Fiscal Note
Fiscal Services Division
HF 281 – County Redistricting Plans (LSB1902HV)
Staff Contact: Anthony Arellano (515.281.6764) anthony.arellano@legis.iowa.gov
Fiscal Note Version – New
Description
House File 281 relates to county redistricting plans and makes the following changes:
• Requires counties with a population greater than 60,000 to use plan “three” for the election
of supervisors.
• Counties with a population of 60,000 or more based on the most recent federal decennial
census that do not use plan “three” for the election of supervisors, as of the effective date of
this Bill, are required to commence plan “three” for the election of supervisors in the 2024
general election.
• Counties shall establish a temporary county redistricting commission to adopt a
representation plan no later than 30 days after the effective date of this Bill or May 15, 2023.
The plan is to be submitted to the Secretary of State’s office no later than November 1,
2023, and will become effective January 1, 2024.
• The Bill takes effect upon enactment.
Background
Under Iowa Code section 331.206, county redistricting plans are selected by the county board
of supervisors or by special election (Iowa Code section 331.207). The three types of plans are
as follows:
• Plan “one” — At large and without district residence requirements for the members.
• Plan “two” — At large but with equal-population district residence requirements for the
members.
• Plan “three” — From single-member equal-population districts in which the electors of each
district shall elect one member who must reside in that district.
Currently, there are 10 counties with a population of 60,000 or greater that would be required to
use plan “three.” Of the 10 counties, six will be changing from plan “one” to plan “three,” two will
be changing from plan “two” to plan “three,” and two already use plan “three.”
Assumptions
Counties operating under plan “one”:
• Counties that operate under plan “one” are Scott, Johnson, Black Hawk, Dubuque, Story,
and Pottawattamie.
• These counties will experience an estimated cost between $40,000 and $80,000 per
county to conform their district plan to that of plan “three.” The estimated cost will cover
training, additional precincts, conforming ballots, and the mailing of new voter
registration cards to all eligible voters within the county.
Counties operating under plan “two”:
• Counties that operate under plan “two” are Dallas and Woodbury.
• Both counties will be required to change their concurrent ballot to be concurrent with
plan “three,” and estimated costs will be minimal.
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Counties operating under plan “three”:
• Counties that operate under plan “three” are Polk and Linn. These counties will see no
additional cost.
Fiscal Impact
For the six counties required to change from plan “one” to plan “three,” the one-time cost per
county is estimated to be between $40,000 and $80,000 for a total one-time cost between
$240,000 and $480,000 for FY 2024.
The cost for the two counties changing from plan “two” to plan “three” is anticipated to be
minimal.
Source
Iowa State Association of Counties
/s/ Jennifer Acton
March 1, 2023
Doc ID 1369290
The fiscal note for this Bill was prepared pursuant to Joint Rule 17 and the Iowa Code. Data used in developing this
fiscal note is available from the Fiscal Services Division of the Legislative Services Agency upon request.
www.legis.iowa.gov
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Statutes affected:
Introduced: 331.206, 331.207