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House
File
2719
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HOUSE
FILE
2719
BY
COMMITTEE
ON
JUDICIARY
(SUCCESSOR
TO
HSB
631)
(As
Amended
and
Passed
by
the
House
March
4,
2026
)
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
relating
to
the
collection
and
publication
of
judicial
1
officer
performance
information.
2
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
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Section
1.
NEW
SECTION
.
46.26
Judicial
officer
performance
1
information.
2
1.
The
state
commissioner
of
elections
shall
collect
3
and
publish
objective,
data-driven
information,
expressed
as
4
unadjusted
numbers
and
adjusted
percentile
ranks,
related
to
5
each
district
court
judge
including
district
associate
judges,
6
full-time
associate
juvenile
judges,
and
full-time
associate
7
probate
judges.
8
a.
The
information
must
include
all
of
the
following:
9
(1)
The
percentage
of
cases
in
which
the
judge
set
a
bond
10
amount
lower
than
the
bond
schedule
promulgated
pursuant
to
11
section
804.21,
subsection
5,
categorized
by
offense
class.
12
(2)
The
frequency
with
which
a
person
is
released
on
13
the
person’s
own
recognizance
by
the
judge
when
the
person
14
is
arrested
for
a
violent
offense
compared
to
a
nonviolent
15
offense,
categorized
by
offense
class.
16
(3)
The
frequency
with
which
the
judge’s
final
sentence
is
17
lower
than
the
statutory
recommendation
or
the
prosecutor’s
18
recommendation,
categorized
by
offense
class.
19
(4)
The
number
of
times
the
judge
grants
a
deferred
20
judgment,
deferred
sentence,
or
suspended
sentence.
21
(5)
The
number
of
times
the
judge’s
rulings
are
reversed
22
by
the
court
of
appeals
or
the
supreme
court
due
to
abuse
of
23
discretion
or
error
of
law,
including
the
percentage
of
the
24
total
number
of
the
judge’s
opinions
or
orders
appealed
in
the
25
same
time
period,
with
the
total
number
of
appeals
displayed
as
26
the
denominator,
categorized
by
issue
type.
27
(6)
The
average
time
from
the
filing
of
a
motion
or
28
submission
of
a
case
for
ruling
to
the
judge’s
final
ruling
on
29
the
motion
or
case.
30
(7)
The
number
of
cases
the
judge
has
disposed
of
compared
31
to
the
number
of
outstanding
cases
remain
on
the
judge’s
docket
32
each
year.
33
b.
Beginning
five
years
after
the
effective
date
of
this
34
Act,
each
metric
must
include
a
five-year
rolling
trend
line.
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c.
The
information
collected
under
this
subsection
1
must
be
available
for
public
download
in
an
electronic,
2
machine-readable
open
format.
All
data
and
adjusted
metrics
3
must
be
equally
prominent
and
equally
accessible.
4
2.
a.
The
judicial
branch
shall
provide
the
state
5
commissioner
of
elections
with
read-only
access
to
all
publicly
6
available
information
on
the
Iowa
court
information
system
7
within
one
year
of
the
effective
date
of
this
Act.
8
b.
The
state
court
administrator
shall
annually
certify
the
9
accuracy
and
completeness
of
the
information
made
available
10
under
paragraph
“a”
during
the
period
beginning
November
1
and
11
ending
December
31.
12
c.
The
state
court
administrator
shall
report
any
material
13
discrepancies
in
the
information
to
the
general
assembly.
14
3.
Within
eighteen
months
of
the
effective
date
of
this
Act,
15
the
state
commissioner
of
elections
shall
submit
a
methodology
16
report
to
the
general
assembly
that
contains
all
of
the
17
following:
18
a.
A
case
complexity
index
assigning
weighted
scores
to
19
each
case
type
based
on
objective
criteria
including
statutory
20
penalty
range,
number
of
parties,
number
of
hearings,
length
of
21
the
trial
or
contested
hearing,
and
whether
the
case
involved
a
22
constitutional
challenge
or
question
of
first
impression.
23
b.
The
method
for
assigning
judges
to
peer
groups
of
24
comparable
docket
composition.
25
c.
The
mathematical
formula
for
each
adjusted
metric
26
including
expression
of
the
adjusted
metric
as
a
percentile
27
rank
within
the
judge’s
peer
group
and
judicial
district.
28
d.
The
minimum
case
volume
threshold
for
statistical
29
confidence
under
subsection
4.
30
e.
The
criteria
for
distinguishing
required
opinions
and
31
orders
under
subsection
5,
paragraph
“a”
.
32
4.
Any
metric
based
on
fewer
cases
than
the
ninety
percent
33
statistical
confidence
at
one
standard
deviation
must
display,
34
in
boldface
type,
the
following
phrase
immediately
adjacent
to
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the
metric:
1
RELIABILITY
WARNING:
This
figure
is
based
on
a
small
number
2
of
cases
and
may
not
accurately
reflect
this
judge’s
typical
3
performance.
4
5.
a.
The
state
commissioner
of
elections
shall
maintain
5
an
online
searchable
public
repository
of
all
written
opinions
6
and
orders
that
disclose
a
judge’s
reasoning,
legal
analysis,
7
factual
findings,
or
conclusions
of
law
for
each
judge’s
8
current
term
and
the
six
preceding
years
to
the
extent
9
available.
In
cases
of
ambiguity,
the
state
commissioner
of
10
elections
shall
err
on
the
side
of
inclusion.
11
b.
Beginning
one
year
after
the
effective
date
of
this
Act,
12
the
state
court
administrator
shall
provide
the
opinions
and
13
orders
required
under
paragraph
“a”
electronically
each
month
14
to
the
state
commissioner
of
elections.
15
c.
The
state
commissioner
of
elections
shall
publish
the
16
opinions
and
orders
as
searchable
documents
with
redactions
17
consistent
with
Iowa
court
rules.
The
redacted
documents
18
must
note
the
category
of
information
redacted.
Documents
19
subject
to
a
protective
order,
that
are
sealed,
or
that
are
20
otherwise
confidential
under
law
shall
not
be
posted.
The
21
state
commissioner
of
elections
shall
provide
a
notice
in
place
22
of
the
document
identifying
the
date
the
document
was
issued,
23
the
general
subject
matter
to
the
extent
disclosable,
and
the
24
reason
for
nonproduction.
25
d.
The
online
searchable
public
repository
shall
support
26
full-text
search
by
keyword,
date
range,
case
type,
and
party
27
type.
28
6.
The
state
commissioner
of
elections
shall
maintain
an
29
internet
site
that
includes
all
of
the
following:
30
a.
A
search
by
judicial
district,
county,
and
judge
name.
31
b.
(1)
A
profile
page
for
each
judge
displaying
the
32
unadjusted
numbers
and
adjusted
metrics
required
under
33
subsection
1,
with
peer
group
and
judicial
district
34
comparisons,
and
trend
lines
where
applicable,
and
a
link
to
35
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the
online
searchable
public
repository
under
subsection
5.
1
(2)
The
state
commissioner
of
elections
shall
not
add
2
narrative
interpretation
or
editorial
commentary
to
any
judge’s
3
profile
page
beyond
what
this
section
expressly
authorizes
and
4
shall
not
filter
or
selectively
present
information
in
the
5
online
searchable
public
repository.
6
c.
(1)
A
space
for
each
judge’s
personal
statement
on
7
judicial
philosophy
or
data
trends,
not
to
exceed
two
thousand
8
words.
9
(2)
The
state
commissioner
of
elections
shall
not
edit
the
10
judge’s
personal
statement
except
to
enforce
the
word
limit
or
11
remove
verifiably
false
content
after
providing
notice
and
an
12
opportunity
to
revise
the
personal
statement
to
the
judge.
13
d.
The
methodology
report
under
subsection
3.
14
e.
An
annual
report,
to
also
be
submitted
to
the
general
15
assembly,
on
data
collected,
documents
posted,
anomalies,
16
deviations
from
methodology,
and
disclaimer
acknowledgment
17
statistics.
18
7.
a.
The
state
commissioner
of
elections
shall
create
a
19
standalone
internet
page
for
a
person
to
acknowledge
the
notice
20
under
paragraph
“b”
prior
to
accessing
a
judge’s
profile
page.
21
b.
The
standalone
internet
page
shall
require
a
person
to
22
check
a
box
to
acknowledge
the
following
statement:
23
IMPORTANT
NOTICE
——
PLEASE
READ
BEFORE
PROCEEDING
24
This
information
is
published
by
the
Iowa
secretary
of
state
25
to
assist
voters
in
judicial
retention
elections.
Statistics
26
reflect
caseload
composition
as
much
as
judicial
performance
27
and
do
not
measure
whether
a
judge
reached
the
correct
result.
28
Reversal
rates
cover
only
appealed
cases.
Sentencing
and
bond
29
departures
may
be
legally
appropriate
exercises
of
judicial
30
discretion.
Written
opinions
reflect
judicial
reasoning
31
but
not
the
full
underlying
record.
Metrics
flagged
with
a
32
reliability
warning
should
be
given
little
or
no
weight.
In
33
reviewing
this
information,
the
reader
will
please
remember
34
that
every
lawsuit
is
different,
with
different
parties,
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different
facts,
and
different
applicable
legal
principles.
1
Accordingly,
any
attempt,
such
as
the
information
presented
2
on
the
following
page,
to
reduce
such
complexity
to
mere
3
statistics
is
inherently
imperfect.
4
[
]
I
understand
and
wish
to
proceed.
5
8.
This
section
does
not
authorize
the
state
commissioner
of
6
elections
to
supervise,
direct,
or
regulate
any
judge.
7
9.
a.
The
state
commissioner
of
elections
may
adopt
rules
8
pursuant
to
chapter
17A
to
administer
this
section.
A
rule
9
adopted
by
the
state
commissioner
of
elections
pursuant
to
10
chapter
17A
for
purposes
of
this
section
shall
not
become
11
effective
until
it
is
ratified
by
the
general
assembly
by
12
passage
of
a
joint
resolution
subject
to
approval
of
the
13
governor.
14
b.
If
the
state
commissioner
of
elections
determines
that
15
such
a
rule
must
become
effective
while
the
general
assembly
is
16
not
in
session,
the
state
commissioner
of
elections
may
request
17
temporary
approval
of
the
rule
by
the
legislative
council.
18
The
rule
shall
become
effective
upon
temporary
approval
by
19
the
legislative
council.
A
rule
temporarily
approved
by
the
20
legislative
council
shall
cease
to
be
effective
upon
the
21
adjournment
of
the
next
regular
session
of
the
general
assembly
22
following
the
effective
date
of
the
rule
unless
the
general
23
assembly
ratifies
the
rule
before
adjournment.
24
c.
The
administrative
code
editor
shall
publish
a
notice
in
25
the
Iowa
administrative
bulletin
if
such
a
rule
is
ratified,
26
temporarily
approved,
or
ceases
to
be
effective.
If
such
a
27
rule
ceases
to
be
effective,
the
administrative
code
editor
28
shall
remove
the
rule
from
the
Iowa
administrative
code
as
29
soon
as
practicable,
but
no
sooner
than
two
weeks
after
such
30
publication.
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