HSB 244

BACKGROUND. This bill amends provisions that relate to a levee or drainage district, including subdistricts, where a project (improvement) is constructed to divert or store water in a manner that allows land that would otherwise be saturated to instead be used for development, including agricultural production (Code chapter 468). A district is established and managed by different forms of local governing bodies, including a board of supervisors or joint boards of supervisors governing intercounty districts. An established district may also be managed by a board of trustees elected by landowners in the district. An improvement may include a facility that increases the district’s capacity to divert or store water by new construction, such as the installation of a drain or tile line or ditch, the modification of a watercourse, or the erection of a barrier such as a dam or embankment. It may also include the maintenance of a constructed facility that restores the district’s original capacity such as dredging a drainage ditch. The expense associated with an improvement is borne by owners of land located within the district. A special property tax “assessment” is imposed on a prorated basis according to a formula that distributes the total tax amount due among affected landowners based on the relative increase to the owner’s land value assigned a “classification” according to 40-acre or less tracts. The land subject to an increased valuation is referred to as being “benefited” by the improvement. BILL’S PROVISIONS —— LEVEE IMPROVEMENT FUND.57(5)).2). BILL’S PROVISIONS —— LEVEE IMPROVEMENT PURPOSE —— ADMINISTRATION.3) and assigns new duties and powers to the flood mitigation board (board). The office, in cooperation with the board, is required to assist communities, including levee districts, benefiting from levees.4). The governing body of each levee district is required to assist the office in conducting its analysis.5). The purpose of the program is to finance, on a cost-share basis, the repair or reconstruction of levees based on criteria established by the board, including levees assigned a scale number by the office when conducting its analysis.6). BILL’S PROVISIONS —— LEGISLATIVE INTERIM STUDY. The bill requests the legislative council to establish an interim study committee to review Iowa’s levee and drainage district laws. _____ the rights and duties of landowners to manage water resources within watershed areas; the establishment and governance of districts; the construction, maintenance, and repair of improvements; and the financing of improvements. BILL’S PROVISIONS —— EFFECTIVE DATES. The provisions of the bill, other than those which request a legislative interim study, take effect upon enactment.