2023 Iowa Code › Title I - STATE SOVEREIGNTY AND MANAGEMENT › Chapter 7E - EXECUTIVE BRANCH ORGANIZATION AND RESPONSIBILITIES › Section 7E.2 - Offices, departments, and independent agencies.

7E.2 Offices, departments, and independent agencies.
The constitutional and statutory offices, administrative departments, and independent agencies which comprise the executive branch of state government are structured as follows:
1. Separate constitutional offices. The elective constitutional and statutory officers who do not head operating departments each head a staff to be termed the “office” of the respective elective officer, but the office of the governor shall be known as the “executive office”.
2. Principal administrative units. The principal administrative unit of the executive branch is a “department” and there may be one or more “independent agencies”.
3. Internal structure.
a. The director of each department, subject to applicable statute, approval by the governor, and the provisions of subsection 4 of this section, may establish the internal structure within the office of the director so as to best suit the purposes of the department.
b. For field operations, departments may establish district or area offices which may cut across divisional lines of responsibility.
c. For their internal structure, all departments shall adhere to the following standard terms unless otherwise specified by law, and independent agencies are encouraged to review their internal structure and to adhere as much as possible to the following standard terms:
(1) The principal subunit of the department is the “division”. Each division shall be headed by an “administrator”.
(2) The principal subunit of the division is the “bureau”. Each bureau shall be headed by a “chief”.
(3) If further subdivision is necessary, bureaus may be divided into subunits which shall be known as “sections” and which shall be headed by “supervisors” and sections may be divided into subunits which shall be known as “units” and which shall be headed by “unit managers”.
4. Internal organization and allocation of functions. Subject to applicable law, the head of each department or independent agency shall, subject to the approval of the governor, establish the internal organization of the department or independent agency and allocate and reallocate duties and functions not assigned by law to an officer or any subunit of the department or independent agency to promote economic and efficient administration and operation of the department or independent agency.
5. Attachment for limited purposes. Any commission, board, or other unit attached under this section to a department or independent agency, or a specified division of one, shall be a distinct unit of that department, independent agency, or specified division. Any commission, board, or other unit so attached shall exercise its powers, duties, and functions as may be prescribed by law, including rulemaking, licensing and regulation, and operational planning within the area of program responsibility of the commission, board, or other unit independently of the head of the department or independent agency, but budgeting, program coordination, and related management functions shall be performed under the direction and supervision of the head of the department or independent agency, unless otherwise provided by law.
86 Acts, ch 1245, §2
Referred to in §8A.512A, 22.13A