House File 610 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE
BY JACOBY
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to the membership of the board of regents and
2 including transition provisions.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 262.1, Code 2015, is amended to read as
1 2 follows:
1 3 262.1 Membership.
1 4 The state board of regents consists of nine members, eight
1 5 of whom shall be selected from the state at large solely with
1 6 regard to their qualifications and fitness to discharge the
1 7 duties of the office elected pursuant to section 262.3. The
1 8 ninth member shall be appointed by the elected members of the
1 9 board and shall be a student enrolled on a full=time basis in
1 10 good standing at either the graduate or undergraduate level at
1 11 one of the institutions listed in section 262.7, subsection 1,
1 12 2, or 3, at the time of the member's appointment. Not more than
1 13 five members shall be of the same political party. The elected
1 14 members of the state board of regents may, by a majority vote
1 15 of those members, remove or suspend the ninth member.
1 16 Sec. 2. Section 262.2, Code 2015, is amended to read as
1 17 follows:
1 18 262.2 Appointment == term of office.
1 19 The members shall be appointed by the governor subject to
1 20 confirmation by the senate. Prior to appointing the ninth
1 21 member as specified in section 262.1, the governor shall
1 22 consult with the appropriate student body government at the
1 23 institution at which the proposed appointee is enrolled. The
1 24 term of each member of the board shall be for six years,
1 25 except as provided in section 262.3, unless the ninth member,
1 26 appointed in accordance with section 262.1, graduates or is
1 27 no longer enrolled at an institution of higher education
1 28 under the board's control, at which time the term of the
1 29 ninth member shall expire one year from the date on which the
1 30 member graduates or is no longer enrolled in an institution
1 31 of higher education under the board's control. However, if
1 32 within that year the ninth member reenrolls in any institution
1 33 of higher education under the board's control on a full=time
1 34 basis and is a student in good standing at either the graduate
1 35 or undergraduate level, the term of the ninth member shall
2 1 continue in effect. The terms of three members of the board
2 2 shall begin and expire in each odd=numbered year as provided
2 3 in section 69.19.
2 4 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 262.3 Election of certain members ==
2 5 vacancies.
2 6 1. Of the eight elective members of the board, two shall
2 7 be elected by the registered voters of each of the three
2 8 congressional districts in which is located an institution of
2 9 higher learning governed by the board, one shall be elected
2 10 from the remaining congressional district, and one shall be
2 11 elected on a statewide basis. Members of the board shall be
2 12 elected on a nonpartisan basis at the regular school election
2 13 under section 277.1 for staggered six=year terms, with terms
2 14 commencing on the first day of January that is not a Sunday or
2 15 holiday following their election. Any eligible elector who is
2 16 a resident of this state is entitled to elective membership
2 17 on the board, however a member elected by the voters of a
2 18 congressional district must be a resident of that congressional
2 19 district. A vacancy in an elected position on the board shall
2 20 be filled by the chairperson of the board for the unexpired
2 21 balance of the term as provided in section 69.12 until the next
2 22 succeeding regular election for school districts.
2 23 2. a. At each regular school election, a successor shall
2 24 be chosen for each board member whose term will expire in the
2 25 succeeding January. Nominations of candidates shall be made
2 26 by petition in accordance with chapter 45. Nominations of
2 27 candidates for the statewide elected member shall be signed by
2 28 at least three hundred eligible electors residing in the state.
2 29 Nominations of all other candidates shall be signed by at least
2 30 three hundred eligible electors residing in the congressional
2 31 district. The petition form shall be furnished by the county
2 32 commissioner of elections. Every candidate shall file with
2 33 the nomination papers an affidavit stating the candidate's
2 34 name, the candidate's residence, that the person is a candidate
2 35 and is eligible for board membership, and that if elected the
3 1 candidate will qualify for the office. The affidavit shall
3 2 also state that the candidate is aware that the candidate is
3 3 disqualified from holding office if the candidate has been
3 4 convicted of an infamous crime and the candidate's rights have
3 5 not been restored by the governor or by the president of the
3 6 United States.
3 7 b. The signed petitions shall be filed with the county
3 8 commissioner of elections not later than 5:00 p.m. on the
3 9 sixty=ninth day before the regular election held pursuant
3 10 to section 277.1. The votes for board membership shall be
3 11 canvassed in the same manner as the votes for state officers,
3 12 and the returns shall be certified to the state commissioner of
3 13 elections. A plurality is sufficient to elect members, and a
3 14 primary election for the office shall not be held.
3 15 3. As used in this section, "congressional district"
3 16 means those districts established following the 2010 federal
3 17 decennial census.
3 18 Sec. 4. REPEAL. Sections 262.4, 262.5, and 262.6, Code
3 19 2015, are repealed.
3 20 Sec. 5. TRANSITION PROVISIONS.
3 21 1. Membership terms of all regents board members on the
3 22 effective date of this Act shall expire on December 31, 2017.
3 23 2. a. At the regular election for school districts to be
3 24 held in 2017, and at the regular election for school districts
3 25 immediately preceding the expiration of the member's term, one
3 26 member each shall be elected as follows:
3 27 (1) Statewide, for a full term.
3 28 (2) By the registered voters of the third congressional
3 29 district, for a full term.
3 30 (3) By the registered voters of the first congressional
3 31 district, for an initial four=year term.
3 32 (4) By the registered voters of the second congressional
3 33 district, for an initial four=year term.
3 34 (5) By the registered voters of the fourth congressional
3 35 district, for an initial four=year term.
4 1 (6) By the registered voters of the first congressional
4 2 district, for an initial two=year term.
4 3 (7) By the registered voters of the second congressional
4 4 district, for an initial two=year term.
4 5 (8) By the registered voters of the fourth congressional
4 6 district, for an initial two=year term.
4 7 EXPLANATION
4 8 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
4 9 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
4 10 This bill relates to the membership of the board of regents.
4 11 Under current law, there are nine members of the board of
4 12 regents (board) with one student member and with all members
4 13 being appointed by the governor, subject to confirmation by the
4 14 senate.
4 15 The bill requires that eight members of the board be elected
4 16 on a nonpartisan basis at the regular school election and
4 17 requires that a ninth member be a student appointed by the
4 18 elective members of the board. The bill requires that one
4 19 elective member be elected statewide and that one elective
4 20 member be elected by the third congressional district. The
4 21 bill also requires that two members be elected by each of the
4 22 other three congressional districts, in which are located an
4 23 institution of higher learning governed by the board. The bill
4 24 requires that board member terms are staggered.
4 25 The bill requires that a member of the board be an eligible
4 26 elector of the state and requires that a member elected by
4 27 the voters of a congressional district be a resident of that
4 28 congressional district. The bill provides that filling a
4 29 vacancy in elective membership on the board shall be conducted
4 30 in accordance with current Code section 69.12. The bill
4 31 also establishes elections administration provisions for the
4 32 nomination and election of board members.
4 33 The bill provides transition provisions for the regular
4 34 election for school districts scheduled for 2017.
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