Capitol Notebook: Former Iowa Supreme Court justice, gubernatorial candidate dies at 91

A former Iowa Supreme Court justice and one-time gubernatorial candidate died Sunday at the age of 91.

Members of the Iowa Supreme Court remembered Mark McCormick as a man of “keen intellect, steady wisdom and generous spirit.”

A Fort Dodge native, McCormick served on the Iowa Supreme Court from 1972 until he returned to private practice in1986. He graduated from Villanova University and served three years in the U.S. Navy before getting a law degree from Georgetown University in 1960.

McCormick spent a year clerking for Chief Judge Harvey Johnsen at the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals before returning to Fort Dodge to practice law. He served as assistant county Attorney of Webster County from 1963 to 1966 and was appointed a district court judge before joining the Iowa Supreme Court.

McCormick narrowly lost the Democratic primary for governor in 1998 to Tom Vilsack, who went on to win the general election and serve two terms as governor.

Chief Justice Susan Christensen said McCormick and her father developed a “deep personal and professional bond” as colleagues on the Iowa Supreme Court and as friends beyond the bench.

“His keen intellect, steady wisdom, and generous spirit left a lasting impression on all who had the privilege of knowing him,” Christensen wrote on a memorial page with statements from past and present Iowa Supreme Court Justices on the judicial branch website.

"Kevin and I were saddened to hear of the passing of former Iowa Supreme Court Justice Mark McCormick," Gov. Kim Reynolds wrote in a social media post. "From his time in the Navy to his fourteen years on the Supreme Court, he dedicated himself to serving his state and country. We are keeping his family in our thoughts and prayers at this time."

Bill changing district judicial nominating commissions halted

After passing on it for the past couple of years, the Iowa House took up a Senate bill that would change the makeup of the commission that nominates district judges in the state before quickly roadblocking it again.

Iowa Sen. Julian Garrett, R-Indianola, has been introducing legislation that would give the governor more authority with judicial nominating commissions. It has passed through the Senate multiple times, but has never been taken up by the House.

On Wednesday, the bill was advanced out of a House subcommittee but failed to come up in the last House Judiciary Committee before Friday’s legislative “funnel” deadline.

The 11-member judicial nominating commissions for district court vacancies are currently comprised of five attorneys, five appointees from the governor, and the senior-most judge in the district, who serves as the chair. The commissions create a short list of candidates for judicial vacancies, from which the governor makes an appointment.

Senate File 407 would replace the judge on the commission with a person appointed by the governor.

Backers of the bill argue it's needed because attorneys and judges outweigh the governor’s appointees.

But opponents say it would further politicize Iowa’s judicial branch.

Although they voted to advance it out of subcommittee Wednesday, Reps. Steven Holt, R-Denison, and Charley Thomson, R-Charles City, both aired issues with multiple sections of the bill, including the lack of resources and infrastructure the commission would face without having a judge as a member.

Holt, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, later told reporters that he believes the commissions need reform, but lawmakers should have more comprehensive discussions around the legislation.

Expanded cancer coverage for firefighters advances

All cancers would be included in disability benefits for Iowa firefighters and police under legislation approved by the Senate State Government Committee.

The proposal for the past two years has had widespread support in the House but ran into resistance in the Senate. The Senate State Government Committee amended the bill to increase employer contributions to retirement funds in order to help cover any increased costs and avoid financial burdens on local governments.

Iowa Sen. Scott Webster, R-Bettendorf, said he is happy that lawmakers and stakeholders reached a compromise that provides health care for firefighters and police but also protects taxpayers.

The committee approved the bill, House File 969, with only Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, expressing opposition.

The bill previously passed the Iowa House on a unanimous, 96-0 vote and is now eligible for consideration by the full Iowa Senate.

Bill to increase penalties for open meeting violations advances

Violations of the state’s open meetings law would face increased penalties and most public officials would be required to undergo public information accessibility training under legislation that passed the Iowa Senate State Government Committee.

Rep. Gary Mohr, R-Bettendorf, introduced the legislation in 2024 after two incidents in which Davenport city leaders withheld information from the public regarding a downtown building collapse and a separation proceeding with a former city administrator.

The bill, House File 706, passed the Iowa House on a unanimous, 95-0 vote. With its approval by the Senate State Government Committee, it is now eligible for consideration by the full Iowa Senate.

Elections law changes advance

A package of changes to Iowa’s elections laws was approved by the Iowa Senate State Government Committee.

Under the proposed legislation, the threshold for earning major party status would be elevated, ranked choice voting would be banned, elections crimes would be investigated first by local law enforcement, and the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office would create a new, “unconfirmed” voter registration status for Iowans whose citizenship his office is unable to confirm.

The bill, House File 954, passed the committee with some opposition from Democrats.

A separate bill streamlining Iowa’s election recount procedures will be amended onto the bill when it is debated by the full Senate, said Iowa Sen. Ken Rozenboom, R-Pella.

Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau