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Senate File 49 - IntroducedA Bill ForAn Act 1requiring county and city property assessors to stand
2for retention at election and including applicability
3provisions.
4BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 39.19 Retention of county assessor
2at election.
3At each general election for the election of county officers
4listed in section 39.17, subsection 2, the county assessor
5shall stand for retention as provided in section 441.9A.
6 Sec. 2. Section 441.5, subsections 5, 6, and 8, Code 2019,
7are amended to read as follows:
85. The director of revenue shall grade the examination
9taken. The director shall notify each applicant of the score
10attained by the applicant on the examination. An individual
11who attains a score of seventy percent or greater on the
12examination is eligible to be certified by the director of
13revenue as a candidate for any assessor position. Any person
14who passes the examination and who possesses at least two
15years of appraisal related experience as determined by the
16director of revenue shall be granted regular certification and
17become eligible for appointment to a six-year four-year term as
18assessor. Any person who passes the examination but who lacks
19such experience shall be granted temporary certification, and
20shall be eligible for a provisional appointment as assessor.
216. Any person possessing temporary certification who
22receives a provisional appointment as assessor shall, during
23the person’s first eighteen months in office, be required to
24complete a course of study prescribed and administered by
25the director of revenue. Upon the successful completion of
26this course of study, the assessor shall be granted regular
27certification and shall be eligible to remain in office for
28the balance of the assessor’s six-year four-year term. All
29expenses incurred in obtaining regular certification shall be
30defrayed by the assessment expense fund.
318. Incumbent assessors who have served six four consecutive
32years shall be placed on the register of individuals eligible
33for appointment as assessor. In order to be appointed to
34the position of assessor, the assessor shall comply with the
35continuing education requirements. The number of credits
-1-1required for certification as eligible for appointment as
2assessor in a jurisdiction other than where the assessor
3is currently serving shall be prorated according to the
4percentage of the assessor’s term which is covered by the
5continuing education requirements of section 441.8. The
6credit necessary for certification for appointment is the
7product of one hundred fifty multiplied by the quotient of the
8number of months served of an assessor’s term covered by the
9continuing education requirements of section 441.8 divided by
10seventy-two forty-eight. If the number of credits necessary
11for certification for appointment as determined under this
12subsection results in a partial credit hour, the credit hour
13shall be rounded to the nearest whole number.
14 Sec. 3. Section 441.8, subsections 1, 4, 5, and 7, Code
152019, are amended to read as follows:
161. The term of office of an assessor appointed under
17this chapter shall be for six four years. Appointments for
18each succeeding term shall be made in the same manner as
19the original appointment except that not less than At least
20 ninety days before the expiration of the term of the retention
21election for the county or city assessor under section 441.9A
22or 441.9B, the conference board shall hold a meeting to
23determine whether or not it desires to reappoint the board
24approves of having an incumbent assessor to a new term, in
25the last year of the assessor’s term, stand for retention.
26The conference board shall have the power to reappoint the
27 approve of an incumbent assessor standing for retention only
28if the incumbent assessor has satisfactorily completed the
29continuing education program provided for in this section. If
30the decision is made not to reappoint approve of the assessor
31standing for retention, the assessor shall be notified, in
32writing, of such decision not less than ninety days prior to
33the expiration of the assessor’s term of office retention
34election. Failure of If the conference board to does not
35 provide timely notification of the board’s decision, not to
-2-1reappoint the assessor shall result in the assessor being
2reappointed be eligible to stand for retention.
34. Upon receiving credit equal to one hundred fifty hours
4of classroom instruction during the assessor’s current term of
5office of which at least ninety sixty of the one hundred fifty
6 hours are from courses requiring an examination upon conclusion
7of the course, the director of revenue shall certify to the
8assessor’s conference board that the assessor is eligible to
9be reappointed to the position. For persons appointed to
10complete an unexpired term, the number of credits required to
11be certified as eligible for reappointment shall be prorated
12according to the amount of time remaining in the present term
13of the assessor. If the person was an assessor in another
14jurisdiction, the assessor may carry forward any credit hours
15received in the previous position in excess of the number that
16would be necessary to be considered current in that position.
17Upon written request by the person seeking a waiver of the
18continuing education requirements, the director may waive the
19continuing education requirements if the director determines
20good cause exists for the waiver.
215. Within each six-year four-year period following the
22appointment of a deputy assessor, the deputy assessor shall
23comply with this section except that upon the successful
24completion of ninety sixty hours of classroom instruction
25of which at least sixty forty of the ninety sixty hours are
26from courses requiring an examination upon conclusion of the
27course, the deputy assessor shall be certified by the director
28of revenue as being eligible to remain in the position. If a
29deputy assessor fails to comply with this section, the deputy
30assessor shall be removed from the position until successful
31completion of the required hours of credit. If a deputy is
32appointed to the office of assessor, the hours of credit
33obtained as deputy pursuant to this section shall be credited
34to that individual as assessor and for the individual to be
35reappointed at the expiration of the term as assessor, that
-3-1individual must obtain the credits which are necessary to total
2the number of hours for reappointment. Upon written request
3by the person seeking a waiver of the continuing education
4requirements, the director may waive the continuing education
5requirements if the director determines good cause exists for
6the waiver.
77. a. If the incumbent assessor is not reappointed as
8provided in this section, then not less than sixty days before
9the expiration of the term of said assessor, a new assessor
10shall be selected as provided in section 441.6.
11b. If an assessor is not retained at an election, as
12provided for in section 441.9A or 441.9B, then the conference
13board of that county or city shall not reappoint that person to
14the position of assessor for the subsequent term of office and
15shall select a new assessor as provided in section 441.6.
16 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION. 441.9A Retention of county assessor.
171. At least sixty-nine days before the general election
18described in section 39.19, a county assessor receiving
19approval pursuant to section 441.8, subsection 1, may file
20a declaration of candidacy with the appropriate county
21commissioner of elections to stand for retention at that
22election. If a county assessor fails to file the declaration,
23a vacancy shall exist in the office at the end of the term.
242. The name of a county assessor to be voted on shall be
25placed upon one ballot after all other county offices, and
26shall be in substantially the following form:
27COUNTY ASSESSOR
28VOTE BY MARKING THE APPROPRIATE VOTING TARGET.
29Shall the following county assessor be retained in office?
30CANDIDATE’S NAMEYES NO
313. A county assessor must receive more affirmative than
32negative votes to be retained in office. If the county
33assessor is not retained in office, a vacancy shall exist in
34the office at the end of the term.
354. Terms of office for a county assessor shall begin and
-4-1end at noon on the first day in January which is not a Sunday
2or legal holiday, following the general election described in
3section 39.19.
4 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION. 441.9B Retention of city assessor.
51. At least sixty-nine days before the regular city election
6held pursuant to section 376.1 in the year 2021 and every four
7years thereafter, a city assessor receiving approval pursuant
8to section 441.8, subsection 1, may file a declaration of
9candidacy as provided for other city candidates under section
10376.4 to stand for retention at that election. If a city
11assessor fails to file the declaration, a vacancy shall exist
12in the office at the end of the term.
132. The name of a city assessor to be voted on shall be
14placed upon one ballot after all other city offices, and shall
15be in substantially the following form:
16CITY ASSESSOR
17VOTE BY MARKING THE APPROPRIATE VOTING TARGET.
18Shall the following city assessor be retained in office?
19CANDIDATE’S NAMEYES NO
203. A city assessor must receive more affirmative than
21negative votes to be retained in office. If the city assessor
22is not retained in office, a vacancy shall exist in the office
23at the end of the term.
24 Sec. 6. Section 441.10, subsection 4, Code 2019, is amended
25to read as follows:
264. Incumbent deputy assessors who have served six
27 four consecutive years shall be placed on the register of
28individuals eligible for appointment as deputy assessor. In
29order to be appointed to the position of deputy assessor,
30the deputy assessor shall comply with the continuing
31education requirements. The number of credits required
32for certification as eligible for appointment as a deputy
33assessor in a jurisdiction other than where the deputy assessor
34is currently serving shall be prorated according to the
35percentage of the deputy assessor’s term which is covered by
-5-1the continuing education requirements of section 441.8. The
2credit necessary for certification for appointment is the
3product of ninety multiplied by the quotient of the number
4of months served of a deputy assessor’s term covered by the
5continuing education requirements of section 441.8 divided by
6seventy-two forty-eight. If the number of credits necessary
7for certification for appointment as determined under this
8subsection results in a partial credit hour, the credit hour
9shall be rounded to the nearest whole number.
10 Sec. 7. Section 441.11, Code 2019, is amended to read as
11follows:
12441.11 Incumbent deputy assessors.
13A deputy assessor shall be considered eligible to remain in
14the deputy’s present position provided continuing education
15requirements are met. To become eligible for another deputy
16assessor position, a deputy assessor presently holding office
17is required to obtain certification as provided for in sections
18441.5 and 441.10. The number of credit hours required for
19certification as eligible for appointment as a deputy in a
20jurisdiction other than where the deputy is currently serving
21shall be prorated according to the completed portion of the
22deputy’s six-year four-year continuing education period.
23 Sec. 8. APPLICABILITY. This Act applies to the office of
24county assessor beginning with the general election in November
252020 and to the office of city assessor beginning with the
26regular city election in November 2021.
27EXPLANATION
28The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
29the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
30This bill requires that county and city property assessors
31stand for retention at the general election or regular city
32election every four years.
33Under the bill, county assessors may stand for retention at
34the 2020 general election and every four years thereafter, and
35city assessors may stand for retention at the 2021 regular city
-6-1election and every four years thereafter.
2Under current law, an assessor serves a term of six years
3and is required to complete certain continuing education
4requirements during the term of office. Under the bill,
5the terms of assessors are reduced to four years, and the
6continuing education requirements are reduced proportionally.
7Under current law, a county or city conference board
8provides for the appointment and reappointment of county and
9city assessors, respectively. Under the bill, an assessor
10is only permitted to stand for retention at an election upon
11receiving the approval of the conference board.
12The bill makes corresponding changes related to the terms of
13office for deputy assessors.
14The bill applies to the office of county assessor beginning
15with the general election in November 2020 and to the office
16of city assessor beginning with the regular city election in
17November 2021.
-7-ss/jh
2for retention at election and including applicability
3provisions.
4BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 39.19 Retention of county assessor
2at election.
3At each general election for the election of county officers
4listed in section 39.17, subsection 2, the county assessor
5shall stand for retention as provided in section 441.9A.
6 Sec. 2. Section 441.5, subsections 5, 6, and 8, Code 2019,
7are amended to read as follows:
85. The director of revenue shall grade the examination
9taken. The director shall notify each applicant of the score
10attained by the applicant on the examination. An individual
11who attains a score of seventy percent or greater on the
12examination is eligible to be certified by the director of
13revenue as a candidate for any assessor position. Any person
14who passes the examination and who possesses at least two
15years of appraisal related experience as determined by the
16director of revenue shall be granted regular certification and
17become eligible for appointment to a six-year four-year term as
18assessor. Any person who passes the examination but who lacks
19such experience shall be granted temporary certification, and
20shall be eligible for a provisional appointment as assessor.
216. Any person possessing temporary certification who
22receives a provisional appointment as assessor shall, during
23the person’s first eighteen months in office, be required to
24complete a course of study prescribed and administered by
25the director of revenue. Upon the successful completion of
26this course of study, the assessor shall be granted regular
27certification and shall be eligible to remain in office for
28the balance of the assessor’s six-year four-year term. All
29expenses incurred in obtaining regular certification shall be
30defrayed by the assessment expense fund.
318. Incumbent assessors who have served six four consecutive
32years shall be placed on the register of individuals eligible
33for appointment as assessor. In order to be appointed to
34the position of assessor, the assessor shall comply with the
35continuing education requirements. The number of credits
-1-1required for certification as eligible for appointment as
2assessor in a jurisdiction other than where the assessor
3is currently serving shall be prorated according to the
4percentage of the assessor’s term which is covered by the
5continuing education requirements of section 441.8. The
6credit necessary for certification for appointment is the
7product of one hundred fifty multiplied by the quotient of the
8number of months served of an assessor’s term covered by the
9continuing education requirements of section 441.8 divided by
10seventy-two forty-eight. If the number of credits necessary
11for certification for appointment as determined under this
12subsection results in a partial credit hour, the credit hour
13shall be rounded to the nearest whole number.
14 Sec. 3. Section 441.8, subsections 1, 4, 5, and 7, Code
152019, are amended to read as follows:
161. The term of office of an assessor appointed under
17this chapter shall be for six four years. Appointments for
18each succeeding term shall be made in the same manner as
19the original appointment except that not less than At least
20 ninety days before the expiration of the term of the retention
21election for the county or city assessor under section 441.9A
22or 441.9B, the conference board shall hold a meeting to
23determine whether or not it desires to reappoint the board
24approves of having an incumbent assessor to a new term, in
25the last year of the assessor’s term, stand for retention.
26The conference board shall have the power to reappoint the
27 approve of an incumbent assessor standing for retention only
28if the incumbent assessor has satisfactorily completed the
29continuing education program provided for in this section. If
30the decision is made not to reappoint approve of the assessor
31standing for retention, the assessor shall be notified, in
32writing, of such decision not less than ninety days prior to
33the expiration of the assessor’s term of office retention
34election. Failure of If the conference board to does not
35 provide timely notification of the board’s decision, not to
-2-1reappoint the assessor shall result in the assessor being
2reappointed be eligible to stand for retention.
34. Upon receiving credit equal to one hundred fifty hours
4of classroom instruction during the assessor’s current term of
5office of which at least ninety sixty of the one hundred fifty
6 hours are from courses requiring an examination upon conclusion
7of the course, the director of revenue shall certify to the
8assessor’s conference board that the assessor is eligible to
9be reappointed to the position. For persons appointed to
10complete an unexpired term, the number of credits required to
11be certified as eligible for reappointment shall be prorated
12according to the amount of time remaining in the present term
13of the assessor. If the person was an assessor in another
14jurisdiction, the assessor may carry forward any credit hours
15received in the previous position in excess of the number that
16would be necessary to be considered current in that position.
17Upon written request by the person seeking a waiver of the
18continuing education requirements, the director may waive the
19continuing education requirements if the director determines
20good cause exists for the waiver.
215. Within each six-year four-year period following the
22appointment of a deputy assessor, the deputy assessor shall
23comply with this section except that upon the successful
24completion of ninety sixty hours of classroom instruction
25of which at least sixty forty of the ninety sixty hours are
26from courses requiring an examination upon conclusion of the
27course, the deputy assessor shall be certified by the director
28of revenue as being eligible to remain in the position. If a
29deputy assessor fails to comply with this section, the deputy
30assessor shall be removed from the position until successful
31completion of the required hours of credit. If a deputy is
32appointed to the office of assessor, the hours of credit
33obtained as deputy pursuant to this section shall be credited
34to that individual as assessor and for the individual to be
35reappointed at the expiration of the term as assessor, that
-3-1individual must obtain the credits which are necessary to total
2the number of hours for reappointment. Upon written request
3by the person seeking a waiver of the continuing education
4requirements, the director may waive the continuing education
5requirements if the director determines good cause exists for
6the waiver.
77. a. If the incumbent assessor is not reappointed as
8provided in this section, then not less than sixty days before
9the expiration of the term of said assessor, a new assessor
10shall be selected as provided in section 441.6.
11b. If an assessor is not retained at an election, as
12provided for in section 441.9A or 441.9B, then the conference
13board of that county or city shall not reappoint that person to
14the position of assessor for the subsequent term of office and
15shall select a new assessor as provided in section 441.6.
16 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION. 441.9A Retention of county assessor.
171. At least sixty-nine days before the general election
18described in section 39.19, a county assessor receiving
19approval pursuant to section 441.8, subsection 1, may file
20a declaration of candidacy with the appropriate county
21commissioner of elections to stand for retention at that
22election. If a county assessor fails to file the declaration,
23a vacancy shall exist in the office at the end of the term.
242. The name of a county assessor to be voted on shall be
25placed upon one ballot after all other county offices, and
26shall be in substantially the following form:
27COUNTY ASSESSOR
28VOTE BY MARKING THE APPROPRIATE VOTING TARGET.
29Shall the following county assessor be retained in office?
30CANDIDATE’S NAMEYES NO
313. A county assessor must receive more affirmative than
32negative votes to be retained in office. If the county
33assessor is not retained in office, a vacancy shall exist in
34the office at the end of the term.
354. Terms of office for a county assessor shall begin and
-4-1end at noon on the first day in January which is not a Sunday
2or legal holiday, following the general election described in
3section 39.19.
4 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION. 441.9B Retention of city assessor.
51. At least sixty-nine days before the regular city election
6held pursuant to section 376.1 in the year 2021 and every four
7years thereafter, a city assessor receiving approval pursuant
8to section 441.8, subsection 1, may file a declaration of
9candidacy as provided for other city candidates under section
10376.4 to stand for retention at that election. If a city
11assessor fails to file the declaration, a vacancy shall exist
12in the office at the end of the term.
132. The name of a city assessor to be voted on shall be
14placed upon one ballot after all other city offices, and shall
15be in substantially the following form:
16CITY ASSESSOR
17VOTE BY MARKING THE APPROPRIATE VOTING TARGET.
18Shall the following city assessor be retained in office?
19CANDIDATE’S NAMEYES NO
203. A city assessor must receive more affirmative than
21negative votes to be retained in office. If the city assessor
22is not retained in office, a vacancy shall exist in the office
23at the end of the term.
24 Sec. 6. Section 441.10, subsection 4, Code 2019, is amended
25to read as follows:
264. Incumbent deputy assessors who have served six
27 four consecutive years shall be placed on the register of
28individuals eligible for appointment as deputy assessor. In
29order to be appointed to the position of deputy assessor,
30the deputy assessor shall comply with the continuing
31education requirements. The number of credits required
32for certification as eligible for appointment as a deputy
33assessor in a jurisdiction other than where the deputy assessor
34is currently serving shall be prorated according to the
35percentage of the deputy assessor’s term which is covered by
-5-1the continuing education requirements of section 441.8. The
2credit necessary for certification for appointment is the
3product of ninety multiplied by the quotient of the number
4of months served of a deputy assessor’s term covered by the
5continuing education requirements of section 441.8 divided by
6seventy-two forty-eight. If the number of credits necessary
7for certification for appointment as determined under this
8subsection results in a partial credit hour, the credit hour
9shall be rounded to the nearest whole number.
10 Sec. 7. Section 441.11, Code 2019, is amended to read as
11follows:
12441.11 Incumbent deputy assessors.
13A deputy assessor shall be considered eligible to remain in
14the deputy’s present position provided continuing education
15requirements are met. To become eligible for another deputy
16assessor position, a deputy assessor presently holding office
17is required to obtain certification as provided for in sections
18441.5 and 441.10. The number of credit hours required for
19certification as eligible for appointment as a deputy in a
20jurisdiction other than where the deputy is currently serving
21shall be prorated according to the completed portion of the
22deputy’s six-year four-year continuing education period.
23 Sec. 8. APPLICABILITY. This Act applies to the office of
24county assessor beginning with the general election in November
252020 and to the office of city assessor beginning with the
26regular city election in November 2021.
27EXPLANATION
28The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
29the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
30This bill requires that county and city property assessors
31stand for retention at the general election or regular city
32election every four years.
33Under the bill, county assessors may stand for retention at
34the 2020 general election and every four years thereafter, and
35city assessors may stand for retention at the 2021 regular city
-6-1election and every four years thereafter.
2Under current law, an assessor serves a term of six years
3and is required to complete certain continuing education
4requirements during the term of office. Under the bill,
5the terms of assessors are reduced to four years, and the
6continuing education requirements are reduced proportionally.
7Under current law, a county or city conference board
8provides for the appointment and reappointment of county and
9city assessors, respectively. Under the bill, an assessor
10is only permitted to stand for retention at an election upon
11receiving the approval of the conference board.
12The bill makes corresponding changes related to the terms of
13office for deputy assessors.
14The bill applies to the office of county assessor beginning
15with the general election in November 2020 and to the office
16of city assessor beginning with the regular city election in
17November 2021.
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