This bill amends various sections of the Iowa Code related to judicial branch administration, specifically focusing on judicial officer residency, remote proceedings, court reporter supervision, and the availability of civil pleadings. It expands the residency requirements for district judges, district associate judges, magistrates, full-time associate juvenile judges, and full-time associate probate judges to include not only the judicial election district of appointment but also contiguous counties. Additionally, the bill repeals a section concerning residency requirements for a past transition of judicial election districts.

Furthermore, the bill introduces provisions for conducting court proceedings via remote means of communication and revises the appointment and supervision of court reporters. The chief judge of a judicial district or their designee is granted the authority to supervise, schedule, and assign duties to all court reporters, while also allowing presiding judges to oversee court reporters during proceedings. The bill also facilitates access to civil pleadings by permitting clerks of court to provide access before the official filing date is recorded in the appearance docket.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 602.6201, 602.6108, 602.7103C, 602.1612, 602.3201, 602.6603, 331.381, 602.8102, 602.9206