Senate File 171 - Introduced SENATE FILE 171 BY GARRETT A BILL FOR An Act relating to the membership of district judicial 1 nominating commissions. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 1631XS (2) 90 cm/ns
S.F. 171 Section 1. Section 46.3, subsections 1 and 3, Code 2023, are 1 amended to read as follows: 2 1. The governor shall appoint five six eligible electors 3 of each judicial election district to the district judicial 4 nominating commission. 5 3. No more than a simple majority half of the commissioners 6 appointed shall be of the same gender. 7 Sec. 2. Section 46.6, subsection 2, Code 2023, is amended 8 to read as follows: 9 2. The judge of longest service in the district shall serve 10 as the chair of a particular district judicial nominating 11 commission. If the judges of longest service in the district 12 are of equal service, the eldest of such judges shall be 13 chairperson of the particular judicial nominating commission 14 commissioners of the district judicial nominating commission 15 shall elect a chairperson from their own number . The 16 chairperson shall serve a two-year term that expires on April 17 30 of even-numbered years. A commissioner may be reelected 18 for a second or third term as chairperson. If a chairperson 19 of a judicial nominating commission desires to be relieved 20 of the duties of chairperson while retaining the status of 21 commissioner, the chairperson shall notify the governor and the 22 other commissioners of the commission. At the next meeting of 23 the commission, the commissioners shall elect a new chairperson 24 for the remainder of the two-year term. 25 EXPLANATION 26 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 27 the explanations substance by the members of the general assembly. 28 This bill relates to the membership of district judicial 29 nominating commissions. Under current law, the governor 30 appoints five eligible electors of each judicial district to 31 the 11-person commission. The bill changes the amount of 32 electors appointed by the governor to six and provides that no 33 more than half of the commissioners appointed shall be of the 34 same gender, rather than a simple majority. 35 -1- LSB 1631XS (2) 90 cm/ns 1/ 2
S.F. 171 Under current law, the most senior judge in the district 1 serves as a commissioner and as the chairperson of that 2 particular district judicial nominating commission. The 3 bill removes the judge from the commission and from being 4 chairperson and requires the members of each district judicial 5 nominating commission to elect a chairperson from their own 6 number. 7 District judicial nominating commissions are responsible 8 for screening applicants and selecting nominees for district 9 court judicial vacancies. There is a nominating commission for 10 each of Iowas 14 judicial election subdistricts. District 11 nominating commissions provide the governor with a slate of 12 two nominees from which to make an appointment to the district 13 court. 14 -2- LSB 1631XS (2) 90 cm/ns 2/ 2