A bill governing the process used to fill vacancies on a county board received House approval.
Sponsored by Rep. Bill Hilty (DFL-Finlayson), HF3662 would require a public hearing to be held before a county board fills a vacancy by appointment.
Approved 131-0 by the House March 31, it now moves to the Senate, where Sen. Tony Lourey (DFL-Kerrick) is the sponsor.
Hilty said the bill would require that before a county board can make an appointment to fill a vacancy, it would have to hold a public hearing regarding the vacancy and notify the county commissioner and public officials that hold office in that district, such as town boards and city councils.
The bill was amended to strike a section that would have shortened from two years to one year the length of time a person appointed to fill a vacancy is allowed to serve before an election must be held to fill the vacancy.