Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

House File 728 - Introduced
                                  HOUSE FILE 728
                                  BY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  (SUCCESSOR TO HSB 250)
                                  (COMPANION TO SF 563 BY
                                   COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS)
                            A BILL FOR
An Act relating to the judicial branch, including
  appropriations to the judicial branch, apportionment of
  district associate judges, video recordings, noncontract
  attorney appointment, and contracting authority.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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                            DIVISION I
                   FY 2023-2024 APPROPRIATIONS
    Section 1. JUDICIAL BRANCH.
    1. There is appropriated from the general fund of the state
 to the judicial branch for the fiscal year beginning July 1,
 2023, and ending June 30, 2024, the following amounts, or so
 much thereof as is necessary, to be used for the purposes
 designated:
    a. For salaries of supreme court justices, appellate court
 judges, district court judges, district associate judges,
 associate juvenile judges, associate probate judges, judicial
 magistrates and staff, state court administrator, clerk of
 the supreme court, district court administrators, clerks of
 the district court, juvenile court officers, board of law
 examiners, board of examiners of shorthand reporters, and
 commission on judicial qualifications; receipt and disbursement
 of child support payments; reimbursement of the auditor
 of state for expenses incurred in completing audits of the
 offices of the clerks of the district court during the fiscal
 year beginning July 1, 2023; and maintenance, equipment, and
 miscellaneous purposes:
 .................................................. $193,350,550
   Of the moneys appropriated in this lettered paragraph, no
 more than $250,000 is allocated for reimbursement to the
 indigent defense fund created in section 815.11 for travel
 time claims as required under section 815.7A, subsection 2, if
 enacted by 2023 Iowa Acts, Senate File 562 or House Study Bill
 251, or successor legislation.
    b. For deposit in the revolving fund created pursuant to
 section 602.1302, subsection 3, for jury and witness fees,
 mileage, costs related to summoning jurors, costs and fees for
 interpreters and translators, and reimbursement of attorney
 fees paid by the state public defender:
 .................................................. $ 3,600,000
    c. For payment of expenses for court-ordered services
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 provided to juveniles who are under the supervision of juvenile
 court services, which expenses are a charge upon the state
 pursuant to section 232.141, subsection 4:
 .................................................. $ 3,290,000
    (1) Of the moneys appropriated in this lettered paragraph,
 no more than $1,556,000 is allocated to provide school-based
 supervision of children under chapter 232, of which no more
 than $15,000 may be used for purposes of training. A portion
 of the cost of each school-based liaison officer shall be paid
 by the school district or other funding source as approved by
 the chief juvenile court officer.
    (2) Of the moneys appropriated in this lettered paragraph,
 no more than $748,000 is allocated for the payment of expenses
 for court-ordered services provided to children who are under
 the supervision of the department of health and human services,
 which expenses are a charge upon the state pursuant to section
 232.141, subsection 4.
    (3) Notwithstanding section 232.141 or any other provision
 of law to the contrary, the moneys appropriated in this
 lettered paragraph shall be distributed to the judicial
 districts as determined by the state court administrator. The
 state court administrator shall make the determination of the
 distribution amounts on or before June 15, 2023.
    (4) Notwithstanding chapter 232 or any other provision of
 law to the contrary, a district or juvenile court shall not
 order any service which is a charge upon the state pursuant
 to section 232.141 if there are insufficient court-ordered
 services moneys available in the district court distribution
 amounts to pay for the service. The chief juvenile court
 officer shall encourage use of the moneys appropriated in this
 lettered paragraph such that there are sufficient moneys to pay
 for all court-ordered services during the entire fiscal year.
 The chief juvenile court officer shall attempt to anticipate
 potential surpluses and shortfalls in the distribution amounts
 and shall cooperatively request the state court administrator
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 to transfer moneys between the judicial districts’ distribution
 amounts as prudent.
    (5) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary,
 a district or juvenile court shall not order a county to pay
 for any service provided to a juvenile pursuant to an order
 entered under chapter 232 which is a charge upon the state
 under section 232.141, subsection 4.
    (6) Of the moneys appropriated in this lettered paragraph,
 no more than $83,000 may be used by the judicial branch
 for administration of the requirements under this lettered
 paragraph.
    (7) Of the moneys appropriated in this lettered paragraph,
 $23,000 is allocated to the judicial branch to support the
 interstate commission for juveniles in accordance with the
 interstate compact for juveniles as provided in section
 232.173.
    d. For juvenile justice delinquency prevention pursuant to
 section 232.192, if enacted by 2023 Iowa Acts, Senate File 285
 or House File 699, or if not enacted, for juvenile delinquent
 graduated sanctions services pursuant to section 232.192, as
 enacted by 2022 Iowa Acts, chapter 1098, section 70:
 .................................................. $ 12,253,000
    Any state moneys saved as a result of efforts by juvenile
 court services to earn a federal fund match pursuant to Tit.
 IV-E of the federal Family First Prevention Services Act
 of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-123, for juvenile court services
 administration is appropriated to the judicial branch for
 purposes of this lettered paragraph.
    2. The judicial branch, except for purposes of internal
 processing, shall use the current state budget system, the
 state payroll system, and the Iowa finance and accounting
 system in administration of programs and payments for services,
 and shall not duplicate the state payroll, accounting, and
 budgeting systems.
    3. The judicial branch shall submit monthly financial
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 statements to the legislative services agency and the
 department of management containing all appropriated accounts
 in the same manner as provided in the monthly financial status
 reports and personal services usage reports of the department
 of administrative services. The monthly financial statements
 shall include a comparison of the dollars and percentage
 spent of budgeted versus actual revenues and expenditures on
 a cumulative basis for full-time equivalent positions and
 dollars.
    4. The judicial branch shall focus efforts upon the
 collection of delinquent fines, penalties, court costs, fees,
 surcharges, or similar amounts.
    5. It is the intent of the general assembly that the offices
 of the clerks of the district court operate in all 99 counties
 and be accessible to the public as much as is reasonably
 possible in order to address the relative needs of the citizens
 of each county. An office of the clerk of the district court
 shall be open regular courthouse hours.
    6. In addition to the requirements for transfers under
 section 8.39, the judicial branch shall not change the
 appropriations from the amounts appropriated to the judicial
 branch in this division of this Act, unless notice of the
 revisions is given to the legislative services agency prior
 to the effective date. The notice shall include information
 on the judicial branch’s rationale for making the changes and
 details concerning the workload and performance measures upon
 which the changes are based.
    7. The judicial branch shall submit a semiannual update
 to the legislative services agency specifying the amounts of
 fines, surcharges, and court costs collected using the Iowa
 court information system since the last report. The judicial
 branch shall continue to facilitate the sharing of vital
 sentencing and other information with other state departments
 and governmental agencies involved in the criminal justice
 system through the Iowa court information system.
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    8. The judicial branch shall provide a report to the general
 assembly by January 1, 2024, concerning the amounts received
 and expended from the court technology and modernization fund
 created in section 602.8108, subsection 7, during the fiscal
 year beginning July 1, 2022, and ending June 30, 2023, and the
 plans for expenditures from each fund during the fiscal year
 beginning July 1, 2023, and ending June 30, 2024.
    Sec. 2. CIVIL TRIALS —— LOCATION. Notwithstanding any
 provision to the contrary, for the fiscal year beginning July
 1, 2023, and ending June 30, 2024, if all parties in a case
 agree, a civil trial including a jury trial may take place in a
 county contiguous to the county with proper jurisdiction, even
 if the contiguous county is located in an adjacent judicial
 district or judicial election district. If the trial is moved
 pursuant to this section, court personnel shall treat the case
 as if a change of venue occurred.
    Sec. 3. TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT. Notwithstanding section
 602.1509, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2023, and
 ending June 30, 2024, a judicial officer may waive travel
 reimbursement for any travel outside the judicial officer’s
 county of residence to conduct official judicial business.
    Sec. 4. JUDICIAL OFFICER —— UNPAID LEAVE. Notwithstanding
 the annual salary rates for judicial officers established by
 2022 Iowa Acts, chapter 1145, section 6, for the fiscal year
 beginning July 1, 2023, and ending June 30, 2024, the supreme
 court may by order place all judicial officers on unpaid leave
 status on any day employees of the judicial branch are placed
 on temporary layoff status. The biweekly pay of the judicial
 officers shall be reduced accordingly for the pay period in
 which the unpaid leave date occurred in the same manner as
 for noncontract employees of the judicial branch. Through
 the course of the fiscal year, the judicial branch may use an
 amount equal to the aggregate amount of salary reductions due
 to the judicial officer unpaid leave days for any purpose other
 than for judicial salaries.
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    Sec. 5. IOWA COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. It is the intent
 of the general assembly that the judicial branch utilize
 the Iowa communications network or other secure electronic
 communications in lieu of traveling for the fiscal year
 beginning July 1, 2023, and ending June 30, 2024.
                            DIVISION II
            APPORTIONMENT OF DISTRICT ASSOCIATE JUDGES
    Sec. 6. Section 602.6301, Code 2023, is amended to read as
 follows:
    602.6301 Number and apportionment of district associate
 judges.
    1. There shall be one district associate judge in counties
 having a population of more than thirty-five thousand and less
 than eighty thousand; two in counties having a population of
 eighty thousand or more and less than one hundred twenty-five
 thousand; three in counties having a population of one
 hundred twenty-five thousand or more and less than one hundred
 seventy thousand; four in counties having a population of one
 hundred seventy thousand or more and less than two hundred
 fifteen thousand; five in counties having a population of two
 hundred fifteen thousand or more and less than two hundred
 sixty thousand; six in counties having a population of two
 hundred sixty thousand or more and less than three hundred
 five thousand; seven in counties having a population of three
 hundred five thousand or more and less than three hundred
 fifty thousand; eight in counties having a population of three
 hundred fifty thousand or more and less than three hundred
 ninety-five thousand; nine in counties having a population of
 three hundred ninety-five thousand or more and less than four
 hundred forty thousand; ten in counties having a population of
 four hundred forty thousand or more and less than four hundred
 eighty-five thousand; and one additional judge for every
 population increment of thirty-five thousand which is over
 four hundred eighty-five thousand in such counties. However,
 a county shall not lose a district associate judgeship solely
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 because of a reduction in the county’s population. If the
 formula provided in this section results in the allocation
 of an additional district associate judgeship to a county,
 implementation of the allocation shall be subject to prior
 approval of the supreme court and availability of funds to the
 judicial branch. The supreme court shall prescribe, subject
 to the restrictions of this section, a formula to determine
 the number of district associate judges who will serve in each
 judicial election district. The formula shall be based upon
 a model that measures and applies an estimated case-related
 workload formula of judicial officers, and shall account for
 administrative duties, travel time, and other judicial duties
 not related to a specific case. A district associate judge
 appointed pursuant to section 602.6302 or 602.6307 shall not
 be counted for purposes of this section and the reduction of
 a district associate judge pursuant to section 602.6303 also
 shall not be counted for purposes of this section.
    2. For purposes of this section, “vacancy” means the death,
 resignation, retirement, or removal of a district associate
 judge, or the failure of a district associate judge to be
 retained in office at the judicial election, or an increase in
 judgeships under the formula prescribed in subsection 1.
    3. In those judicial election districts having more
 district associate judges than the number of judgeships
 specified by the formula prescribed in subsection 1, vacancies
 shall not be filled.
    4. In those judicial election districts having fewer or
 the same number of district associate judges as the number of
 judgeships specified by the formula prescribed in subsection 1,
 vacancies shall be filled as the vacancies occur.
    5. In those judicial districts that contain more than one
 judicial election district, a vacancy in a judicial election
 district shall not be filled if the total number of district
 associate judges in all judicial election districts within
 the judicial district equals or exceeds the aggregate number
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 of judgeships to which all of the judicial election districts
 of the judicial district are authorized by the formula in
 subsection 1.
    6. An incumbent district associate judge shall not be
 removed from office because of a reduction in the number of
 authorized judgeships specified by the formula prescribed in
 subsection 1.
                           DIVISION III
                         VIDEO RECORDINGS
    Sec. 7. Section 602.3205, Code 2023, is amended to read as
 follows:
    602.3205 Audio and video recordings.
    1. Except as provided in subsection 2 or 3, a certified
 shorthand reporter’s audio and video recordings used solely
 for the purpose of providing a verbatim written transcript of
 a court proceeding or a proceeding conducted in anticipation
 of use in a court proceeding shall be considered the personal
 property and private work product of the certified shorthand
 reporter.
    2. An audio or video recording of a certified shorthand
 reporter appointed under secti