Local Government Committee – All-Bill Summary 2021

HF 758 – Documentation requirements for affidavits

HF 758 removes the word “substantially” so all counties have the same list of required documents for affidavits for real estate. Previously, Iowa law listed documentation for affidavits in real estate, and it was up to the local county to decide which documents on the list were required.
[5/17: 45-0 (Excused: Goodwin, Johnson, Nunn, Schultz, Williams)]

HF 765 – Assessor’s information provided electronically

HF 765 allows assessor’s information to be provided electronically or by e-mail if someone registers for that service.
[4/21: 46-0 (Excused: Mathis, Nunn, Schultz, Whiting)]

SF 252 – Low-Income Section 8 Housing regulation

SF 252 prevents Iowa cities from mandating participation in the Section 8 Federal Housing Program. This action allows landlords to turn away tenants who use public assistance to pay rent. Currently, Des Moines, Marion and Iowa City have ordinances requiring landlords to accept the vouchers. SF 252 maintains all current ordinances for two years. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is the administrator of Section 8, which helps low-income families, the elderly and people with disabilities afford housing by subsidizing the cost for qualifying units.
[3/17: 30-17, party line (Excused: Goodwin, Hogg, Nunn)]

SF 554 – Abandoned property title acquisition

SF 554 allows a county to petition the district court in which the county is located, to award title of abandoned property when the property has been abandoned for at least six months, if the property is located outside the city limits, and if the property is no larger than 2.5 acres. The county cannot petition to acquire the land unless it submits to the court a plan to transfer title to the property to another entity within 18 months after the court enters judgement awarding title to the county. If the court does enter judgement and awards the title of land to the county, it must enforce the county’s plan to transfer title within 18 months.
[3/9: 47-0 (Excused: Hogg, Nunn, Whiting)]

Local-Government-All-bill-Summary-2021