Iowa Code Title XI. Natural Resources [Chs. 455-485] § 461A.25. Leases and easements

1. The commission may recommend that the executive council lease property under the commission's jurisdiction. All leases shall reserve to the public of the state the right to enter upon the property leased for any lawful purpose. The council may, if it approves the recommendation and the lease to be entered into is for five years or less, execute the lease in behalf of the state and commission. If the recommendation is for a lease in excess of five years, with the exception of agricultural lands specifically dealt with in Article I, section 24 of the Constitution of the State of Iowa, the council shall advertise for bids. If a bid is accepted, the lease shall be let or executed by the council in accordance with the most desirable bid. The lease shall not be executed for a term longer than fifty years. Any such leasehold interest, including any improvements placed on it, shall be listed on the tax rolls as provided in chapters 428 and 443 and assessed and valued as provided in chapter 441; taxes shall be levied on it as provided in chapter 444 and collected as provided in chapter 445; and the leasehold interest is subject to tax sale, redemption, and apportionment of taxes as provided in chapters 446, 447, and 448. The lessee shall discharge and pay all taxes.

2. The commission shall adopt rules providing for granting easements to political subdivisions and utility companies on state land under the jurisdiction of the department. An applicant for an easement shall provide the director with information setting forth the need for the easement, availability of alternatives, and measures proposed to prevent or minimize adverse impacts on the affected property. An easement shall be executed by the director, approved as to form by the attorney general, and if granted for a term longer than five years, approved by the commission.

3. For the purposes of this section, property under the commission's jurisdiction does not include an area of the bed of a lake or river occupied by a dock or other appurtenance or means of access to a dock, including but not limited to boat hoists and boat slips, or occupied by a boat ramp, constructed or installed and maintained under littoral or riparian rights.