HF 152 – Drainage districts
HF 607 – Agricultural Development Authority to Iowa Finance Authority
FLOOR ACTION:
HF 152 allows changes to the management of drainage districts. In current law, drainage districts are under the jurisdiction of County Supervisors (or multiple boards). Over the years, the approximately 3,000 drainage jurisdictions have evolved and about 20 to 25 of those have transferred to another governmental board or private boards. Typically, those are managed by 3-person elected boards. When a district contains 20,000 acres or more, the district may divide into three election districts, which ensures fairer representation from all interested parties in the district. Jurisdiction may be transferred from one drainage or levee district to another, which ensures creating an overlying district and each district with jurisdiction over a portion of that territory is referred to as a contained district. That board may be county supervisors, a joint board of supervisors or a board of trustees. The dissolution of a district must include an election to dissolve the district, thereby opening the door for an overlying district to conduct a hearing and accept improvement and rights-of-way that have been surrendered or conduct an election of the land users. [4/22: 50-0]
HF 607 transfers the Agricultural Development Authority (IADA) from the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship to the Iowa Finance Authority (IFA). The bill keeps all the same duties as the current IADA and but requires a five-member board appointed by the Governor. The IADA was created in 1980 to provide financial assistance to Iowa farmers. It has three basic programs: the beginning Farmer Loan Program, the Loan Participation program and the Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Program. [4/24: 49-0 (Johnson excused)]