331.214 Vacancy of supervisor’s office.

557 words·~3 min read·/ia/chapter-331-county-home-rule-implementation/331-214

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

1. The circumstances which constitute a vacancy in office under section 69.2 shall be treated as a resignation of the office. At its next meeting after the sixty-day absence, the board, by resolution adopted and included in its minutes, shall declare the absent supervisor’s seat vacant.

2. a. If the physical or mental status of a supervisor is in question, the board shall decide whether a vacancy exists. The board shall comply with the notice and hearing requirements of section 69.2, subsection 2. After a hearing, the board, by resolution adopted and included in its minutes, may declare the supervisor’s seat vacant if the board determines either of the following:

(1)That the supervisor is physically or mentally incapable of performing the duties of office and there is reasonable cause to believe that the supervisor will not be able to perform the duties of office for the remainder of the supervisor’s term. To make this determination, the board shall appoint a physician and the family of the supervisor shall appoint a physician to examine the supervisor. For purposes of this subsection, “family” means the parent, spouse, or child of the supervisor. If the family does not appoint a physician, the board shall appoint two physicians to examine the supervisor. The board shall receive the report of the physicians as evidence at the hearing. The board may only declare the supervisor’s seat vacant if both physicians concur that the supervisor is physically or mentally incapable of performing the duties of office and there is reasonable cause to believe that the supervisor will not be able to perform the duties of office for the remainder of the supervisor’s term. However, if the physicians concur that the supervisor is mentally incapable of performing the duties of office, the board shall not declare the supervisor’s seat vacant for one year from the date of the hearing if the supervisor is receiving treatment for the mental incapacity.

(2)That the supervisor refuses or is unavailable for the examination required in subparagraph (1).

b. A supervisor whose seat is declared vacant under this subsection may appeal the board’s decision to the district court.

c. If the board declares a vacancy under this subsection and the remaining balance of the supervisor’s unexpired term is two and one-half years or more, a special election shall be held to fill the office as provided in section 69.14A, subsection 1, paragraph “c”, if the population of the county is one hundred twenty-five thousand or more based on the most recent federal decennial census or the county includes the main campus of an institution of higher learning governed by the state board of regents.

However, if the population of the county is less than one hundred twenty-five thousand based on the most recent federal decennial census and if the county does not include the main campus of an institution of higher learning governed by the state board of regents, an appointment shall be made to fill the office as provided in section 69.14A, subsection 1, paragraph “a”.

[C73, §298; C97, §414; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §5115; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §331.12; S81, §331.214; 81 Acts, ch 117, §213]

2006 Acts, ch 1065, §3; 2025 Acts, ch 15, §8, 9

Referred to in §69.14A, 331.261

Subsection 2, paragraph c amended