House File 777 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE 777
BY ISENHART
A BILL FOR
1 An Act providing for increased membership of county
2 conservation boards.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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1 Section 1. Section 350.2, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2021,
2 are amended to read as follows:
3 1. a. Upon a petition to the board of supervisors which
4 meets the requirements of section 331.306, the board of
5 supervisors shall submit to the voters at the next general
6 election the question of whether a county conservation board
7 shall be created as provided for in this chapter. If at the
8 election the majority of votes favors the creation of a county
9 conservation board, the board of supervisors within sixty days
10 after the election shall create a county conservation board to
11 consist of five bona fide residents of the county.
12 b. Notwithstanding paragraph “a”, a county board of
13 supervisors shall create a county conservation board pursuant
14 to section 350.11.
15 2. a. The members first appointed shall hold office for the
16 term of one, two, three, four, and five years respectively, as
17 indicated and fixed by the board of supervisors. Thereafter,
18 succeeding members shall be appointed Except as otherwise
19 provided in this subsection, a member of a county conservation
20 board shall serve for a term of five years, except that
21 vacancies occurring otherwise than.
22 b. If a vacancy on the county conservation board occurs
23 other than by expiration of a member’s term shall be filled by
24 appointment, the county board of supervisors shall appoint a
25 member for the unexpired term. When a member of the county
26 conservation board, during the term of office, ceases to be a
27 bona fide resident of the county, the member is disqualified as
28 a member and the office becomes vacant.
29 c. As established, a county conservation board shall include
30 five members who shall serve staggered terms. However, the
31 board of supervisors may increase the number of members of a
32 county conservation board to not more than nine. The county
33 board of supervisors shall increase or decrease the term of one
34 or more members of the county conservation board only to the
35 extent required to ensure that not more than two of the terms
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 H.F. 777
1 expire at the same time.
2 EXPLANATION
3 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
4 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
5 Prior to 1989, a county conservation board was created
6 pursuant to a referendum (Code section 350.2). In 1989,
7 remaining county boards of supervisors were required to create
8 county conservation boards (Code section 350.11). A member of
9 a county conservation board serves a term of five years. All
10 members are appointed by the county’s board of supervisors.
11 This bill provides that a county board of supervisors
12 may increase the number of members appointed to a county
13 conservation board to not more than nine members. The bill
14 also authorizes the county board of supervisors to increase or
15 decrease the length of terms of members in order to ensure that
16 not more than two terms expire at the same time.
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