Creating a citizen trade policy council, establishing powers and duties for the council, creating a citizen trade policy council fund, and making an appropriation

The bill makes provisions for what constitutes a quorum of the council and for the compensation and terms of members. Under the bill, the governor, the majority leader of the senate, and the speaker of the house of representatives are each required to designate one of the public members to jointly serve as co-chairpersons. The council may appoint other officers and committees as necessary. The bill provides the council with a standing appropriation of $10,000, every other fiscal year, for the production of reports. Under the bill, the council is required to meet at least twice annually and to hear public testimony and recommendations at no fewer than two locations throughout the state each year. The council is also required to conduct an assessment of the impacts of international trade agreements on Iowa’s state laws, political subdivision ordinances, working conditions, and economic, environmental, and natural resources once every two years. The bill requires the council to submit annual reports to the governor, the general assembly, the attorney general, members of Iowa’s congressional delegation, the Iowa state association of counties, the Iowa league of cities, the United States trade representative’s office, the national conference of state legislatures, and the national association of attorneys general. The bill also requires the council to conduct an evaluation of its activities and recommend to the general assembly, by December 31, 2024, whether to continue, alter, or cease the council’s activities. The bill allows the council to maintain communications with any entity the council determines appropriate, recommend or submit legislation to the general assembly, and recommend that the state support, or withhold support from, future trade negotiations or agreements. The bill creates a fund in the office of the treasurer of state under the control of the council to receive moneys appropriated by the general assembly and from any other source. The council is required to annually notify the legislative council of any solicitation or acceptance of moneys from outside sources. The bill provides that an official of the state, including the governor, is not able to give consent to bind the state to the terms or provisions of a trade agreement unless the general assembly has passed a joint resolution authorizing such. The governor is required to transmit a copy of a trade agreement to the co-chairpersons of the council, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the chairpersons and ranking members of the general assembly’s standing committees on economic growth. The bill requires that the council, in consultation with the authority, the attorney general, and the faculty of the international and comparative law program at the college of law at the university of Iowa, to review and submit a report on such to the general assembly and the governor.