Senate File 597 - Introduced SENATE FILE 597 BY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE (SUCCESSOR TO SF 432) A BILL FOR An Act relating to the rights and obligations of certain state 1 and local government entities in erecting, rebuilding, or 2 repairing partition fences, including the allocation of 3 moneys from accounts in the Iowa resources enhancement and 4 protection fund. 5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 6 TLSB 2087SV (2) 91 da/ns
S.F. 597 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 350.4A Partition fences. 1 A county conservation board that controls or manages a tract 2 of land shall have the same rights and obligations as any 3 private landowner when erecting and maintaining a partition 4 fence under chapter 359A. 5 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 359A.1B Department of natural 6 resources and county conservation boards. 7 The department of natural resources or a county conservation 8 board, with respect to the entitys control or management of 9 a tract of land, has the same rights and obligations as any 10 private landowner when erecting and maintaining a partition 11 fence under this chapter. 12 Sec. 3. Section 359A.4, subsection 3, Code 2025, is amended 13 to read as follows: 14 3. Except as provided in subsection 3A, all of the following 15 apply: 16 a. The order shall assign to each owner the part which 17 portion that the owner shall must erect, maintain, rebuild, 18 repair, trim , or cut back, or pay for, and fix the value 19 thereof, and prescribe the time within which the same shall be 20 completed or paid for, and, in case of repair, may specify the 21 kind of repairs to be made. 22 b. If the fence is not erected, maintained, rebuilt, or 23 repaired within the time prescribed in the order, the fence 24 viewers shall require the complaining landowner to deposit with 25 the fence viewers an amount of money sufficient to pay for the 26 erecting, maintaining, rebuilding, repairing, trimming, or 27 cutting back or repairing such the fence , together with the 28 fees of the fence viewers and costs. Such The complaining 29 landowner shall be reimbursed as soon as the costs and fees 30 assessed against the party in default are collected as provided 31 in section 359A.6 . 32 Sec. 4. Section 359A.4, Code 2025, is amended by adding the 33 following new subsection: 34 NEW SUBSECTION . 3A. If the parties to the fence viewers 35 -1- LSB 2087SV (2) 91 da/ns 1/ 4
S.F. 597 order are a complaining landowner and either the department of 1 natural resources or a county conservation board, as the entity 2 that controls or manages the adjoining tract of land, all of 3 the following apply: 4 a. The fence viewers order must assign to each party the 5 portion that the party must erect, maintain, rebuild, repair, 6 trim, or cut back, or pay for, and fix the value thereof, and 7 prescribe the time within which the same shall be completed 8 or paid for, and, in case of repair, may specify the kind 9 of repairs to be made. The order must include each partys 10 portion of the costs and fees imposed by the fence viewers. 11 b. The complaining landowner shall deposit an amount of 12 money sufficient to pay for the partys assigned portion of the 13 costs and fees as prescribed in the order. 14 c. Within thirty days of the issuance of the order, the 15 party that is either the department of natural resources or a 16 county conservation board shall deposit with the fence viewers 17 an amount of money sufficient to pay for the partys assigned 18 portion of costs and fees as prescribed in the order. 19 d. (1) The department of natural resources may finance 20 its contribution using moneys allocated from the open spaces 21 account of the Iowa resources enhancement and protection fund 22 as provided in section 455A.19, subsection 1, paragraph a . 23 (2) A county conservation board may finance its 24 contribution using moneys allocated from the county 25 conservation account of the Iowa resources enhancement and 26 protection fund as provided in section 455A.19, subsection 1, 27 paragraph b . 28 Sec. 5. Section 359A.5, Code 2025, is amended to read as 29 follows: 30 359A.5 Contribution postponed. 31 In case a landowner desires to erect a partition hedge or 32 fence when the owner of the adjoining land is not liable to 33 contribute thereto, the fence viewers may assign to each owner 34 the part which portion that the owner shall erect, maintain, 35 -2- LSB 2087SV (2) 91 da/ns 2/ 4
S.F. 597 rebuild, and repair, trim , or cut back, by pursuing the method 1 provided in sections 359A.3 and 359A.4 ; but . However, the 2 adjoining owner shall not be required to contribute thereto 3 until the adjoining owner becomes liable so to do so , as 4 provided elsewhere in this chapter provided . 5 Sec. 6. Section 455A.19, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 6 2025, is amended by adding the following new subparagraph: 7 NEW SUBPARAGRAPH . (4) Unencumbered and unobligated moneys 8 in the open spaces account are allocated to the department as 9 necessary to contribute to the costs of erecting, rebuilding, 10 trimming, cutting back, or repairing a partition fence, 11 including the costs and fees of the fence viewers, as provided 12 in chapter 359A. 13 Sec. 7. Section 455A.19, subsection 1, paragraph b, Code 14 2025, is amended by adding the following new subparagraph: 15 NEW SUBPARAGRAPH . (08) Upon request by a county 16 conservation board, unencumbered and unobligated moneys in the 17 county conservation account shall be allocated to a county 18 conservation board as necessary to contribute to the costs of 19 erecting, rebuilding, trimming, cutting back, or repairing a 20 partition fence, including the costs and fees of the fence 21 viewers, as provided in chapter 359A. 22 Sec. 8. NEW SECTION . 456A.39 Partition fences. 23 The department of natural resources, as the entity that 24 controls or manages a tract of land, shall have the same rights 25 and obligations as any private landowner when erecting and 26 maintaining a partition fence under chapter 359A. 27 EXPLANATION 28 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 29 the explanations substance by the members of the general assembly. 30 BACKGROUND IOWA RESOURCES ENHANCEMENT AND PROTECTION 31 FUND. The Iowa resources enhancement and protection fund 32 (REAP) consists of various accounts to carry out a policy to 33 protect the states natural resource heritage of air, soils, 34 waters, and wildlife (Code chapter 455A, subchapter II). 35 -3- LSB 2087SV (2) 91 da/ns 3/ 4
S.F. 597 Twenty-eight percent of moneys in REAP are allocated to the 1 open spaces account, which supports programs of the department 2 of natural resources (DNR) including the acquisition of land. 3 Thirty percent of moneys in REAP are allocated to the county 4 conservation account to support county conservation projects. 5 BACKGROUND IOWAS FENCE LAW. Iowas fence law (Code 6 chapter 359A) in part governs the construction or maintenance 7 of fences existing on the property boundary lines between 8 adjoining land of different owners, referred to as a partition 9 fence. Either owner may erect a partition fence and demand the 10 other owner share in the expenses (referred to as contribution) 11 (Code section 359A.1A). An owner may apply to a panel of fence 12 viewers to decide a controversy between the owners which may 13 result in an investigation and a form of adjudication (Code 14 section 359A.22). The fence viewers are the trustees of the 15 township where the property boundary is located (Code sections 16 359A.3 through 359A.11). The fence viewers must issue an 17 order to the parties assigning each party their portion of 18 the amount required to erect or maintain (rebuild, trim, cut 19 back, or repair) the fence, which may be in the form of a 20 monetary contribution. If the fence is not erected, rebuilt, 21 or repaired within the time prescribed in the order, the 22 complaining landowner must deposit an amount sufficient to pay 23 for the work subject to reimbursement by the other landowner. 24 BILLS PROVISIONS. The bill provides that DNR or a county 25 conservation board (board), with respect to the entitys 26 control or management of a tract of land, has the same rights 27 and obligations as any private landowner when erecting and 28 maintaining a partition fence. The bill provides that after 29 fence viewers issue an order, the two parties must deposit 30 an amount with the fence viewers sufficient to pay for that 31 partys portion of the costs plus the fence viewers expenses. 32 DNR may make its contribution from moneys in REAPs open spaces 33 account and a board may make its contribution from moneys in 34 REAPs county conservation account. 35 -4- LSB 2087SV (2) 91 da/ns 4/ 4