Iowa-2017-HJR2001-Introduced
House Joint Resolution 2001 - Introduced
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
BY WHEELER
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
1 A Joint Resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution
2 of the State of Iowa relating to the abolishment of
3 retention elections for supreme court justices.
4 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. The following amendment to the Constitution of
1 2 the State of Iowa is proposed:
1 3 1. Section 17 of Article V of the Constitution of the
1 4 State of Iowa, as added by the Amendment of 1962, is amended
1 5 beginning with appointments made on or after January 1, 2021,
1 6 to read as follows:
1 7 Terms == judicial elections. SEC. 17. Members of all
1 8 courts shall have such tenure in office as may be fixed by law,
1 9 but terms of supreme court judges shall be not less than eight
1 10 years and terms of district court judges shall be not less than
1 11 six years.
1 12 Judges Supreme court judges shall serve one term beginning
1 13 the day of appointment and until their successors are appointed
1 14 and qualified. District court judges shall serve for one year
1 15 after appointment and until the first day of January following
1 16 the next judicial election after the expiration of such year.
1 17 They District court judges shall at such judicial election
1 18 stand for retention in office on a separate ballot which shall
1 19 submit the question of whether such judge shall be retained in
1 20 office for the tenure prescribed for such office and when such
1 21 tenure is a term of years, on their request, they shall, at the
1 22 judicial election next before the end of each term, stand again
1 23 for retention on such ballot.
1 24 Present supreme court judges, at the expiration of their
1 25 respective terms on or after January 1, 2023, shall not
1 26 be retained in office, and district court judges, at the
1 27 expiration of their respective terms, may be retained in office
1 28 in like manner for the tenure prescribed for such office. The
1 29 general assembly shall prescribe the time for holding judicial
1 30 elections.
1 31 Sec. 2. REFERRAL AND PUBLICATION. The foregoing proposed
1 32 amendment to the Constitution of the State of Iowa is referred
1 33 to the general assembly to be chosen at the next general
1 34 election for members of the general assembly, and the secretary
1 35 of state is directed to cause the proposed amendment to be
2 1 published for three consecutive months previous to the date of
2 2 that election as provided by law.
2 3 EXPLANATION
2 4 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
2 5 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
2 6 This joint resolution proposes an amendment to the
2 7 Constitution of the State of Iowa relating to the retention
2 8 elections of supreme court justices.
2 9 The resolution abolishes retention elections for supreme
2 10 court justices, and specifies that a supreme court justice
2 11 serve only one term of not less than eight years, beginning
2 12 with appointments made on or after January 1, 2021. The
2 13 resolution specifies that the eight=year term of a supreme
2 14 court justice shall begin the day of appointment and last until
2 15 their successor is appointed and qualified. If the term of a
2 16 supreme court justice currently serving on the supreme court
2 17 expires on or after January 1, 2023, the supreme court justice
2 18 shall not be retained in office, and shall not stand for
2 19 retention before the electorate at the next judicial election.
2 20 The resolution, if adopted, would be published and then
2 21 referred to the next general assembly (88th) for adoption,
2 22 before being submitted to the electorate for ratification.
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