Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

House Study Bill 608 - Introduced
                                  HOUSE FILE _____
                                  BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE
                                      ON JUDICIARY BILL BY
                                      CHAIRPERSON HOLT)
                            A BILL FOR
An Act relating to procedures to review the exercise of the
  power of eminent domain.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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    Section 1. Section 6A.1, Code 2024, is amended to read as
 follows:
    6A.1 Exercise of power by state —— withdrawal by general
 assembly.
    1. Proceedings may be instituted and maintained by the
 state of Iowa, or for the use and benefit thereof, for the
 condemnation of such private property as may be necessary
 for any public improvement which the general assembly has
 authorized to be undertaken by the state, and for which an
 available appropriation has been made. The executive council
 shall institute and maintain such proceedings in case authority
 to so do be not otherwise delegated.
    2. a. At any time during a proceeding under subsection 1
 or a proceeding attempting or contemplating an exercise of the
 state’s power under Article I, section 18, of the Constitution
 of the State of Iowa, twenty-one or more members of the house
 of representatives may file with the chief clerk of the house,
 or eleven or more members of the senate may file with the
 secretary of the senate, a petition seeking the withdrawal of
 such a proceeding.
    b. Upon the filing of a petition under paragraph “a”,
 the chief clerk of the house or secretary of the senate,
 as applicable, shall notify the governmental entities and
 parties involved in the proceeding and, following receipt of
 such notice, all hearings, depositions, trials, or similar
 operations of the proceeding must immediately cease until all
 of the following occur:
    (1) A greater than three-fifths majority of each house
 of the general assembly vote in favor of resumption of the
 proceeding.
    (2) More than three-fifths of the members of each house of
 the general assembly deliver to the chief clerk of the house
 or secretary of the senate, as applicable, a signed affidavit
 stating that the member, being duly sworn to uphold the
 Constitution of the State of Iowa and the Constitution of the
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 United States, has made due independent inquiry into the facts
 and circumstances of the proceeding, and, in the opinion of the
 member, the proposed exercise of power of eminent domain is
 consistent with the protections afforded property owners under
 both the Constitution of the State of Iowa and the Constitution
 of the United States, the proposed exercise of power of eminent
 domain is for a constitutionally bona fide public use, and the
 mechanism for determining the amount of compensation to be
 provided to the owner of private property proposed to be taken
 is reasonable and fair.
    Sec. 2. Section 476.13, Code 2024, is amended by adding the
 following new subsections:
    NEW SUBSECTION. 4. a. Notwithstanding the Iowa
 administrative procedure Act, chapter 17A, prior to final board
 action, an applicant before the board under this chapter or
 a person whose real property is subject to an eminent domain
 taking claim arising from an application before the board may
 petition the district court for an eminent domain declaratory
 review.
    b. The district court for Polk county shall have exclusive
 venue for the judicial review under this subsection.
    c. Relief under this subsection is limited to a declaration
 of the parties’ rights, status, and other legal matters
 relating to the constitutional and statutory provisions
 governing eminent domain takings.
    d. The court may combine several substantially similar
 petitions into one review or relief order at its own discretion
 or upon the application of any party.
    e. All orders or judgments under this subsection may be
 reviewed as other judgments, orders, or decrees.
    f. This subsection does not limit the authority of the board
 to proceed with an application under consideration at the time
 of the petition.
    NEW SUBSECTION. 5. a. A person may commence a new action
 under subsection 4 if any of the following conditions apply:
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    (1) More than eighteen months have passed after the
 commencement of an action described in subsection 4 involving
 the person.
    (2) The person is an applicant before the board under this
 chapter or the person’s real property is subject to an eminent
 domain taking claim arising from an application before the
 board and the person determines in good faith that facts and
 circumstances as presented in a previous proceeding under
 subsection 4 materially differ from the facts and circumstances
 at the time of the commencement of the new action.
    b. Notwithstanding subsection 4, paragraph “b”, the new
 proceeding must be in a district court of a county other than
 Polk county, and the district judge assigned to the matter
 must be a district judge other than the judge who presided in
 the previous action under subsection 4. The court shall make
 all determinations of fact and law in the new action de novo,
 giving no precedential value to determinations in the earlier
 action.
                           EXPLANATION
         The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
          the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
    This bill allows 21 or more members of the house of
 representatives, or 11 or more members of the senate, to file
 a petition with the chief clerk of the house or the secretary
 of the senate, as applicable, to withdraw from an eminent
 domain proceeding. Upon receipt of the petition and notice to
 the involved entities and parties, all trials, depositions,
 hearings, and similar operations of the proceeding must cease.
 The bill authorizes resumption of the proceeding following a
 greater than three-fifths majority vote by both houses and
 submission of a signed affidavit from more than three-fifths
 of the members of each house.
    The bill allows an applicant before the Iowa utilities board
 (IUB) under Code chapter 476 or a person whose real property
 is subject to an eminent domain taking claim arising from an
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 application before IUB to file a petition seeking declaratory
 review from the Polk county district court. Relief by the
 court is limited to a declaration of the parties’ rights,
 status, and other legal matters relating to eminent domain.
 The bill does not limit IUB’s authority to proceed with an
 application that was under consideration at the time of such
 a petition.
    The bill allows a person to commence a new action in a
 district court of a county other than Polk county with a
 different district court judge if more than 18 months have
 passed since the commencement of a prior action or the facts
 and circumstances presented in the prior proceeding have
 changed. In such a proceeding, the bill requires the court to
 review the issues without giving precedential weight to the
 findings in the prior action.
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Statutes affected: 
Introduced: 6A.1, 476.13