House File 2289 - Reprinted HOUSE FILE 2289 BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY (SUCCESSOR TO HF 2002) (As Amended and Passed by the House March 12, 2012 ) A BILL FOR An Act relating to the appointment of certain judicial officers 1 and the clerks of the district court. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 HF 2289 (4) 84 jm/rj

H.F. 2289 Section 1. Section 46.14, Code 2011, is amended to read as 1 follows: 2 46.14 Nomination —— residence . 3 1. Each judicial nominating commission shall carefully 4 consider the individuals available for judge, and within sixty 5 days after receiving notice of a vacancy shall certify to the 6 governor and the chief justice the proper number of nominees, 7 in alphabetical order. Such nominees shall be chosen by the 8 affirmative vote of a majority of the full statutory number 9 of commissioners upon the basis of their qualifications and 10 without regard to political affiliation. Nominees shall be 11 members of the bar of Iowa, shall be residents of the state or 12 district of the court to which they are nominated , and shall 13 be of such age that they will be able to serve an initial and 14 one regular term of office to which they are nominated before 15 reaching the age of seventy-two years. Nominees for district 16 judge shall file a certified application form, to be provided 17 by the supreme court, with the chairperson of the district 18 judicial nominating commission. Absence of a commissioner or 19 vacancy upon the commission shall not invalidate a nomination. 20 The chairperson of the commission shall promptly certify the 21 names of the nominees, in alphabetical order, to the governor 22 and the chief justice. 23 2. An applicant for district judge shall file a certified 24 application form, to be provided by the supreme court, with the 25 chairperson of the district judicial nominating commission. A 26 district judge appointee shall be a resident of the judicial 27 district before assuming office or, if the judicial district 28 is divided into judicial election districts, the appointee 29 shall be a resident of the judicial election district where the 30 nomination occurred before assuming office. 31 2. 3. A commissioner shall not be eligible for nomination 32 by the commission during the term for which the commissioner 33 was elected or appointed to that commission. A commissioner 34 shall not be eligible to vote for the nomination of a family 35 -1- HF 2289 (4) 84 jm/rj 1/ 3

H.F. 2289 member, current law partner, or current business partner. For 1 purposes of this subsection , “family member” means a spouse, 2 son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, first cousin, 3 nephew, niece, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, 4 daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, father, mother, 5 stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, 6 stepsister, half brother, or half sister. 7 Sec. 2. Section 602.1215, Subsection 1, Code 2011, is 8 amended to read as follows: 9 602.1215 Clerk of the district court. 10 1. Subject to the provisions of section 602.1209, 11 subsection 3 , the district judges of each chief judge of 12 the judicial election district , after consultation with the 13 district judges of the district, shall by majority vote appoint 14 persons to serve as clerks of the district court within the 15 judicial election district. The district judges of a judicial 16 election district chief judge may appoint a person to serve 17 as clerk of the district court for more than one but not more 18 than four contiguous counties in the same judicial district. 19 A person does not qualify for appointment to the office of 20 clerk of the district court unless the person is at the time of 21 application a resident of the state. A clerk of the district 22 court may be removed from office for cause by a majority vote 23 of the district judges of the chief judge of the judicial 24 election district. Before Prior to removal, the clerk of the 25 district court shall be notified of the cause for removal. 26 Sec. 3. Section 602.7103C, subsections 2 and 3, Code 2011, 27 are amended to read as follows: 28 2. A person does not qualify for appointment to the office 29 of full-time associate juvenile judge unless the person is 30 at the time of appointment a resident of the county judicial 31 election district in which the vacancy exists, licensed 32 to practice law in Iowa, and will be able, measured by the 33 person’s age at the time of appointment, to complete the 34 initial term of office prior to reaching age seventy-two. An 35 -2- HF 2289 (4) 84 jm/rj 2/ 3

H.F. 2289 applicant for full-time associate juvenile judge shall file 1 a certified application form, to be provided by the supreme 2 court, with the chairperson of the county magistrate appointing 3 commission. 4 3. A full-time associate juvenile judge must be a resident 5 of a county the judicial election district in which the 6 office is held during the entire term of office. A full-time 7 associate juvenile judge shall serve within the judicial 8 district in which appointed, as directed by the chief judge, 9 and is subject to reassignment under section 602.6108 . 10 -3- HF 2289 (4) 84 jm/rj 3/ 3