After passing in House committees, a bill to change the Mower County recorder position to an appointed job is scheduled to go before a state Senate committee tomorrow.

Sen. Dan Sparks submitted the bill to the Minnesota State Senate on the county’s behalf. The bill is slated to go before a Senate committee around 4 p.m. tomorrow, and Mower County Coordinator Craig Oscarson planned to speak on behalf of the county.

If the bill passes in both the House and Senate and is approved by the governor, the county would then have the option to appoint someone to the recorder position. The job is currently elected, and Oscarson said it would give the Mower County Board of Commissioners more control over the job.

The bill passed in committees in the Minnesota House of Representatives last Monday and Wednesday, and the bill will go before the general house floor soon.

Oscarson seemed confident the bill would pass in the senate committee, as he said the bill is similar to past bills in other counties.

“I think it will go through in the senate, too,” Oscarson said.

If the bill passes, Oscarson said he’s not sure the county board would have enough time to potentially make the change this year, since the date for affidavits of candidacy for public office has been moved up to May.

Before the position could be an appointed role, the public would have time for input. There would be a period for citizens to file a petition against the move, and the county board would host a public meeting about the potential change.

The county board is holding an informational session about the possibility of a change on March 23 during the regular county board meeting at 11 a.m.