IA HSB259

Expands residency requirements for district judges, district associate judges, magistrates, and associate juvenile and probate judges to allow residence in a county contiguous to their judicial election district, rather than requiring residence within the district itself

Authorizes court proceedings to be held by remote means of communication as an alternative to in-person hearings at designated courthouse locations

Transfers authority to supervise, schedule, and assign duties to all court reporters from individual judges to the chief judge of the judicial district (or designee), though presiding judges retain supervision authority during active proceedings

Requires court reporter appointments to be made by the judicial officers of a district with approval from the chief judge, and allows the chief judge to delegate this authority to the district court administrator

Permits clerks of court to provide access to civil pleadings before the formal memorandum of filing date is entered in the appearance docket, with new petitions and orders required to be docketed within two business days