Senate File 2436 - Reprinted SENATE FILE 2436 BY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS (SUCCESSOR TO SSB 3203) (As Amended and Passed by the Senate April 18, 2024 ) A BILL FOR An Act relating to and making appropriations to the judicial 1 branch, including by modifying the judicial retirement fund, 2 and including effective date provisions. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 SF 2436 (2) 90 cm/ns/mb
S.F. 2436 DIVISION I 1 FY 2024-2025 APPROPRIATIONS 2 Section 1. JUDICIAL BRANCH. 3 1. There is appropriated from the general fund of the state 4 to the judicial branch for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 5 2024, and ending June 30, 2025, the following amounts, or so 6 much thereof as is necessary, to be used for the purposes 7 designated: 8 a. For salaries of supreme court justices, appellate court 9 judges, district court judges, district associate judges, 10 associate juvenile judges, associate probate judges, judicial 11 magistrates and staff, state court administrator, clerk of 12 the supreme court, district court administrators, clerks of 13 the district court, juvenile court officers, board of law 14 examiners, board of examiners of shorthand reporters, and 15 commission on judicial qualifications; receipt and disbursement 16 of child support payments; reimbursement of the auditor 17 of state for expenses incurred in completing audits of the 18 offices of the clerks of the district court during the fiscal 19 year beginning July 1, 2024; and maintenance, equipment, and 20 miscellaneous purposes: 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $201,018,878 22 b. For deposit in the revolving fund created pursuant to 23 section 602.1302, subsection 3, for jury and witness fees, 24 mileage, costs related to summoning jurors, costs and fees for 25 interpreters and translators, and reimbursement of attorney 26 fees paid by the state public defender: 27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 3,600,000 28 c. For payment of expenses for court-ordered services 29 provided to juveniles who are under the supervision of juvenile 30 court services, which expenses are a charge upon the state 31 pursuant to section 232.141, subsection 4: 32 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 3,290,000 33 (1) Of the moneys appropriated in this lettered paragraph, 34 no more than $1,556,000 is allocated to provide school-based 35 -1- SF 2436 (2) 90 cm/ns/mb 1/ 8
S.F. 2436 supervision of children under chapter 232, of which no more 1 than $25,000 may be used for purposes of training. 2 (2) Notwithstanding section 232.141 or any other provision 3 of law to the contrary, the moneys appropriated in this 4 lettered paragraph shall be distributed to the judicial 5 districts as determined by the state court administrator. The 6 state court administrator shall make the determination of the 7 distribution amounts within thirty days of the date on which 8 the annual census data is released. 9 (3) Notwithstanding chapter 232 or any other provision of 10 law to the contrary, a district or juvenile court shall not 11 order any service which is a charge upon the state pursuant 12 to section 232.141 if there are insufficient court-ordered 13 services moneys available in the district court distribution 14 amounts to pay for the service. The chief juvenile court 15 officer shall encourage use of the moneys appropriated in this 16 lettered paragraph such that there are sufficient moneys to pay 17 for all court-ordered services during the entire fiscal year. 18 The chief juvenile court officer shall attempt to anticipate 19 potential surpluses and shortfalls in the distribution amounts 20 and shall cooperatively request the state court administrator 21 to transfer moneys between the judicial districts distribution 22 amounts as prudent. 23 (4) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, 24 a district or juvenile court shall not order a county to pay 25 for any service provided to a juvenile pursuant to an order 26 entered under chapter 232 which is a charge upon the state 27 under section 232.141, subsection 4. 28 (5) Of the moneys appropriated in this lettered paragraph, 29 no more than $83,000 may be used by the judicial branch 30 for administration of the requirements under this lettered 31 paragraph. 32 (6) Of the moneys appropriated in this lettered paragraph, 33 an amount not to exceed the actual cost of the annual 34 membership fee is allocated to the judicial branch to support 35 -2- SF 2436 (2) 90 cm/ns/mb 2/ 8
S.F. 2436 the interstate commission for juveniles in accordance with 1 the interstate compact for juveniles as provided in section 2 232.173. 3 (7) Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys appropriated in 4 this lettered paragraph that remain unencumbered or unobligated 5 at the close of the fiscal year shall not revert but shall 6 remain available for expenditure for the purposes designated 7 until the close of the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2027. 8 d. For juvenile delinquent graduated sanctions services 9 pursuant to section 232.192: 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 12,253,000 11 (1) Any state moneys saved as a result of efforts by 12 juvenile court services to earn a federal fund match pursuant 13 to Tit. IV-E of the federal Family First Prevention Services 14 Act of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-123, for juvenile court services 15 administration is appropriated to the judicial branch for 16 purposes of this lettered paragraph. 17 (2) Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys appropriated in 18 this lettered paragraph that remain unencumbered or unobligated 19 at the close of the fiscal year shall not revert but shall 20 remain available for expenditure for the purposes designated 21 until the close of the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2027. 22 2. The judicial branch, except for purposes of internal 23 processing, shall use the current state budget system, the 24 state payroll system, and the Iowa finance and accounting 25 system in administration of programs and payments for services, 26 and shall not duplicate the state payroll, accounting, and 27 budgeting systems. 28 3. The judicial branch shall submit monthly financial 29 statements to the legislative services agency and the 30 department of management containing all appropriated accounts 31 in the same manner as provided in the monthly financial status 32 reports and personal services usage reports of the department 33 of administrative services. The monthly financial statements 34 shall include a comparison of the dollars and percentage 35 -3- SF 2436 (2) 90 cm/ns/mb 3/ 8
S.F. 2436 spent of budgeted versus actual revenues and expenditures on 1 a cumulative basis for full-time equivalent positions and 2 dollars. 3 4. The judicial branch shall focus efforts upon the 4 collection of delinquent fines, penalties, court costs, fees, 5 surcharges, or similar amounts. 6 5. It is the intent of the general assembly that the offices 7 of the clerks of the district court operate in all 99 counties 8 and be accessible to the public as much as is reasonably 9 possible in order to address the relative needs of the citizens 10 of each county. An office of the clerk of the district court 11 shall be open regular courthouse hours. 12 6. In addition to the requirements for transfers under 13 section 8.39, the judicial branch shall not change the 14 appropriations from the amounts appropriated to the judicial 15 branch in this division of this Act, unless notice of the 16 revisions is given to the legislative services agency prior 17 to the effective date. The notice shall include information 18 on the judicial branchs rationale for making the changes and 19 details concerning the workload and performance measures upon 20 which the changes are based. 21 7. The judicial branch shall submit a semiannual update to 22 the legislative services agency and department of management 23 specifying the amounts of fines, surcharges, and court costs 24 collected using the Iowa court information system since the 25 last report. The judicial branch shall continue to facilitate 26 the sharing of vital sentencing and other information with 27 other state departments and governmental agencies involved in 28 the criminal justice system through the Iowa court information 29 system. 30 8. The judicial branch shall provide a report to the general 31 assembly and department of management by January 1, 2025, 32 concerning the amounts received and expended from the court 33 technology and modernization fund created in section 602.8108, 34 subsection 7, during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2023, 35 -4- SF 2436 (2) 90 cm/ns/mb 4/ 8
S.F. 2436 and ending June 30, 2024, and the plans for expenditures from 1 each fund during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024, and 2 ending June 30, 2025. 3 Sec. 2. CIVIL TRIALS LOCATION. Notwithstanding any 4 provision to the contrary, for the fiscal year beginning July 5 1, 2024, and ending June 30, 2025, if all parties in a case 6 agree, a civil trial including a jury trial may take place in a 7 county contiguous to the county with proper jurisdiction, even 8 if the contiguous county is located in an adjacent judicial 9 district or judicial election district. If the trial is moved 10 pursuant to this section, court personnel shall treat the case 11 as if a change of venue occurred. 12 Sec. 3. TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT. Notwithstanding section 13 602.1509, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024, and 14 ending June 30, 2025, a judicial officer may waive travel 15 reimbursement for any travel outside the judicial officers 16 county of residence to conduct official judicial business. 17 Sec. 4. JUDICIAL OFFICER UNPAID LEAVE. Notwithstanding 18 the annual salary rates for judicial officers established by 19 this division of this Act for the fiscal year beginning July 20 1, 2024, and ending June 30, 2025, the supreme court may by 21 order place all judicial officers on unpaid leave status on any 22 day employees of the judicial branch are placed on temporary 23 layoff status. The biweekly pay of the judicial officers shall 24 be reduced accordingly for the pay period in which the unpaid 25 leave date occurred in the same manner as for noncontract 26 employees of the judicial branch. Through the course of the 27 fiscal year, the judicial branch may use an amount equal to 28 the aggregate amount of salary reductions due to the judicial 29 officer unpaid leave days for any purpose other than for 30 judicial salaries. 31 Sec. 5. IOWA COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. It is the intent 32 of the general assembly that the judicial branch utilize 33 the Iowa communications network or other secure electronic 34 communications in lieu of traveling for the fiscal year 35 -5- SF 2436 (2) 90 cm/ns/mb 5/ 8
S.F. 2436 beginning July 1, 2024, and ending June 30, 2025. 1 Sec. 6. SALARIES STATE COURT JUSTICES, JUDGES, AND 2 MAGISTRATES. 3 1. The salary rates specified in subsection 2 are for the 4 fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024, effective for the pay 5 period beginning June 21, 2024, and for subsequent fiscal 6 years until otherwise provided by the general assembly. The 7 salaries provided for in this section shall be paid from moneys 8 appropriated to the judicial branch pursuant to this division 9 of this Act or any other Act of the general assembly. 10 2. The following annual salary rates shall be paid to the 11 persons holding the judicial positions indicated during the 12 fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024, effective with the pay 13 period beginning June 21, 2024, and for subsequent pay periods: 14 a. Chief justice of the supreme court: 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 205,911 16 b. Each justice of the supreme court: 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 196,692 18 c. Chief judge of the court of appeals: 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 184,400 20 d. Each associate judge of the court of appeals: 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 178,253 22 e. Each chief judge of a judicial district: 23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 172,106 24 f. Each district judge except the chief judge of a judicial 25 district: 26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 165,959 27 g. Each district associate judge: 28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 147,520 29 h. Each associate juvenile judge: 30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 147,520 31 i. Each associate probate judge: 32 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 147,520 33 j. Each judicial magistrate: 34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 45,484 35 -6- SF 2436 (2) 90 cm/ns/mb 6/ 8
S.F. 2436 k. Each senior judge: 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 9,834 2 3. Persons receiving salary rates established under this 3 section shall not receive any additional salary adjustments 4 provided by this division of this Act or any other Act of the 5 general assembly. 6 Sec. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. The section of this division of 7 this Act enacting salaries for state court justices, judges, 8 and magistrates takes effect June 21, 2024. 9 DIVISION II 10 JUDICIAL RETIREMENT FUND 11 Sec. 8. Section 602.9104, Code 2024, is amended by adding 12 the following new subsection: 13 NEW SUBSECTION . 3A. Any change to the required contribution 14 rate shall be shared between judges and the state in the same 15 proportion as the required contribution rate. 16 Sec. 9. Section 602.9104, subsection 4, Code 2024, is 17 amended to read as follows: 18 4. As used in this section , unless the context otherwise 19 requires: 20 a. Actuarial valuation means an actuarial valuation of the 21 judicial retirement system or an annual actuarial update of an 22 actuarial valuation, as required pursuant to section 602.9116 . 23 b. Fully funded status means that the most recent 24 actuarial valuation reflects that the funded status of the 25 system is at least one hundred percent, based upon the benefits 26 provided for judges through the judicial retirement system as 27 of July 1, 2006. 28 c. Judges required contribution means an amount equal 29 to the basic salary of the judge multiplied by the following 30 applicable percentage: 31 (1) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2008, and ending 32 June 30, 2009, seven and seven-tenths percent. 33 (2) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2009, and ending 34 June 30, 2010, eight and seven-tenths percent. 35 -7- SF 2436 (2) 90 cm/ns/mb 7/ 8
S.F. 2436 (3) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2010, and for each 1 subsequent fiscal year until the system attains fully funded 2 status, nine and thirty-five hundredths percent. 3 (4) Commencing with the first fiscal year in which the 4 system attains fully funded status, and for each subsequent 5 fiscal year, the percentage rate equal to forty percent of the 6 required contribution percentage rate equal to thirty-five 7 percent of the required contribution rate . 8 d. b. Required contribution rate means that percentage 9 of the basic salary of all judges covered under this article 10 equal to the actuarially required contribution rate determined 11 by the actuary pursuant to section 602.9116 . The required 12 contribution rate shall not vary by more than one percentage 13 point from the required contribution rate for the prior fiscal 14 year. 15 e. c. States required contribution means an amount equal 16 to the basic salary of all judges covered under this article 17 multiplied by the following applicable percentage: 18 (1) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2008, and for each 19 subsequent fiscal year until the system attains fully funded 20 status, thirty and six-tenths percent. 21 (2) Commencing with the first fiscal year in which the 22 system attains fully funded status, and for each subsequent 23 fiscal year, the percentage rate equal to sixty percent of 24 the required contribution percentage rate equal to sixty-five 25 percent of the required contribution rate . 26 -8- SF 2436 (2) 90 cm/ns/mb 8/ 8