House File 864 - Enrolled
House File 864
AN ACT
RELATING TO APPROPRIATIONS TO THE JUDICIAL BRANCH.
2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1 Section 1. JUDICIAL BRANCH.
2 1. There is appropriated from the general fund of the state
3 to the judicial branch for the fiscal year beginning July 1,
4 2021, and ending June 30, 2022, the following amounts, or so
5 much thereof as is necessary, to be used for the purposes
6 designated:
7 a. For salaries of supreme court justices, appellate court
8 judges, district court judges, district associate judges,
9 associate juvenile judges, associate probate judges, judicial
10 magistrates and staff, state court administrator, clerk of
11 the supreme court, district court administrators, clerks of
12 the district court, juvenile court officers, board of law
13 examiners, board of examiners of shorthand reporters, and
14 commission on judicial qualifications; receipt and disbursement
15 of child support payments; reimbursement of the auditor
16 of state for expenses incurred in completing audits of the
17 offices of the clerks of the district court during the fiscal
18 year beginning July 1, 2021; and maintenance, equipment, and
19 miscellaneous purposes:
20 .................................................. $189,640,252
21 b. For deposit in the revolving fund created pursuant to
22 section 602.1302, subsection 3, for jury and witness fees,
23 mileage, costs related to summoning jurors, costs and fees for
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24 interpreters and translators, and reimbursement of attorney
25 fees paid by the state public defender:
26 .................................................. $ 3,600,000
27 2. The judicial branch, except for purposes of internal
28 processing, shall use the current state budget system, the
29 state payroll system, and the Iowa finance and accounting
30 system in administration of programs and payments for services,
31 and shall not duplicate the state payroll, accounting, and
32 budgeting systems.
33 3. The judicial branch shall submit monthly financial
34 statements to the legislative services agency and the
35 department of management containing all appropriated accounts
1 in the same manner as provided in the monthly financial status
2 reports and personal services usage reports of the department
3 of administrative services. The monthly financial statements
4 shall include a comparison of the dollars and percentage
5 spent of budgeted versus actual revenues and expenditures on
6 a cumulative basis for full-time equivalent positions and
7 dollars.
8 4. The judicial branch shall focus efforts upon the
9 collection of delinquent fines, penalties, court costs, fees,
10 surcharges, or similar amounts.
11 5. It is the intent of the general assembly that the offices
12 of the clerks of the district court operate in all 99 counties
13 and be accessible to the public as much as is reasonably
14 possible in order to address the relative needs of the citizens
15 of each county. An office of the clerk of the district court
16 shall be open regular courthouse hours.
17 6. In addition to the requirements for transfers under
18 section 8.39, the judicial branch shall not change the
19 appropriations from the amounts appropriated to the judicial
20 branch in this Act, unless notice of the revisions is given to
21 the legislative services agency prior to the effective date.
22 The notice shall include information on the judicial branch’s
23 rationale for making the changes and details concerning the
24 workload and performance measures upon which the changes are
25 based.
26 7. The judicial branch shall submit a semiannual update
27 to the legislative services agency specifying the amounts of
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28 fines, surcharges, and court costs collected using the Iowa
29 court information system since the last report. The judicial
30 branch shall continue to facilitate the sharing of vital
31 sentencing and other information with other state departments
32 and governmental agencies involved in the criminal justice
33 system through the Iowa court information system.
34 8. The judicial branch shall provide a report to the general
35 assembly by January 1, 2022, concerning the amounts received
1 and expended from the court technology and modernization fund
2 created in section 602.8108, subsection 7, during the fiscal
3 year beginning July 1, 2020, and ending June 30, 2021, and the
4 plans for expenditures from each fund during the fiscal year
5 beginning July 1, 2021, and ending June 30, 2022.
6 Sec. 2. CIVIL TRIALS —— LOCATION. Notwithstanding any
7 provision to the contrary, for the fiscal year beginning July
8 1, 2021, and ending June 30, 2022, if all parties in a case
9 agree, a civil trial including a jury trial may take place in a
10 county contiguous to the county with proper jurisdiction, even
11 if the contiguous county is located in an adjacent judicial
12 district or judicial election district. If the trial is moved
13 pursuant to this section, court personnel shall treat the case
14 as if a change of venue occurred.
15 Sec. 3. TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT. Notwithstanding section
16 602.1509, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2021, and
17 ending June 30, 2022, a judicial officer may waive travel
18 reimbursement for any travel outside the judicial officer’s
19 county of residence to conduct official judicial business.
20 Sec. 4. JUDICIAL OFFICER —— UNPAID LEAVE. Notwithstanding
21 the annual salary rates for judicial officers established by
22 2019 Iowa Acts, chapter 155, section 6, for the fiscal year
23 beginning July 1, 2021, and ending June 30, 2022, the supreme
24 court may by order place all judicial officers on unpaid leave
25 status on any day employees of the judicial branch are placed
26 on temporary layoff status. The biweekly pay of the judicial
27 officers shall be reduced accordingly for the pay period in
28 which the unpaid leave date occurred in the same manner as
29 for noncontract employees of the judicial branch. Through
30 the course of the fiscal year, the judicial branch may use an
31 amount equal to the aggregate amount of salary reductions due
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32 to the judicial officer unpaid leave days for any purpose other
33 than for judicial salaries.
34 Sec. 5. IOWA COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. It is the intent
35 of the general assembly that the judicial branch utilize
1 the Iowa communications network or other secure electronic
2 communications in lieu of traveling for the fiscal year
3 beginning July 1, 2021, and ending June 30, 2022.
4 Sec. 6. STATE COURT —— JUSTICES, JUDGES, AND MAGISTRATES.
5 1. The salary rates specified in subsection 2 are for the
6 fiscal year beginning July 1, 2021, effective for the pay
7 period beginning June 25, 2021, and for subsequent fiscal
8 years until otherwise provided by the general assembly. The
9 salaries provided for in this section shall be paid from moneys
10 allocated to the judicial branch from the salary adjustment
11 fund, or if the allocation is not sufficient, from moneys
12 appropriated to the judicial branch pursuant to this Act or any
13 other Act of the general assembly.
14 2. The following annual salary rates shall be paid to the
15 persons holding the judicial positions indicated during the
16 fiscal year beginning July 1, 2021, effective with the pay
17 period beginning June 25, 2021, and for subsequent pay periods.
18 a. Chief justice of the supreme court:
19 .................................................. $ 192,261
20 b. Each justice of the supreme court:
21 .................................................. $ 183,653
22 c. Chief judge of the court of appeals:
23 .................................................. $ 172,175
24 d. Each associate judge of the court of appeals:
25 .................................................. $ 166,436
26 e. Each chief judge of a judicial district:
27 .................................................. $ 160,696
28 f. Each district judge except the chief judge of a judicial
29 district:
30 .................................................. $ 154,957
31 g. Each district associate judge:
32 .................................................. $ 137,740
33 h. Each associate juvenile judge:
34 .................................................. $ 137,740
35 i. Each associate probate judge:
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1 .................................................. $ 137,740
2 j. Each judicial magistrate:
3 .................................................. $ 42,469
4 k. Each senior judge:
5 .................................................. $ 9,182
6 3. Persons receiving the salary rates established
7 under this section shall not receive any additional salary
8 adjustments provided by this Act or any other Act of the
9 general assembly.
10 Sec. 7. Section 602.6404, subsection 3, Code 2021, is
11 amended to read as follows:
12 3. A magistrate shall be an attorney licensed to practice
13 law in this state. However, a magistrate not admitted to
14 the practice of law in this state and who is holding office
15 on April 1, 2009, shall be eligible to be reappointed as a
16 magistrate in the same county for a term commencing August 1,
17 2009, and for subsequent successive terms.
______________________________ ______________________________
PAT GRASSLEY JAKE CHAPMAN
Speaker of the House President of the Senate
I hereby certify that this bill originated in the House and
is known as House File 864, Eighty-ninth General Assembly.
______________________________
MEGHAN NELSON
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved _______________, 2021 ______________________________
KIM REYNOLDS
Governor