Judicial Magistrates, Appointment and Apportionment (1372XD) - Judicial Branch

This bill revises Iowa's system for appointing and distributing magistrate judges across counties. It requires every county to have at least one resident magistrate and establishes a new formula to apportion 206 magistrate positions based on case workload, population, geography, and pending cases, while accounting for administrative duties and travel time. Temporary provisions (ending January 1, 2029) allow magistrates to serve multiple counties to fill vacancies if the combined workload does not exceed 31% of a full-time position. The changes take effect on January 1, 2029.