1. A council on homelessness is created consisting of twenty members, eleven of whom are voting members and nine of whom are nonvoting members. At all times, at least one voting member shall be a member of a minority group.

Terms Used In Iowa Code 16.2D

  • Authority: means the Iowa finance authority created in section 16. See Iowa Code 16.1
  • Executive director: means the executive director of the Iowa finance authority as appointed pursuant to section 16. See Iowa Code 16.1
  • following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Housing: means single family and multifamily dwellings, and facilities incidental or appurtenant to the dwellings, and includes group homes of fifteen beds or less licensed as health care facilities or child foster care facilities and modular or mobile homes which are permanently affixed to a foundation and are assessed as realty. See Iowa Code 16.1
  • Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
  • Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • State agency: means any board, commission, department, public officer, or other agency of the state of Iowa. See Iowa Code 16.1
  • year: means twelve consecutive months. See Iowa Code 4.1
 2. Members of the council shall consist of all of the following:

 a. (1) Eleven voting members from the general public appointed to two-year staggered terms by the governor in consultation with the nominating committee under subsection 3.

 (2) Members from the general public may include but are not limited to the following types of individuals and representatives of the following programs: homeless or formerly homeless individuals and their family members, youth shelters, faith-based organizations, local homeless service providers, emergency shelters, transitional housing providers, family and domestic violence shelters, private business, local government, veterans or veteran organizations, and community-based organizations.
 (3) Two of the eleven members selected from the general public shall be individuals who are homeless, formerly homeless, or family members of homeless or formerly homeless individuals.
 b. Nine nonvoting agency director members consisting of all of the following:

 (1) The director of the department of education or the director’s designee.
 (2) The director of human services or the director’s designee.
 (3) The attorney general or the attorney general’s designee.
 (4) The director of public health or the director’s designee.
 (5) The director of the department on aging or the director’s designee.
 (6) The director of the department of corrections or the director’s designee.
 (7) The director of the department of workforce development or the director’s designee.
 (8) The executive director of the Iowa finance authority or the executive director’s designee.
 (9) The director of the department of veterans affairs or the director’s designee.
 3. a. The council shall annually elect five members to a nominating committee, at least two of whom shall be nonvoting members and at least two of whom shall be voting members. The governor shall appoint members of the general public to the council from names the nominating commission submits to the governor.

 b. The council may establish other committees and subcommittees comprised of members of the council.
 4. A vacancy on the council shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. A member appointed to fill a vacancy created other than by expiration of a term shall be appointed for the remainder of the unexpired term.
 5. a. Seven voting members of the council shall constitute a quorum. Any action taken by the council shall require the affirmative vote of a majority of the quorum. The majority shall not include any member who has a conflict of interest and a statement by a member who asserts a conflict of interest shall be conclusive for this purpose.

 b. The council shall annually elect a chairperson and vice chairperson from the membership of the council, and other officers as determined by the council.
 c. The council shall meet at least six times per year. Meetings of the council may be called by the chairperson or by a majority of the members.
 d. General public members shall be reimbursed by the authority for actual and necessary expenses incurred while engaged in their official duties.
 6. The authority shall provide staff assistance and administrative support to the council.
 7. The duties of the council shall include but are not limited to the following:

 a. Develop a process for evaluating state policies, programs, statutes, and rules to determine whether any state policies, programs, statutes, or rules should be revised to help prevent and alleviate homelessness.
 b. Evaluate whether state agency resources could be more efficiently coordinated with other state agencies to prevent and alleviate homelessness.
 c. Work to develop a coordinated and seamless service delivery system to prevent and alleviate homelessness.
 d. Work to identify causes and effects of homelessness and increase awareness among policymakers and the general public.
 e. Advise the governor’s office, the authority, state agencies, and private organizations on strategies to prevent and eliminate homelessness.
 8. The council shall file a point-in-time report on homelessness in Iowa with the governor and the general assembly on or before December 1 of each year.
 9. a. The authority, in consultation with the council, shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A for carrying out the duties of the council pursuant to this section.

 b. The council shall establish internal rules of procedure consistent with the provisions of this section.
 c. Rules adopted or internal rules of procedure established pursuant to paragraph “a” or “b” shall be consistent with the requirements of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. § 11301 et seq.
 10. The council shall comply with the requirements of chapters 21 and 22. The authority shall be the official repository of council records.
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