue of the office; that the officer will promptly account for all balances of money remaining in the officer’s hands at the termination of the office; that the officer will exercise all reasonable diligence and care in the preservation and lawful disposal of all money, books, papers, securities, or other property appertaining to that office, and deliver them to the officer’s successor, or to any other person authorized to receive the same; and that the officer will faithfully and impartially, without fear, favor, fraud, or oppression, discharge all duties now or hereafter required of the office by law.
    Sec. 10.  Section 64.3, subsection 3, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  The reasonable expenses of an insurance policy obtained pursuant to this section in lieu of a bond, for which the reasonable expenses of such bond would be paid for by the county or township pursuant to section 64.11, 64.12, or 64.15, shall be paid by the county or township, as applicable.
    Sec. 11.  Section 64.19, subsection 2, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  By the board of supervisors, in case of county officers, township clerks, and assessors.
    Sec. 12.  Section 64.19, subsection 4, Code 2026, is amended by striking the subsection.
    Sec. 13.  Section 64.23, subsection 3, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  For county and township officers, except those of the county auditor, with the county auditor.
    Sec. 14.  Section 64.24, subsection 1, paragraph a, subparagraph (2), Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   (2)  In the record kept by the county auditor, the official bonds of all county officers, elective or appointive, and township clerks.
    Sec. 15.  Section 65.3, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   65.3  Effect.
   If a requisition made under either section 65.1A or section 65.2 be is complied with, both the old and the new security shall be in force; if not, the office shall become and be declared vacant, and the fact shall be certified to the proper officer, to be recorded in the election book or township record.
    Sec. 16.  Section 66.19, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   66.19  Temporary officer.
   Upon a suspension, the board or person authorized to fill a vacancy in the office shall temporarily fill the office by appointment. In case of a suspension of a sheriff, the district court may designate an acting sheriff until a temporary sheriff is appointed. Orders of suspension and temporary appointment of county and township officers trustees shall be certified to the county auditor for entry in the election book; those of city officers, certified to the clerk and entered upon the records; in case of other officers, to the person or body making the original appointment.
    Sec. 17.  Section 69.8, subsection 5, Code 2026, is amended by striking the subsection and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
   5.  Appointed township trustees.  When a vacancy occurs in the office of township trustee, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the board of supervisors pursuant to section 359.11.
    Sec. 18.  Section 97B.1A, subsection 8, paragraph a, subparagraph (1), Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   (1)  Elective officials in positions for which the compensation is on a fee basis, elective officials of school districts, elective officials of townships, and elective officials of other political subdivisions who are in part-time positions. An elective official covered under this section may terminate membership under this chapter by informing the system in writing of the expiration of the member’s term of office or by informing the system of the member’s intent to terminate membership for employment as an elective official and establishing that the member has a bona fide termination of employment from all employment covered under this chapter other than as an elective official and that the member has filed a completed application for benefits form with the system. A county attorney is an employee for purposes of this chapter whether that county attorney is employed on a full-time or part-time basis.
    Sec. 19.  Section 97C.2, subsection 1, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  The term “employee” includes elective and appointive officials of the state or any political subdivision thereof, except elective officials in positions, the compensation for which is on a fee basis, elective officials of school districts, elective officials of townships, and elective officials of other political subdivisions who are in part-time positions. However, a member of a county board of supervisors or a county attorney shall not be deemed to be an elective official in a part-time position, but every member of a county board of supervisors and every county attorney shall be deemed to be an employee under this chapter and is eligible to receive the benefits provided by this chapter to which the member may be entitled as an employee.
    Sec. 20.  Section 101.8, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   101.8  Assistance by local officials.
   The chief fire prevention officer of every city or village having an established fire prevention department, the chief of the fire department of every other city or village in which a fire department is established, the mayor of every city in which no fire department exists, the township clerk secretary of every township outside the limits of any city or village, and all other local officials upon whom fire prevention duties are imposed by law shall assist the director in the enforcement of the rules.
    Sec. 21.  Section 165.35, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   165.35  Township County animal board of health.
   The township trustees in such fence viewers appointed pursuant to section 359A.2A in each county are hereby constituted the animal board of health in their respective townships counties and they shall by April 1 of each year, and at such other times as they shall deem advisable, make a survey and report to the department all breeding cattle brought from outside of the county into each township in their respective townships from outside of the county counties.
    Sec. 22.  Section 169C.6, subsection 3, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  If the fence is not erected or maintained as required in section 359A.6, and upon the written request of the board of township trustees, the board of supervisors of the county where the fence is to be erected or maintained shall act in the same manner as the board of township trustees fence viewers under that section, including by erecting or maintaining the fence, ordering payment from a defaulted party, and certifying an amount due to the county treasurer in the same manner as in section 359A.6. The amount due shall include the total costs required to erect or maintain the fence and a penalty equal to five percent of the total costs. The amount shall be placed upon the county system and collected in the same manner as ordinary taxes. Upon certification to the county treasurer, the amount assessed shall be a lien on the parcel until paid.
    Sec. 23.  Section 327G.4, subsection 1, paragraph e, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   e.  Any other type which that the fence viewers of any township the county through which it the fence passes may determine as efficient as any of the above types.
    Sec. 24.  Section 331.248, subsection 4, paragraph a, subparagraph (5), Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   (5)  Provide for a method for the governing body or another office to exercise the powers and duties of the township trustees, in lieu of their election or appointment.
    Sec. 25.  Section 331.322, subsection 14, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   14.  Establish and pay compensation of township trustees and township clerk, as provided in sections section 359.46 and 359.47.
    Sec. 26.  Section 331.324, subsection 1, paragraph o, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   o.  Fix the compensation for services of county officers and township officers trustees and employees if not otherwise fixed by state law.
    Sec. 27.  Section 331.502, subsection 5, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   5.  Have custody of the official bonds of county and township officers as provided in section 64.23.
    Sec. 28.  Section 331.505, subsection 6, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   6.  Record the orders of suspension and temporary appointment of county officers and township officers trustees as provided in section 66.19.
    Sec. 29.  Section 331.512, subsection 1, paragraph i, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   i.  The levy of taxes certified by the board of trustees of a township as provided in chapters chapter 359 and 360.
    Sec. 30.  Section 331.756, subsection 7, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   7.  Give advice or a written opinion, without compensation, to the board and other county officers and to township officers trustees, when requested by an officer or trustee, upon any matters in which the state, county, or township is interested, or relating to the duty of the officer or trustee in any matters in which the state, county, or township may have an interest, but the county attorney shall not appear before the board at a hearing in which the state or county is not interested.
    Sec. 31.  Section 331.901, subsection 5, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   5.  A county or township officer or township trustee, or a county or township employee, shall not appropriate, give, or loan public funds to or in favor of an institution, school, association, or object that is under ecclesiastical or sectarian management or control unless the public funds are to be utilized for a project or program that benefits the public and does not require any religious or sectarian services, educational programs, or participation requirements.
    Sec. 32.  Section 359.11, Code 2026, is amended by striking the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
   359.11  Trustees to be appointed.
   1.  On January 1, 2027, the board of supervisors shall appoint three registered voters of each township to serve on the board of trustees in each township. The initial terms of the board of trustees shall be staggered. One appointee under this subsection shall serve a term of one year, one appointee under this subsection shall serve a term of two years, and one appointee under this subsection shall serve a term of three years. This subsection is repealed January 1, 2031.
   2.  A board of trustees in each township shall consist of three registered voters of the township appointed by the board of supervisors to serve three-year terms staggered so that one term expires on January 1 of each year. Upon the expiration of the term of an appointee to the board of trustees, the board of supervisors shall appoint a registered voter of the township to serve a term of three years beginning January 1. The board of supervisors may remove an appointee at any time for neglect of duty or maladministration. A vacancy on the board of trustees shall be filled for the unexpired portion of the regular term in the same manner as regular appointments are made.
    Sec. 33.  Section 359.17, subsection 1, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  The board of township trustees in each township shall consist of three registered voters of the township to be appointed as provided in section 359.11. However, in townships with a taxable valuation for property tax purposes of two hundred fifty million dollars or more, the board of township trustees shall consist of five registered voters of the township. The trustees shall act as fence viewers as provided in chapter 359A and shall perform other duties assigned to them by law. The board of trustees shall meet not less than two times a year. At least one of the meetings shall be scheduled to meet the requirements of section 359.49.
    Sec. 34.  Section 359.20, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   359.20  Clerk Secretary to keep record.
   1.  At the first meeting of the calendar year, the trustees shall select one trustee to serve as a secretary for the calendar year.  The township clerk secretary shall keep a record of all the proceedings and orders of the trustees, and of all acts done by the township clerk secretary, including the filing of certificates of official oaths having been taken before other officers, and perform such other acts as may be required by law.
   2.  Township records and documents, or accurate reproductions, shall be kept by the township clerk board of trustees for at least five years except that:
   a.  Resolutions, board proceedings, records and documents, or accurate reproductions, relating to the issuance of public bonds or obligations shall be kept for at least eleven years following the final maturity of the bonds or obligations. Thereafter, such records, documents, and reproductions may be destroyed, preserving confidentiality as necessary.
   b.  Resolutions, board proceedings, records, and documents, or accurate reproductions, relating to real property transactions shall be maintained permanently.
    Sec. 35.  Section 359.21, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   359.21  Receipt and custody of funds.
   1.  Each township clerk secretary shall receive, collect, and disburse, under the orders of the township trustees, all funds belonging to the township, including the cemetery fund. A claim shall not be paid until it has been audited by the trustees.
   2.  Before the fifteenth day of each month, the county treasurer shall notify the chairperson of the board of trustees of the amount collected for each fund to the first day of that month and shall pay that amount to the clerk secretary as provided in section 331.552, subsection 29.
    Sec. 36.  Section 359.23, subsection 1, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  Each township clerk secretary shall prepare, on or before September 30 of each year, a statement in writing, showing all receipts of money and disbursements in the clerk’s office by the secretary for each separate tax levy authorized by law for the preceding fiscal year, showing the current public debt of the township, and showing the balance as of June 30 of all separate reserve accounts held by the township, which shall be certified as correct by the trustees of the township. The statement shall be in a form prescribed by the county finance committee in consultation with the department of management. Each township clerk secretary shall send a copy of this written statement to the county auditor no later than seven days after the statement is certified by the trustees. The county auditor shall post the statement or a summary of the statement in a prominent place in the building where the auditor’s office is located. The county treasurer shall withhold disbursement of township taxes until the statement is filed with the county auditor. The county auditor shall notify the county treasurer if taxes are to be withheld.
    Sec. 37.  Section 359.24, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   359.24  Clerk and Board of trustees abolished.
   Where a city constitutes one or more civil townships the boundary lines of which coincide throughout with the boundary lines of the city, the offices of township clerk and trustee are board of trustees is abolished.
    Sec. 38.  Section 359.25, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   359.25  Clerk and council to act.
   The duties required by law of the township clerk secretary in cities described in section 359.24 shall be performed by the city clerk, and those required of the board of trustees shall be performed by the city council.
    Sec. 39.  Section 359.26, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   359.26  Transfer of funds.
   The moneys and assets belonging to each civil township described in section 359.24 shall become the moneys and assets of the city in which the civil township is situated. The township clerks secretary shall turn such moneys and assets over to the city treasurer or clerk, to be disbursed by the city in the same manner and for the same purposes as required by law for the disposition of township funds. The city shall assume all liabilities of a civil township to which the provisions of this section apply.
    Sec. 40.  Section 359.27, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   359.27  Payment of funds.
   County treasurers are hereby authorized to pay over to the treasurers or clerks of cities which come under the provisions of sections 359.24, 359.25, and 359.26 all funds which that would otherwise be paid over to the township clerks secretaries of such townships.
    Sec. 41.  Section 359.40, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   359.40  Cemeteries —— plats —— records.
   Where there is located in any township one or more cemeteries, the owner of the same, or any party owning an interest therein, may cause the same to be surveyed, platted, and laid out into subdivisions and lots, numbering the same by progressive numbers, giving the length and breadth, also the location with reference to known or permanent monuments to be made. The plat shall accurately describe all the subdivisions of the tract of land used, or designed to be used as a cemetery, and shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder, and filed with and recorded by the township clerk secretary, and preserved by the township clerk among the records of the office board of township trustees.
    Sec. 42.  Section 359.43, subsection 5, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   5.  Township taxes collected and disbursed by the county shall be apportioned by the clerk secretary and paid into the separate accounts of the tax districts no later than May 31 and November 30 of each year.
    Sec. 43.  Section 359.49, Code 2026, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  1A.  Prior to adoption and certification of the budget proposed pursuant to this section, the board of trustees shall provide the proposed budget to the board of supervisors. The board of supervisors shall have the option to approve or reject the proposed budget. The board of supervisors shall approve or reject the proposed budget with recommended changes in a timely manner so as to not delay the duties of the board of trustees to adopt a budget and certify taxes by the deadlines provided in this section.
    Sec. 44.  Section 359.49, subsections 3, 5, and 7, Code 2026, are amended to read as follows:
   3.  Not less than ten days before the date set for the regular meeting of the board at which objections and arguments on the budget will be heard, the clerk secretary shall make available a sufficient number of copies of the detailed budget to meet the requests of taxpayers and organizations.
   5.  The board of trustees shall set a time and place for a regular meeting before final certification of the budget, which meeting shall provide time for comments and objections to be heard on the proposed budget. The meeting shall be held no less than ten days and no more than twenty days after the proposed budget is posted by the county auditor. The county auditor shall certify to the clerk township secretary the date of posting.
   7.  After the meeting on the proposed budget, the board of trustees shall adopt by resolution a budget for at least the next fiscal year, and the clerk secretary shall certify the necessary tax levy for the next fiscal year to the county auditor and the county board of supervisors by April 30. The tax levy certified may be less than but shall not be more than the amount estimated in the proposed budget submitted at the meeting. Two copies each of the detailed budget as adopted and of the certified tax levy must be transmitted to the county auditor by April 30.
    Sec. 45.  Section 359.50, subsection 1, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  A township budget as finally adopted for the following fiscal year becomes effective July 1. A township budget for the current fiscal year may be amended, with the approval of the board of supervisors, for any of the following purposes:
   a.  To permit the expenditure of unexpended, unencumbered cash balances on hand at the end of the preceding fiscal year which that had not been anticipated in the budget.
   b.  To permit the expenditure of amounts anticipated to be available from sources other than property taxation, and which that had not been anticipated in the budget.
    Sec. 46.  Section 359A.2, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   359A.2  Trimming and cutting back.
   If said fence be hedge, the owner thereof shall trim or cut it back twice during each calendar year, the first time during the month of June and the last time during the month of September, to within five feet from the ground, unless such owners otherwise agree in writing to be filed with and recorded by the township clerk county recorder.
    Sec. 47.  Section 359A.2A, subsections 1 and 4, Code 2026, are amended to read as follows:
   1.  The trustees of the township where a controversy arises under this chapter shall serve as fence viewers The county board of supervisors shall appoint three township trustees from the county to serve three-year terms as fence viewers. A fence viewer’s term shall terminate if the person’s term as a township trustee ends and the person is not reappointed to continue serving as a township trustee. No two appointees shall be a resident of the same township. The fence viewers shall have authority to hear and decide all questions related to matters that are part of the controversy as provided in this chapter. 
   4.  Upon the disqualification of the a fence viewer, the remaining trustees county board of supervisors shall appoint a qualified substitute fence viewer to decide each question related to a matter in controversy. If a trustee fence viewer is not remaining, the township clerk county board of supervisors shall appoint three qualified substitute fence viewers to decide each question related to a matter in controversy. However, this subsection does not apply if the township clerk board of supervisors selects a fence viewer as provided in section 359A.14.
    Sec. 48.  Section 359A.2A, subsection 2, paragraph b, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   b.  A fence viewer who has a conflict of interest in deciding a question related to a matter that is part of the controversy is disqualified from participating in the matter. The disqualification shall be made by the election of the fence viewer or unanimous vote of the fence viewers who do not have a conflict of interest in the matter. However, if three or more fence viewers do not have a conflict of interest in the matter, the disqualification shall be made by a majority vote of those fence viewers.
    Sec. 49.  Section 359A.6, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   359A.6  Default —— costs and fees collected.
   If the erecting, rebuilding, or repairing of a fence is not completed within thirty days from and after the time fixed in the order issued under section 359A.4, the board of township trustees acting as fence viewers county board of supervisors shall cause the fence to be erected, rebuilt, and repaired, and the value thereof may be fixed by the fence viewers.  The board of supervisors shall determine fees of the fence viewers. Unless the sum so fixed, together with all fees of the fence viewers caused by the default, is paid to the county treasurer, within ten days after the full amount due is ascertained, or when ordered to pay for an existing fence, and the value thereof is fixed by the fence viewers, and the sum, together with the fees of the fence viewers, remains unpaid by the party in default for ten days, the fence viewers shall certify to the county treasurer the full amount due from the party or parties in default, including all fees and costs assessed by the fence viewers, together with a description of the real estate owned by the party or parties in default along or upon which the said fence exists. The county treasurer shall enter the full amount due upon the county system, and the amount shall be collected in the same manner as ordinary taxes. Upon certification to the county treasurer, the amount assessed shall be a lien on the parcel until paid.
    Sec. 50.  Section 359A.8, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   359A.8  Orders.
   All orders and decisions made by the fence viewers shall be in writing, signed by at least two of them, and filed with the township clerk county recorder.  The county recorder shall not collect fees under this section.
    Sec. 51.  Section 359A.10, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   359A.10  Entry and record of orders.
   Such orders, decisions, notices, and returns shall be entered of record at length by the relevant township clerk secretary, and a copy thereof certified by the relevant township clerk secretary to the county recorder, who shall record the same in the recorder’s office in the manner specified in sections 558.49 and 558.52, and index such record in the name of each adjoining owner as grantor to the other. The county recorder shall collect fees specified in section 331.604.
    Sec. 52.  Section 359A.14, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   359A.14  Lands in different townships counties.
   When the adjoining lands are situated in different townships in the same or different counties, the clerk of the township board of supervisors of the county of the owner making the application shall select two trustees of the clerk’s township as three fence viewers from its county, and the clerk of the other township one board of supervisors of the other county shall select two fence viewers from that clerk’s township county, who shall possess, in such case, all the powers given to fence viewers in this chapter, but all orders, notices, and valuations and taxation of costs made by them must be recorded in both townships and in the office of the recorder of deeds of each county.
    Sec. 53.  Section 359A.23, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   359A.23  Appeal.
   Any person affected by an order or decision of the fence viewers may appeal to the district court by filing with the clerk of said court a notice of appeal within twenty days after the rendition of the order or decision appealed from and filing an appeal bond in an amount approved by the township clerk board of supervisors. The relevant township clerk secretary, after recording the original papers, shall thereupon file them in the office of the clerk of the district court, certifying them to be such, and the clerk shall docket them, entitling the applicant or petitioner as plaintiff, and it shall stand for trial as other cases.
    Sec. 54.  Section 359A.25, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   359A.25  Record kept —— fees of clerk secretary.
   The township clerk secretary shall enter all matters herein required to be made of record in the clerk’s township’s record book, and shall receive ten cents for each one hundred words in entering of record and making certified copies of the matters herein provided for, and twenty-five cents additional for the clerk’s secretary’s certificate thereto when required, and shall also receive the costs of recording in the office of the recorder of deeds of any instrument required to be so recorded.
    Sec. 55.  REPEAL.  Sections 39.22, 64.12, 359.10, 359.12, 359.13, and 359.47, Code 2026, are repealed.
    Sec. 56.  REPEAL.  Chapter 360, Code 2026, is repealed.
    Sec. 57.  TRANSITION —— ELECTED TOWNSHIP OFFICIALS.  The term of all elected township officials in all townships in this state shall terminate on January 1, 2027. A person serving as a township trustee or township clerk pursuant to chapter 359, Code 2026, may continue serving in that role until January 1, 2027.
    Sec. 58.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
    Sec. 59.  APPLICABILITY.  The following apply July 1, 2026, to the adoption, certification, and amendment of township budgets for fiscal years beginning on and after July 1, 2027:
   1.  The section of this Act enacting section 359.49, subsection 1A.
   2.  The section of this Act amending section 359.49, subsections 3, 5, and 7.
   3.  The section of this Act amending section 359.50, subsection 1.
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 township boards of trustees, including the appointment and duties of township officers and township budgets.
   Under current law, the county board of supervisors is responsible for dividing each county into townships. Townships in Iowa have a board of township trustees that is typically composed of three members who are registered voters of the township. A board of trustees for a township with a taxable valuation for property tax purposes of $250 million or more consists of five registered voters of the township. The township trustees act as fence viewers for the township and perform other duties assigned by law, including funding and maintaining pioneer cemeteries, fire protection services, and emergency medical services, and serving as the township animal board of health. Township trustees are elected to serve four-year terms. A board of trustees is supported by a township clerk, who is elected to serve a four-year term.
   The bill eliminates township trustees as an elected position and instead requires the board of supervisors to appoint three registered voters in each township to serve a three-year term on the board of trustees. The bill eliminates the role of township clerk and instead requires the township trustees to select one of the trustees to serve a one-year term as the secretary, who shall perform many of the duties assigned to a township clerk under current law.
   The bill requires the board of supervisors to appoint three township trustees in the county to serve as countywide fence viewers and, by operation of law, as a countywide animal board of health. The bill disqualifies a fence viewer with a conflict of interest from participating in a matter without, as provided in current law, requiring a vote of the other fence viewers on whether to disqualify the fence viewer with a conflict of interest. When a matter arises involving land located in two different counties, the bill requires the board of supervisors of the county of the owner making the application to select three fence viewers and the board of supervisors from the other county to select two fence viewers, who together shall perform all duties of the fence viewers.
   A board of township trustees is responsible for adopting and certifying a township budget. Prior to adoption and certification of the budget, the bill requires the board of township trustees to provide the proposed budget to the board of supervisors for approval. The board of supervisors must accept or reject the proposed budget with recommended changes in a timely manner so as to not delay the duties of the board of township trustees in adopting a budget and certifying taxes by the deadlines provided in Code section 359.49. The bill requires a board of township trustees to obtain the approval of the board of supervisors prior to amending an adopted budget. The bill’s provisions relating to the township budget process apply to the adoption, certification, and amendment of township budgets for fiscal years beginning on and after July 1, 2027.
   The bill repeals Code chapter 360, which governs the building or acquisition of public halls to serve as township halls.
   The bill terminates the term of all elected township officials in all townships in this state on January 1, 2027. A person serving as a township trustee or township clerk pursuant to current law may continue serving in that role until January 1, 2027.
   Under current law, each employee whose employment commences after July 4, 1953, or any publicly elected official of the state or any of its political subdivisions shall become a member of the Iowa public employees’ retirement system (IPERS) upon the first day in which such employee is employed. The term “employee” includes elective officials of townships. The bill removes elective officials of townships from the definition of “employee” for purposes of IPERS.
   Current law authorizes IPERS to enter into an agreement with the federal security administration or its successor (currently the United States social security administration) for the purpose of extending the benefits of the federal old-age and survivors’ insurance system to employees of the state or any political subdivision thereof with respect to services specified in such agreement that constitute “employment”. The agreement must provide that benefits will be provided for employees whose services are covered by the agreement, and their dependents and survivors, on the same basis as though such services constituted employment within the meaning of Tit. II of the federal Social Security Act, and the state will pay to the secretary of the treasury contributions with respect to wages. All services that constitute employment and are performed in the employ of the state, or any political subdivision, by employees of the state, or of any political subdivision, shall be covered by the agreement. The term “employee” includes elective and appointive officials of the state or any political subdivision thereof, except elective officials in positions, the compensation for which is on a fee basis, elective officials of school districts, elective officials of townships, and elective officials of other political subdivisions who are in part-time positions. The bill provides that the term “employee” includes elective and appointive officials of the state or any political subdivision thereof, except elective officials in positions, the compensation for which is on a fee basis, elective officials of school districts, and elective officials of other political subdivisions who are in part-time positions. Current law provides that the term “political subdivision” includes an instrumentality of the state of Iowa, of one or more of its political subdivisions, or of the state and one or more of its political subdivisions, but only if such instrumentality is a juristic entity that is legally separate and distinct from the state or subdivision and only if its employees are not by virtue of their relation to such juristic entity employees of the state or subdivisions.