Iowa-2025-HF15-Introduced

H.F. 15 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 256.20 Rural attorney recruitment 1 assistance program —— fund. 2 1. Program created. The department may establish a program 3 to assist rural counties and municipalities in recruiting 4 attorneys. 5 2. Application. Each interested county or municipality 6 must apply to the department to be included in the rural 7 attorney recruitment assistance program. Before making a 8 determination of eligibility, the department shall conduct 9 a county or municipality assessment designed to evaluate 10 the county’s or municipality’s need for an attorney and the 11 county’s or municipality’s ability to sustain and support an 12 attorney. The department shall maintain a list of counties and 13 municipalities that have been assessed and are eligible for 14 participation in the program. The department may revise any 15 county or municipality assessment or conduct a new assessment 16 as necessary to reflect any change in conditions within a 17 county or municipality. 18 3. County or municipality eligible to participate. A county 19 or municipality is eligible to participate in the program if 20 all of the following are true: 21 a. The county or municipality has a population of less than 22 twenty-six thousand and is located more than twenty miles from 23 a city with a population of at least fifty thousand, based on 24 the 2020 federal decennial census. 25 b. The county or municipality agrees to provide the county’s 26 or municipality’s portion of the incentive payment pursuant 27 to the provisions of this section. Such payments shall be in 28 addition to the advertised salary and benefits of the attorney 29 position. 30 c. The department determines the county or municipality is 31 eligible. 32 4. Incentive payment to participating attorneys. Any 33 attorney who is selected to enter into an agreement and who, in 34 conjunction with the eligible county or municipality, fulfills 35 -1- LSB 1326YH (3) 91 jda/jh 1/ 5

H.F. 15 the requirements of the program is entitled to receive an 1 incentive payment in five equal annual installments, each in 2 an amount equal to ninety percent of the annual university of 3 Iowa college of law resident tuition and fees as determined on 4 July 1, 2025. 5 5. Agreement for payment of recruitment assistance. 6 a. Any agreement for the payment of recruitment assistance 7 pursuant to this section must obligate the rural county or 8 municipality served by the attorney to provide thirty-five 9 percent of the total amount of the incentive payments in 10 five equal annual installments. After the rural county or 11 municipality certifies to the department that the county 12 or municipality has paid the attorney the required amount, 13 the department shall pay to the attorney the remaining 14 balance. The department shall pay the required amount out of 15 moneys appropriated pursuant to this section. A county or 16 municipality may prepay its portion of the incentive payments 17 at any time during the five-year period. The department shall 18 only pay upon completion of each annual employment obligation. 19 b. The agreement must require the attorney to become a 20 contract attorney with the office of the state public defender 21 and agree to participate in volunteer lawyer projects through 22 nonprofit organizations providing critical legal assistance to 23 low-income and vulnerable Iowans. 24 6. County and municipality funding. Any eligible county 25 or municipality may appropriate moneys for the purpose of 26 carrying out the provisions of this section. An eligible 27 county or municipality may enter an agreement with any county, 28 municipality, school district, or nonprofit entity to assist 29 the county or municipality in carrying out the provisions of 30 this section. 31 7. Filing and approval of recruitment assistance 32 agreement. A recruitment assistance agreement entered into 33 pursuant to this section is not effective until it is filed 34 with and approved by the department. The agreement must 35 -2- LSB 1326YH (3) 91 jda/jh 2/ 5

H.F. 15 provide that the attorney practice law full-time in the 1 eligible county or municipality for at least five years. 2 8. Ineligibility for participation in other programs. A 3 person shall not participate in the program if the person has 4 previously participated in the program, or any other state or 5 federal scholarship, loan repayment, or tuition reimbursement 6 program that obligates the person to provide attorney services 7 within an underserved area. 8 9. Fund established. A rural attorney recruitment 9 assistance program fund is created in the state treasury under 10 the control of the department. The department may accept 11 gifts, grants, bequests, and other private contributions, as 12 well as state or federal moneys, for deposit in the fund. The 13 department shall remit all repayments made pursuant to this 14 section to the fund. All moneys deposited or paid into the 15 fund are appropriated to the department to be used for meeting 16 the requirements of this section and increasing the number of 17 attorneys participating in the program. During a fiscal year, 18 up to five percent of the moneys in the fund may be used by the 19 department to cover implementation and administration costs 20 associated with this section. Notwithstanding section 8.33, 21 moneys in the fund that remain unencumbered or unobligated 22 at the close of a fiscal year shall not revert but shall 23 remain available for expenditure for the purposes designated. 24 Notwithstanding section 12C.7, subsection 2, interest or 25 earnings on moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund. 26 10. Rules. The state board shall adopt rules to administer 27 this section. 28 11. Limitation. The program shall not provide assistance 29 for more than five attorneys. This subsection is repealed July 30 1, 2026. 31 EXPLANATION 32 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 33 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 34 This bill creates the rural attorney recruitment assistance 35 -3- LSB 1326YH (3) 91 jda/jh 3/ 5

H.F. 15 program. The bill allows the department of education to 1 establish a program for attorneys to assist rural counties and 2 municipalities in recruiting attorneys. The bill requires each 3 interested county or municipality to apply to the department. 4 The department is required to conduct a county or municipality 5 assessment designed to evaluate the county’s or municipality’s 6 need for an attorney and the county’s or municipality’s ability 7 to sustain and support an attorney before admitting a county 8 or municipality into the program. The bill requires the 9 department to maintain a list of counties and municipalities 10 that have been assessed and are eligible for participation in 11 the program. The department is allowed to revise any county 12 or municipality assessment or conduct a new assessment as 13 necessary to reflect any change in conditions within a county 14 or municipality. 15 The bill provides that a county or municipality is eligible 16 to participate in the program if it has a population of less 17 than 26,000 and is located more than 20 miles from a city with 18 a population of at least 50,000, based on the 2020 federal 19 decennial census. 20 The bill provides that any attorney who fulfills the 21 requirements of the program is entitled to receive an incentive 22 payment in five equal annual installments, each in an amount 23 equal to 90 percent of the university of Iowa college of law 24 resident tuition and fees as determined on July 1, 2025. This 25 is in addition to the advertised salary and benefits for the 26 attorney position. 27 The bill provides that any agreement for payment under 28 the program shall obligate the county or municipality served 29 by the attorney to pay 35 percent of the total amount of the 30 incentive payments in five equal annual installments. The bill 31 requires the department, upon certification that the county 32 or municipality has paid the attorney the annual amount to 33 the department, to pay the attorney the remaining balance. 34 The bill provides that the department shall pay the required 35 -4- LSB 1326YH (3) 91 jda/jh 4/ 5

H.F. 15 amount out of moneys appropriated from the state. The bill 1 further provides that a county or municipality may prepay 2 its portion of the incentive payment at any time during the 3 five-year period. The bill requires the agreement to require 4 the attorney to become a contract attorney with the office of 5 the state public defender and agree to participate in volunteer 6 lawyer projects. 7 The bill allows any rural county or municipality to 8 appropriate moneys for the purpose of funding the program. 9 The bill provides that no recruitment assistance agreement 10 entered into is effective until it is filed with and approved 11 by the department. The agreement shall provide that the 12 attorney practice law full-time in the eligible county or 13 municipality for at least five years. 14 The bill provides that no person may participate in the 15 program if the person has previously participated in the 16 program, or any other state or federal scholarship, loan 17 repayment, or tuition reimbursement program that obligates the 18 person to provide attorney services within an underserved area. 19 A rural attorney recruitment assistance program fund 20 is created and moneys in the fund are appropriated to the 21 department to be used for the program and to increase the 22 number of attorneys in the program. The program is limited to 23 five attorneys in the first year. 24 -5- LSB 1326YH (3) 91 jda/jh 5/ 5