2.42 Powers and duties of council.

The legislative council shall select its officers and prescribe its rules and procedure. The powers and duties of the council shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

1. To establish policies for the operation of the legislative services agency.

2. To appoint the director of the legislative services agency for such term of office as may be set by the council.

3. To prepare reports to be submitted to the general assembly at its regular sessions.

4. To appoint interim study committees consisting of members of the legislative council and members of the general assembly of such number as the council shall determine. Nonlegislative members may be included on such committees when the council deems the participation of such members advantageous to the conduct of the study.

5. To conduct studies and evaluate reports of studies assigned to study committees and make recommendations for legislative or administrative action thereon. Recommendations shall include such bills as the legislative council may deem advisable.

6. To cooperate with other states to discuss mutual legislative and governmental problems.

7. To recommend staff for the legislative council and the standing committees in cooperation with the chairperson of such standing committees.

8. To recommend changes or revisions in the senate and house rules and the joint rules for more efficient operation of the general assembly and draft proposed rule amendments, resolutions, and bills as may be required to carry out such recommendations, for consideration by the general assembly.

9. To recommend to the general assembly the names and numbers of standing committees of both houses.

10. To establish rules for the style and format for drafting and preparing of legislative bills and resolutions.

11. To approve the appointment of the Iowa Code editor and the administrative code editor.

12. To establish policies for the distribution of information which is stored by the general assembly in an electronic format, including the contents of statutes or rules, other than value-added electronic publications as provided in section 2A.5. The legislative council shall establish payment rates that encourage the distribution of such information to the public, including private vendors reselling that information. The legislative council shall not establish a price that attempts to recover more than is attributable to costs related to reproducing and delivering the information.

13. To establish policies with regard to publishing printed and electronic versions of legal publications as provided in chapters 2A and 2B, including the Iowa Acts, Iowa Code, Iowa administrative bulletin, Iowa administrative code, and Iowa court rules, or any part of those publications. The publishing policies may include, but are not limited to: the style and format to be used; the frequency of publication; the contents of the publications; the numbering systems to be used; the preparation of editorial comments or notations; the correction of errors; the type of print or electronic media and data processing software to be used; the number of volumes to be published; recommended revisions; the letting of contracts for publication; the pricing of the publications to which section 22.3 does not apply; access to, and the use, reproduction, legal protection, sale or distribution, and pricing of related data processing software consistent with chapter 22; and any other matters deemed necessary to the publication of uniform and understandable publications.

14. To hear and act upon appeals of aggrieved employees of the legislative services agency and the office of ombudsman pursuant to rules of procedure established by the council.

15. Authority to review and delay the effective dates of rules and forms submitted by the supreme court pursuant to section 602.4202.

16. To implement the sexual harassment prohibitions and grievance, violation, and disposition procedures of section 19B.12 with respect to full-time, part-time, and temporary central legislative staff agency employees and to develop and distribute, at the time of hiring or orientation, a guide that describes for its employees the applicable sexual harassment prohibitions and grievance, violation, and disposition procedures. This subsection does not supersede the remedies provided under chapter 216.

[C58, §2.47; C62, 66, 71, 73, §2.50; C75, 77, 79, 81, §2.42]

83 Acts, ch 186, §10001, 10201; 84 Acts, ch 1067, §1; 85 Acts, ch 65, §2, 3; 85 Acts, ch 197, §1; 87 Acts, ch 115, §2; 91 Acts, ch 258, §4; 92 Acts, ch 1086, §2; 96 Acts, ch 1099, §1; 2003 Acts, ch 35, §10, 49; 2010 Acts, ch 1031, §26; 2013 Acts, ch 10, §2; 2013 Acts, ch 140, §46; 2014 Acts, ch 1141, §30

Referred to in §2A.2, 2A.5, 2B.1, 2B.5A, 2B.5B, 2B.10, 2B.17