Fiscal Note
Fiscal Services Division
HJR 7 – Suffrage, Constitutional Amendment (LSB1213HV)
Staff Contact: Maria Wagenhofer (515.281.5270) maria.wagenhofer@legis.iowa.gov
Fiscal Note Version – New
Description
House Joint Resolution 7 proposes an amendment to the Iowa Constitution reducing the voting
age from 21 years of age to 18 years of age, except that a person who will be 18 years of age
by the next general election is permitted to vote in a primary election.
Background
The 26th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on July 1, 1971. The
Amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 years of age for every election in the United
States.
Iowa Code section 49A.1 and the Iowa Constitution require that when a proposed amendment
to the Constitution has passed the General Assembly and has been referred to the next
succeeding General Assembly, the General Assembly is required to publish the proposed
amendment in two newspapers of general circulation in each Iowa congressional district once
each month, for three consecutive months, prior to the start of the next General Assembly.
Upon passage of the same amendment by the succeeding General Assembly, Iowa Code
section 49A.2 requires the amendment to be published in newspapers in all 99 counties once
each month for three consecutive months immediately preceding the general election.
Assumptions
• The average cost to publish a proposed constitutional amendment in a single newspaper is
$600.
• Publication of the initial amendment would occur monthly in eight newspapers (two in each
congressional district) for a three-month period if the proposed amendment were passed by
the 89th General Assembly.
• Subsequent publication of the amendment would occur monthly in 99 newspapers (one in
each county) for a three-month period prior to the 2024 General Election if the amendment
were passed by the 90th General Assembly.
Fiscal Impact
Constitutional Amendment Publication Cost. The estimated cost to publish a proposed
constitutional amendment passed by the General Assembly during the 2021 Legislative Session
would be $14,400 (8 newspapers x 3 months x $600). The costs would be incurred in the fall of
2022 (FY 2023), prior to the convening of the 2023 Legislative Session.
Assuming the proposed amendment is passed a second time by the 90th General Assembly,
the estimated cost would be $178,200 (99 newspapers x 3 months x $600). The costs would be
incurred in the fall of 2024 (FY 2025).
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These publication costs would be incurred by the Secretary of the Senate’s Office and the Chief
Clerk’s Office in the House of Representatives and reimbursed by the Iowa Secretary of State’s
Office.
Sources
Legislative Services Agency
Office of the Secretary of State
/s/ Holly M. Lyons
January 28, 2021
Doc ID 1210677
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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