8D.3 - IOWA TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION -- MEMBERS -- DUTIES.
8D.3 IOWA TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY
COMMISSION -- MEMBERS -- DUTIES.
1. Commission established. A telecommunications and
technology commission is established with the sole authority to
supervise the management, development, and operation of the network
and ensure that all components of the network are technically
compatible. The management, development, and operation of the
network shall not be subject to the jurisdiction or control of any
other state agency. However, the commission is subject to the
general operations practices and procedures which are generally
applicable to other state agencies.
a. The commission shall ensure that the network operates in
an efficient and responsible manner consistent with the provisions of
this chapter for the purpose of providing the best economic service
attainable to the network users consistent with the state's financial
capacity.
b. The commission shall ensure that educational users and the
use, design, and implementation for educational applications be given
the highest priority concerning use of the network.
c. The commission shall provide for the centralized,
coordinated use and control of the network.
2. Members. The commission is composed of five members
appointed by the governor and subject to confirmation by the senate.
Members of the commission shall not serve in any manner or be
employed by an authorized user of the network or by an entity seeking
to do or doing business with the network.
a. The governor shall appoint a member as the chairperson of
the commission from the five members appointed by the governor,
subject to confirmation by the senate.
b. Members of the commission shall serve six-year staggered
terms as designated by the governor and appointments to the
commission are subject to the requirements of sections 69.16, 69.16A,
and 69.19. Vacancies shall be filled by the governor for the
duration of the unexpired term.
c. The salary of the members of the commission shall be
twelve thousand dollars per year, except that the salary of the
chairperson shall be seventeen thousand dollars per year. Members of
the commission shall also be reimbursed for all actual and necessary
expenses incurred in the performance of duties as members. The
benefits and salary paid to the members of the commission shall be
adjusted annually equal to the average of the annual pay adjustments,
expense reimbursements, and related benefits provided under
collective bargaining agreements negotiated pursuant to chapter 20.
d. Meetings of the commission shall be held at the call of
the chairperson of the commission. In addition to the members
appointed by the governor, the auditor of state or the auditor's
designee shall serve as a nonvoting, ex officio member of the
commission.
3. Duties. The commission shall do all of the following:
a. Enter into agreements pursuant to chapter 28E as necessary
and appropriate for the purposes of the commission. However, the
commission shall not enter into an agreement with an unauthorized
user or any other person pursuant to chapter 28E for the purpose of
providing such user or person access to the network.
b. Adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A as deemed appropriate
and necessary, and directly related to the implementation and
administration of the duties of the commission. The commission, in
consultation with the department of administrative services, shall
also adopt and provide for standard communications procedures and
policies relating to the use of the network which recognize, at a
minimum, the need for reliable communications services.
c. Establish an appeal process for review by the commission
of a scheduling conflict decision, including a scheduling conflict
involving an educational user, or the establishment of a fee
associated with the network upon the request of a person affected by
such decision or fee. A determination made by the commission
pursuant to this paragraph shall be final.
d. Review and approve for adoption, rules as proposed and
submitted by an authorized user group necessary for the authorized
user group's access and use of the network. The commission may
refuse to approve and adopt a proposed rule, and upon such refusal,
shall return the proposed rule to the respective authorized user
group proposing the rule with a statement indicating the commission's
reason for refusing to approve and adopt the rule.
e. (1) Develop and issue for response all requests for
proposals for any construction, installation, repair, maintenance, or
equipment and parts necessary for the network. In preparing the
request for proposals, the commission shall do all of the following:
(a) Review existing requests for proposals related to the
network.
(b) Consider and evaluate all competing technologies which could
be used in any construction, installation, repair, or maintenance
project.
(c) Allow flexibility for proposals to be submitted in response
to a request for proposals issued by the commission such that any
qualified provider may submit a bid on a site-by-site basis, or on a
merged area or defined geographic area basis, or both, and by
permitting proposals to be submitted for use of competing or
alternative technologies in each defined area.
(d) Ensure that rural communities have access to comparable
services to the services provided in urban areas resulting from any
plans to construct, install, repair, or maintain any part of the
network.
(2) In determining which proposal to recommend to the general
assembly to accept, consider what is in the long-term best interests
of the citizens of the state and the network, and utilize, if
possible, the provision of services with existing service providers
consistent with those best interests. In determining what is in the
long-term best interests of the citizens of the state and the
network, the commission, at a minimum, shall consider the cost to
taxpayers of the state.
(3) Deliver a written report and all proposals submitted in
response to the request for proposals for Part III to the general
assembly no later than January 1, 1995. The commission shall not
enter into any agreement related to such proposals without prior
authorization by a constitutional majority of each house of the
general assembly and approval by the governor.
f. Include in the commission's annual report related to the
network the actual income and expenses for the network for the
preceding fiscal year and estimates for income and expenses for the
network for the two-year fiscal period that includes the fiscal year
during which the report is submitted. The report shall include the
amount of any general fund appropriations to be requested, any
recommendations of the commission related to changes in the system,
and other items as deemed appropriate by the commission. The report
shall also include a list of contracts in excess of one million
dollars entered into by the commission during the preceding fiscal
year, including any contract entered into pursuant to section 8D.11
or 8D.13 or any other authority of the commission.
g. Review existing maintenance contracts and past contracts
to determine vendor capability to perform the obligations under such
contracts. The commission shall report to the general assembly prior
to January 1 of each year as to the performance of all vendors under
each contract and shall make recommendations concerning continued
funding for the contracts.
h. Pursue available opportunities to cooperate and coordinate
with the federal government for the use and potential expansion of
the network and for the financing of any such expansion.
i. Evaluate existing and projected rates for use of the
system and ensure that rates are sufficient to pay for the operation
of the system excluding the cost of construction and lease costs for
Parts I, II, and III. The commission shall establish all hourly
rates to be charged to all authorized users for the use of the
network and shall consider all costs of the network in establishing
the rates. A fee established by the commission to be charged to a
hospital licensed pursuant to chapter 135B, a physician clinic, or
the federal government shall be at an appropriate rate so that, at a
minimum, there is no state subsidy related to the costs of the
connection or use of the network related to such user.
j. Make recommendations to the general assembly, as deemed
appropriate by the commission, concerning the operation of the
network.
k. Provide necessary telecommunications cabling to provide
state communications. Section History: Recent Form
94 Acts, ch 1184, §5; 95 Acts, ch 210, §1; 96 Acts, ch 1200, §1;
99 Acts, ch 207, § 8; 2000 Acts, ch 1141, §12, 19; 2003 Acts, ch 145,
§286; 2005 Acts, ch 178, §39; 2006 Acts, ch 1126, §1; 2007 Acts, ch
116, §1; 2008 Acts, ch 1031, §78
Referred to in § 8A.201, 8D.2, 8D.8
Confirmation, see §2.32