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Read. Follow. Verify.Iowa Senate Passes Bill Requiring State and County Land Agencies to Share Partition Fence Costs
Last action · April 30, 2025: Message from Senate. H.J. 1079 .
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What This Bill Would Do
Senate File 616 establishes that the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and county conservation boards have the exact same rights and responsibilities as private landowners regarding shared s. Under the measure, these state and local entities must deposit funds within 30 days of a ' order to pay for their assigned portion of fence construction or repairs.
Private landowners sharing a boundary with state or county conservation lands can now formally require those public agencies to share the expenses of building, maintaining, or repairing s. Public agencies will finance these contributions using specific state environmental and conservation fund accounts.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Department of Natural Resources
Must comply with partition fence orders and make financial deposits from designated fund accounts for fence construction or repairs.
County conservation boards
Must comply with partition fence orders and may finance required contributions using allocations from the county conservation account.
Private landowners adjoining public land
Can compel state and county agencies to share partition fence construction and repair costs through formal fence viewers' orders.
Key Facts
- County conservation boards and the Department of Natural Resources possess the same rights and obligations as private landowners when erecting, rebuilding, or repairing partition fences under chapter 359A.
- When a fence viewers' order is issued involving a complaining landowner and either the Department of Natural Resources or a county conservation board, both parties must deposit sufficient funds to cover their assigned costs and fees.
- The Department of Natural Resources or a county conservation board must deposit funds with the fence viewers within 30 days of the issuance of an order.
- The Department of Natural Resources may finance its partition fence contributions using moneys allocated from the open spaces account of the Iowa resources enhancement and protection fund.
Show all 5 facts
- County conservation boards may finance their partition fence contributions using moneys allocated from the county conservation account of the Iowa resources enhancement and protection fund.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do state and county agencies pay for their share of partition fence work?
What is the deadline for public agencies to deposit money after a fence viewers' order?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.
Procedural history
23 actions- Apr 30, 2025HouseMessage from Senate. H.J. 1079 .
- Apr 29, 2025SenateNOBA: Senate Floor
- Apr 29, 2025SenateImmediate message. S.J. 928 .
- Apr 29, 2025SenateFloorPassed Senate , yeas 48, nays 0. S.J. 925 .
- Mar 26, 2025SenateNOBA: Senate Full Approps
- Mar 25, 2025SenateCommittee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 616 . S.J. 640 .
Show 17 earlier actions
- Mar 25, 2025SenateCommittee report, approving bill. S.J. 640 .
- Mar 25, 2025SenateIntroducedIntroduced, placed on Appropriations calendar. S.J. 639 .
- Mar 18, 2025Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee recommends passage.
- Mar 17, 2025Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee Meeting: 03/18/2025 8:30AM Room 217 Conference Room.
- Mar 12, 2025SenateSubcommittee: Shipley, Guth, and Staed. S.J. 507 .
- Mar 11, 2025SenateCommitteeReferred to Appropriations. S.J. 480 .
- Mar 10, 2025SenateCommittee report, approving bill. S.J. 467 .
- Mar 10, 2025SenateIntroducedIntroduced, placed on calendar. S.J. 464 .
- Mar 10, 2025SenateCommittee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 597 . S.J. 467 .
- Mar 3, 2025Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee recommends passage.
- Feb 26, 2025SenateSubcommittee Meeting: 02/27/2025 8:00AM Senate Lounge.
- Feb 26, 2025SenateSubcommittee: Sweeney, Shipley, and Zimmer. S.J. 367 .
- Feb 25, 2025SenateIntroducedIntroduced, referred to Agriculture. S.J. 353 .
- Feb 24, 2025Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee recommends passage.
- Feb 18, 2025HouseSubcommittee Meeting: 02/24/2025 1:00PM House Lounge.
- Feb 18, 2025HouseSubcommittee: Harris, Kurth and Wengryn. H.J. 349 .
- Feb 18, 2025HouseIntroducedIntroduced, referred to Natural Resources. H.J. 347 .
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.iowa.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance45How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy15Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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