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Amendments › SF 639

Amendment S-5255 to SF 639

Creating a specialty business court, and including effective date provisions

Pending

Filed May 3, 2026 in the Senate by

What it changes

  1. Page 1, line 12, by striking “five” and inserting “two”
  2. Page 3, by striking lines 21 through 33 and inserting: “
  3. The business court shall consist of two judges.
  4. a. On the effective date of this Act, the supreme court shall determine from among the judges then serving in the existing business specialty court two judges to serve exclusively as full-time judges of the business court. b. If fewer than two judges from the existing business specialty court seek appointment to serve as full-time judges of the business court, the remaining vacancy or vacancies shall be nominated and appointed as provided in chapter
  6. After the initial appointments under subsection 2, any vacancy on the business court shall be nominated and appointed as provided in chapter
  8. In addition to the judges appointed or designated under this section, the supreme court may assign as visiting judges of the business court district court judges and senior judges.”
  9. Page 4, after line 20 by inserting: “
  10. A judge of the business court may be assigned to the civil docket of a district court when the business court caseload permits, as determined by the supreme court.”
  11. Page 6, before line 6 by inserting: “Sec. ___. REPORT. On or before January 1, 2029, the judicial branch shall submit a report to the general assembly on the performance of the business court established under section 602.6801, as enacted in this Act. The report must include but is not limited to all of the following:
  12. The average number of days from filing to final disposition of business court cases.
  13. A side-by-side comparison of the number of days from filing to final disposition of business court cases with the number of days from filing to final disposition of comparable commercial civil litigation on the district court docket.
  14. The total number of cases filed in, transferred away -1- SF 639.4512.H (1) 91 md 1/ 2 from, dismissed from, or retained on the business court docket as provided in section 602.6804, as enacted in this Act.
  15. A detailed accounting of all personnel costs, including judicial salaries, clerk support, and administrative overhead of the business court.
  16. An estimate of the cost savings, if any, of district courts due to the operations of the business court.
  17. The total amount of court fees collected for cases in the business court.
  18. The percentage of time, if any, that business court judges spend on non-business-court civil litigation cases in district court.
  19. Anonymized survey data from legal counsel and other litigants regarding the perceived expertise, fairness, efficiency, and predictability of the business court.
  20. The number and outcome of appeals of business court decisions compared to the general reversal rate for civil litigation case decisions.”
  21. Page 6, line 7, by striking “2025” and inserting “2026”
  22. By renumbering as necessary. -2- SF 639.4512.H (1) 91 md 2/ 2

Official amendment (PDF) · In the Bill Book