Tax bill carries repeal of special law

GETTING PERMISSION

I think there are several of us out there on the record, already, as to what we thought if we were ever given the permission. It appears that we may be given that permission, but it hasn’t been signed yet.”

Garry Seyb, Lee County Supervisor Chairman

LEE COUNTY – A bill that passed both the Iowa House and Senate before the legislature adjourned early Saturday morning could permit the Lee County Board of Supervisors to consolidate court services only.
Senate File 2442, which is the bill that contains legislation approving a 3.8% flat income tax for the state, also contains verbiage at new section 17 that repeals what is known as the Special Law of 1848.
That law was passed 12 years after Iowa became a state and specifically required of Lee County that district court and clerk of court duties be carried out in both Fort Madison and Keokuk. The law was specific to Lee County because that was the only county in the state at the time that had two county seats, one in each city. A dynamic that exists yet today.
The act also makes no provision regarding location for offices of any of the other county officers or functions. Rather, the act is focused on the functions of the court services in Lee County, according to an opinion from the Iowa Attorney General’s office several years ago.
State Sen. Jeff Reichman said he didn’t know when Governor Reynolds would sign the bill but he thought that would come rather quickly.
Reichman said the bill resets an out-of-date control to Home Rule.
“The intent was to give them the ability to control their destiny and cut costs. It made sense back then with travel costs.”
Supervisor Chairman Garry Seyb said there are several supervisors already on record with what they would want to see happen if the state did repeal the antiquated law.
“I think there are several of us out there on the record, already, as to what we thought if we were ever given the permission. It appears that we may be given that permission, but it hasn’t been signed yet.”
Several supervisors have said closing the North Lee County Courthouse makes the most sense as the South Lee Courthouse may have the space the 8th Judicial district is saying it needs to handle the caseload, which has been hinted at three functional jury court rooms.
County services will still be handled at the Lee County office building on Avenue H, and in Keokuk.
Tom Schulz said if the bill becomes law it won’t place any restrictions on the two-county seat situation, but supervisors already have home rule power to create one county seat.
“We still have two county seats and we haven’t addressed that,” Schulz said.
The Supervisors can vote on one county seat at any time, but with the requirement in place that they provide court services in both cities, no issue was put on the agenda for a supervisor vote.
No law requires that a county’s court services be provided in the county seat, so in theory, the county could have a county seat in one city, but provide court services in another, a move Seyb said he would welcome a debate on.
“I don’t want to jump ahead, but I would be open to that discussion,” he said.
Seyb said having all this come up in an election year made things a bit more interesting. The proposal to allow a consolidation of court services in Lee County was floated last year with legislators, but was pulled in the final hours of voting.
This time the move is tied to the 3.8% flat tax legislation, a priority with Governor Reynolds.
“It got through,” Seyb said when asked what had changed this year.
Reynolds said the bill puts Iowa at the forefront of economic growth.
“When I took office, Iowa’s income tax rate was nearly 9 percent—the sixth highest in the country. Since 2018, I’ve proposed four tax packages that have delivered historic income tax cuts and established a flat income tax for every Iowan who pays them; eliminated inheritance tax and taxes on retirement income; and reformed the corporate tax system by gradually reducing the rate from 9.8% to 5.5%.   
“These commonsense policies have made Iowa one of the most competitive states in the country. Yet, we still have a budget surplus of nearly $2 billion, more than $900 million in reserve funds, and more than $2.7 billion in the Taxpayer Relief Fund. It's time that state government stop over-collecting from the hardworking men and women of Iowa.”