Creating a rural attorney recruitment assistance program, and making appropriations

This bill creates the rural attorney recruitment assistance program. The bill requires the college student aid commission (commission) to establish a program for attorneys to assist rural counties and municipalities in recruiting attorneys. The bill requires each interested county or municipality to apply to the commission. The commission is required to conduct a county or municipality assessment designed to evaluate the county’s or municipality’s need for an attorney and the county’s or municipality’s ability to sustain and support an attorney before admitting a county or municipality into the program. The bill requires the commission to maintain a list of counties and municipalities that have been assessed and are eligible for participation in the program. The commission is allowed to revise any county or municipality assessment or conduct a new assessment as necessary to reflect any change in conditions within a county or municipality. The bill provides that a county or municipality is eligible to participate in the program if it has a population of less than 26,000 and is located more than 20 miles from a city with a population of at least 50,000, based on the 2020 federal decennial census. The bill provides that any attorney who fulfills the requirements of the program is entitled to receive an incentive payment in five equal annual installments, each in an amount equal to 90 percent of the university of Iowa college of law resident tuition and fees as determined on July 1, 2026. This is in addition to the advertised salary and benefits for the attorney position. The bill provides that any agreement for payment under the program shall obligate the county or municipality served by the attorney to pay 35 percent of the total amount of the incentive payments in five equal annual installments. The bill requires the commission, upon certification that the county or municipality has paid the attorney the annual amount to the commission, to pay the attorney the remaining balance. The bill provides that the commission shall pay the required amount out of moneys appropriated from the state. The bill further provides that a county or municipality may prepay its portion of the incentive payment at any time during the five-year period. The bill requires the agreement to require the attorney to become a contract attorney with the office of the state public defender, designate the minimum number of hours that the attorney must provide as a contract attorney, and agree to participate in volunteer lawyer projects. The bill allows any rural county or municipality to appropriate moneys for the purpose of funding the program. The bill provides that no recruitment assistance agreement entered into is effective until it is filed with and approved by the commission. The agreement shall provide that the attorney practice law full-time in the eligible county or municipality for at least five years. The bill provides that no person may participate in the program if the person has previously participated in the program, or any other state or federal scholarship, loan repayment, or tuition reimbursement program that obligates the person to provide attorney services within an underserved area. A rural attorney recruitment assistance program fund is created and moneys in the fund are appropriated to the commission to be used for the program and to increase the number of attorneys in the program. The program is limited to five attorneys in the first year.