Senate Study Bill 3131 - Introduced
SENATE FILE _____
BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON
LOCAL GOVERNMENT BILL BY
CHAIRPERSON GREEN)
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to public libraries, including city and county
2 tax levies for public libraries, and city library board
3 authority and property.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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1 Section 1. Section 8A.222, Code 2024, is amended to read as
2 follows:
3 8A.222 Local financial support.
4 Commencing July 1, 1977, each city within its corporate
5 boundaries and each county within the unincorporated area
6 of the county shall may levy a tax of at least six and
7 three-fourths cents per thousand dollars of assessed value
8 on the taxable property or at least the monetary equivalent
9 thereof when all or a portion of the funds are obtained from
10 a source other than taxation, for the purpose of providing
11 financial support to the public library which that provides
12 library services within the respective jurisdictions.
13 Sec. 2. Section 392.5, Code 2024, is amended to read as
14 follows:
15 392.5 Library board.
16 1. a. A city library board of trustees functioning on the
17 effective date of the city code shall continue to function in
18 the same manner until altered or discontinued as provided in
19 this section.
20 b. In order for the board to function in the same manner,
21 the council shall retain all applicable ordinances, and shall
22 adopt as ordinances all applicable state statutes repealed by
23 1972 Iowa Acts, ch. 1088, unless altered or discontinued as
24 provided in this section.
25 2. A library board may accept and control the expenditure
26 of all gifts, devises, and bequests to the library, subject to
27 subsection 4.
28 3. a. A proposal to alter the composition, manner of
29 selection, or charge of a library board, or to replace it with
30 an alternate form of administrative agency, is subject to the
31 approval of the voters of the city.
32 b. The proposal may be submitted to the voters at any city
33 election by the council on its own motion. Upon receipt of a
34 valid petition as defined in section 362.4, requesting that a
35 proposal be submitted to the voters, the council shall submit
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1 the proposal at the next regular city election. A proposal
2 submitted to the voters must describe with reasonable detail
3 the action proposed.
4 c. If a majority of those voting approves the proposal, the
5 city may proceed as proposed.
6 d. If a majority of those voting does not approve the
7 proposal, the same or a similar proposal may not be submitted
8 to the voters of the city for at least four years from the date
9 of the election at which the proposal was defeated. A city
10 may alter the composition, manner of selection, or charge of
11 a library board by ordinance.
12 4. A city shall take title of all property possessed or
13 acquired by the library board on and after July 1, 2025.
14 EXPLANATION
15 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
16 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
17 This bill relates to city library board authority and
18 property relinquishment.
19 Current law requires each city and county to levy a tax
20 of at least 6 3/4th cents per $1,000 of assessed value on
21 taxable property or the monetary equivalent for the purpose of
22 supporting the public library. The bill provides that a city
23 or county may levy such tax.
24 Under current law, a city council may, on its own motion,
25 or shall, upon receipt of a valid petition, submit a proposal
26 to alter the composition, selection process, or charge of the
27 library board to the voters of the city. The bill strikes this
28 provision and allows a city council to alter the composition,
29 manner of selection, or charge of the library board by
30 ordinance.
31 The bill directs the city to take title of all property
32 possessed or acquired by the library board on and after July
33 1, 2025.
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Statutes affected:
Introduced: 8A.222, 392.5