HSB 659

Description

House File 2466 relates to county redistricting plans and does the following:

• Requires counties with a population of 60,000 or more to use plan “three” for the election of county supervisors.
• Eliminates a provision allowing counties with a population of 60,000 or more that elect supervisors under plan “three” to change their plan pursuant to a special election.
• Permits counties with a population of 60,000 or more that do not currently use plan “three” to delay the transition until the 2024 election for county supervisors.
• Requires counties with a population of 60,000 or more to establish a temporary county redistricting commission by May 15, 2023. A county redistricting commission must submit its plan for transition to plan “three” by November 1, 2023. The plan would become effective January 1, 2024.

Background

Currently, county redistricting plans are selected by the county board of supervisors or by a special election as provided in Iowa Code section 331.207. The three types of plans are as follows:

• Plan “one” — Election at large without district residence requirements for the members.
• Plan “two” — Election at large but with equal-population district residence requirements for the members.
• Plan “three” — Election from single-member equal-population districts, in which the electors of each district elect one member, who must reside in that district.

There are 10 counties that have a population of 60,000 or more: Polk, Linn, Scott, Johnson, Black Hawk, Woodbury, Dallas, Dubuque, Story, and Pottawattamie. Under this Bill, 6 of these 10 counties would need to change from plan “one” to plan “three”: Scott, Johnson, Black Hawk, Dubuque, Story, and Pottawattamie. Two of the ten counties would need to change from plan “two” to plan “three”: Woodbury and Dallas. The remaining two counties, Polk and Linn, currently use plan “three.”

Assumptions

All affected counties:

• The 10 counties that are required to use plan “three” going forward will use the plan “three” representation plan from calendar year 2024 onward.
• Ongoing equipment and staffing costs are not included in the estimate. Estimates for plan “one” counties assume the following:
• The 6 counties that currently use plan “one” may expand the number of precincts they currently have.
• Each polling location is estimated to cost approximately $50,000 to set up initially.
• Dubuque County will need to set up four additional precinct locations.
• Black Hawk County will need to set up at least one additional precinct location.
• The need for additional precinct locations is unknown for Scott County, Johnson County, Story County, and Pottawattamie County.

Estimates for plan “two” counties assume the following:

• The cost associated with the additional stratification of ballots is unknown.
• These counties will not need additional polling locations to move to plan “three.” Estimates for plan “three” counties assume the following:
• There are no additional costs for plan “three” counties to continue to use plan “three.”

Fiscal Impact

The Bill is estimated to increase county supervisor election costs by a minimum of $250,000 in 2024. The cost is derived from the setup of additional precinct locations. There may be additional precinct locations that need setup; however, these expenses are unknown. There may also be additional costs related to further stratification of ballots; however, this cost cannot be estimated at this time.

Source

• Iowa State Association of Counties