Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal:
“We did some things on job creation in this state on making sure that the resources are there to provide for education and training of employees in this state to match the skills to the jobs that are out there and get thousands of Iowans back to work. So I’m pretty excited about some of the things we did for higher education and in particular community colleges. There are disappointments, there are disappointments in every session. I would have really loved to have gotten something done on commercial property taxes in this state. In the end we felt the plan that the Governor was advancing was one that would shift taxes to homeowners and we couldn’t go along with that.”

Video, audio and a transcript can be found at IPTV.

FLOOR ACTION:

HF 563 creates the Transparency in Private Attorney Contracts Act, which addresses the procedure to be followed when the state retains a private attorney to do work on its behalf. The bill relates to contingency fee contracts that private attorneys enter into with the state and limits contingency fees based on the amount of the recovery. The Attorney General must make a written determination that the contingency fee representation will be cost-effective and in the public interest. In addition, the Attorney General must follow the procurement process used by the Department of Administrative Services in seeking private attorneys unless there is a written determination that such a request is not feasible under the circumstances. In addition, all information related to a contingency fee contract is to be posted on the Attorney General’s website. [4/23: 49-0 (McKinley excused)]

HF 2399 – Scrap metal sales

FLOOR ACTION:

SF 2208 allows employees of the Department of Corrections and Community Based Corrections who have been authorized by the Director of the Department of Corrections to have access to confidential arrest warrant information. Under current law, peace officers, county attorneys, judicial officers and court employees have access to confidential arrest warrant information. In addition, the bill specifies that once a defendant has made an initial appearance in court, the arrest warrant information is no longer confidential. The Senate passed this bill previously, and it was amended by the House. The Senate accepted the House amendment, which gives the court the ability to determine circumstances under which a confidential arrest warrant could be disclosed. [4/3: 48-0 (Horn, Bertrand excused)]

HF 2399 relates to scrap metal transactions and the recording of scrap metal transactions. This bill is intended to help thwart the theft of certain scrap metals, primarily copper. When a person sells scrap metal to a dealer in Iowa, the seller must provide the seller’s name, address and place of business, if any, and present the dealer with a valid driver’s license or nonoperator’s identification card, military ID card, passport or other government-issued photo identification. After an initial transaction with a seller, the scrap metal dealer may only require the person’s name and place of business for subsequent purchases, if the dealer retains all information received during the initial transaction. Scrap metal dealers must keep a confidential log of all of the transactions, which  must be provided to a law enforcement agency upon request during normal business hours if the agency has reasonable grounds to request such information as part of a criminal investigation. All scrap metal transactions that exceed a sale price of $50 will require payment by check or electronic funds transfer. Exceptions to the requirements for recordkeeping in the bill include the transactions for the sale of catalytic converters for which the sale price is $75 or less, transactions in which a scrap metal dealer is selling scrap metal, and transactions in which the person selling the scrap metal is known to the scrap metal dealer purchasing the scrap metal to be an officer, employee, agent of an established commercial or industrial business. Violations are subject to a civil penalty of $100 for the first violation, $500 for a second violation and $1,000 for a third or subsequent violation. This bill preempts any local ordinance that regulates scrap metal transactions. However, the Senate adopted an amendment that allows cities with a population of greater than 150,000 with local ordinances related to scrap metal transactions to retain those ordinances. [4/4: 45-0 (Bertrand, Boettger, Horn, Houser, Seymour excused)]

HF 609 – Probate Bill

HF 2390 – Relating to human trafficking and obscenity

FLOOR ACTION:

SF 2260 is the Revised Iowa Nonprofit Corporation Act. The bill:

** Provides a process for termination and suspension of members of nonprofit corporations by permitting an organization to provide for termination in accordance with procedures set forth in the articles of incorporation or bylaws of the organization.

** Permits meetings to be held via the Internet or other electronic means.

** Sets forth a procedure for appointment of a chair of a member meeting in the absence of any provision in the articles or bylaws. In addition, it provides that unless otherwise provided in the articles of incorporation or bylaws, the chair shall determine the rules of the meeting and such rules shall be fair to the members.

** Includes provisions providing for inspectors of elections.

** Expressly recognizes that nonprofits can have advisory committees. They can be composed of non-board members and are strictly advisory in nature. Currently, the act only addresses board committees that can be made up of only board members.

** Addresses a process for handling situations where a director is presented a business opportunity that may be beneficial to the nonprofit corporation.

** Permits mergers between nonprofit corporations and unincorporated entities, including unincorporated nonprofit associations and maintains the restrictions imposed on mergers involving public benefit and religious corporations and for-profit or mutual-benefit entities.

**The Senate adopted a House amendment that deletes sections 11 and 14 of the bill, which imposed duties on directors and officers to disclose information not known by other directors. [3/26: 50-0]

HF 609 updates the Probate Code, Trust Code and Inheritance Tax Chapter. Many of the changes in the bill are designed to make the process of disposing of one’s assets at death the same whether it is by will through probate or via a revocable living trust. [3/28: 48-1 (Dvorsky “no”; Houser excused)]

HF 2390 has two major components. One relates to human trafficking and creates a Class “D” felony for solicitation of commercial sexual activity if a person entices, recruits, coerces or attempts to entice, recruit or coerce anyone under the age of 18 or someone who is believed to be under the age of 18 for commercial sexual activity. Current law requires multiple people involved in a venture in order for a charge of human trafficking related to commercial sexual activity. This clarifies that one person can solicit for commercial sexual activity, which means any sex act or sexually explicit performance for which anything of value is given, promised to or received by any person and includes, but is not limited to, prostitution, participation in production of pornography and performance in strip clubs.

The bill adds solicitation of commercial sexual activity as a Tier III offense for sex offender registry purposes; expands the definition of human trafficking to include knowingly purchasing or attempting to purchase services involving commercial sexual activity from a victim or any person engaged in human trafficking; and specifies that ignorance of the age of the victim or belief that a victim was older is not a defense against a human trafficking charge.

The second component of the bill relates to obscenity and child pornography. The bill defines a new term, “visual depiction,” relating to obscenity in order to address the issue of electronic media that may contain multiple pornographic images, which under current Iowa law is considered one criminal charge. Under the bill, a visual depiction is “any picture, slide, photograph, digital or electronic image, negative image, undeveloped film, motion picture, videotape, digital or electronic recording, live transmission, or other pictorial or three-dimensional representation.” The Senate voted to approve an amendment that ties potential criminal charges relating to child pornography to the individual children involved in the visual depictions. For example, if you have 50 visual depictions, such as 50 downloaded photographs, on one computer and the same two children are in those 50 visual depictions, that would constitute two charges because the visual depictions involved two children. [3/26: 50-0]

HF 490 – Medical Malpractice Actions and Expert Witnesses

HF 2321 – Uniform Commercial Code

HF 2370 – Lis Pendens and Mortgage Foreclosure

HF 2379 – Expunging Certain Criminal Records

HF 2390 – Obscene Material and Human Trafficking

HF 2399 – Scrap Metal Theft

FLOOR ACTION:

SF 365, with a strike-after amendment proposed by the Senate, relates to the placement of a juvenile on youthful offender status in district court and other laws regarding juveniles who are charged with criminal offenses. Under current Iowa law, a juvenile court may waive its jurisdiction over a child alleged to have committed certain delinquent acts to the district court for prosecution as a youthful offender.  Upon a plea or verdict of guilt in the district court, the child is returned to the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which enters an order of disposition and supervises the child until age 18. When the child reaches age 18, a hearing is held in district court where the court has discretion to discharge the sentence or continue supervision of the youthful offender in district court. The youthful offender law is meant to present a hybrid proceeding between juvenile proceedings and full waiver for prosecution as an adult. The amendment to SF 365 makes some changes to Iowa’s current youthful offender law and other laws relating to juveniles.

The bill with the amendment allows a child who is waived to district court for prosecution as a youthful offender to receive a deferred judgment. Under current law, the child can only receive a deferred sentence. Children who are waived to district court to be prosecuted as adults are eligible to receive a deferred judgment, so this change creates parity between a child prosecuted as an adult and a child who is prosecuted as a youthful offender.

In addition, the amendment establishes a minimum age at which a child can be prosecuted as a youthful offender. Current law has no minimum age and the bill clarifies that only children ages 12 to15 can be prosecuted as youthful offenders and the Code identifies the crimes for which a child can be prosecuted as a youthful offender. However, children who are 10, 11 or older who are charged with a class “A” felony can also be placed on youthful offender status.

The amendment mandates that once a young person age 16 or older is waived to district court to be prosecuted as an adult and convicted or pleads guilty in district court, any subsequent criminal charges against that person are automatically waived to district court. The amendment also specifies that the court may waive a mandatory minimum sentence relating to a juvenile who is waived to district court for prosecution as an adult for a crime which requires a mandatory minimum sentence for an adult who pleads guilty or is convicted of the crime. [3/19: 50-0]

FLOOR & COMMITTEE ACTION:

HF 2321 provides for further revisions to Article 9, Iowa’s Uniform Commercial Code, as recommended by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. The goal is for all 50 states to enact these revisions, with a uniform effective date of July 1, 2013. [3/21: 50-0] [3/15: short form (Sorenson excused)]

HF 2370 deals with service of process requirements in non-judicial foreclosures and sets up a specific process that cuts off the interest of a third party that claims to have an interest in real estate that has not been recorded. However, the third party can assert their interest under the bill under these circumstances:

**If a lawsuit is filed relating to real property, the party who claims to have the non-recorded interest can intervene in the lawsuit prior to entry of judgment. The action against the property can be a foreclosure, nuisance abatement or a municipal infraction lawsuit.

**Prior to the transfer of an interest in property, the third party can file an affidavit showing that the party filing the mortgage foreclosure, nuisance abatement or municipal infraction had actual notice of the claim of interest and the identity of the claimant.

**If someone claims a non-recorded interest in real property against which the city has initiated nuisance abatement proceedings, they must file an affidavit claiming to have an interest in the real property and it must be done within 90 days of the time a judgment is entered in the litigation brought by the city and the claimant must prove that the city had prior notice of the claimant’s interest. If the affidavit is not recorded within 90 days or the claimant fails to prove the city had actual notice of the claimant’s interest, then the entered judgment stands.

Sections 2 through 5 of the bill conform the service of process requirements for non-judicial foreclosures with the requirements relating to foreclosure actions. If a property is being foreclosed upon, regardless of the method being used, all persons who are to be provided notice shall be served by one of the methods authorized under the law. [3/21: 49-0 (McKinley excused)] [3/15: short form (Sorenson excused)]

HF 2379 requires that in addition to expunging the criminal records relating to a deferred judgment charge, the Judicial Branch must expunge the record of the criminal charges that were dropped relating to the same occurrence if the individual who receives the deferred judgment successfully completes all the requirements related to the deferred judgment. “Expunged” means that the records will be kept separately from the court’s online records and will only be available to those authorized by law to see the records of the deferred judgment and not to the public. In addition, a record will only be expunged after a person has paid restitution, civil penalties, court costs, fees or other financial obligations ordered by the court. [3/21: 49-0 (McKinley excused)] [3/15: short form (Sorenson excused)]

COMMITTEE ACTION:

HF 490 provides for certificate of merit affidavits in medical malpractice actions. Under the bill, for any lawsuit for personal injury or wrongful death against any health care provider based upon the alleged negligence of a professionally licensed health care provider or based upon the negligence of the hospital or health care facility, which includes a cause of action requiring expert testimony, the plaintiff must within 180 days of the defendant’s answer serve upon the defendant an expert’s certificate of merit affidavit for each expert as a potential witness. Each affidavit must be signed by the expert and certify the purpose for calling the expert through the following information provided under oath:

** The expert’s statement of familiarity with the applicable standard of care.

** The expert’s statement that the standard of care was breached

** The expert’s statement of what should have been done or what wasn’t done in order to comply with the standard of care.

** The expert’s statement as to how the breach of care caused the injury.

The Committee voted to recommend a strike-after amendment to the bill which requires a party to a professional liability case, if the party intends to call an expert witness, to designate to the court and the other parties the element or elements of the cause of action about which the expert will testify. In addition, an expert witness designated by the plaintiff to testify about a breach of the standard of care or cause of damages must also sign a certification at the time of the designation stating that to the best of the expert’s knowledge, etc., the expert has a good-faith belief that the defendant or defendants breached the applicable standard of care or that the breach was the cause of the damages to the plaintiff. [3/15: short form (Sorenson excused)]

HF 2390 has two major components. One relates to human trafficking and creates a Class “D” felony for solicitation of commercial sexual activity if a person entices, recruits, coerces or attempts to entice, recruit or coerce anyone under the age of 18 or someone who is believed to be under the age of 18 for commercial sexual activity. Current law requires multiple persons involved in the venture. This clarifies that one person can solicit for commercial sexual activity. Commercial sexual activity means any sex act or sexually explicit performance for which anything of value is given, promised to or received by any person and includes, but is not limited to, prostitution, participation in production of pornography and performance in strip clubs.

The bill adds solicitation of commercial sexual activity as a Tier III offense for sex offender registry purposes; expands the definition of human trafficking to include knowingly purchasing or attempting to purchase services involving commercial sexual activity from a victim or any person engaged in human trafficking; and specifies that ignorance of the age of the victim or belief that a victim was older is not a defense against a human trafficking charge.

The second component of the bill relates to obscenity and child pornography. The bill defines a new term, “visual depiction,” relating to obscenity in order to address the issue of electronic media which may contain multiple pornographic images, which under current Iowa law is considered one charge. Under the bill, a visual depiction is “any picture, slide, photograph, digital or electronic image, negative image, undeveloped film, motion picture, videotape, digital or electronic recording, live transmission, or other pictorial or three-dimensional representation.” For example, possession of one or more visual depictions could be charged as a single charge for each visual depiction in an individual’s possession or on an individual’s computer. The Committee recommended adoption of amendment which ties potential criminal charges relating to child pornography to the individual children involved in the visual depictions as opposed to the actual number of visual depictions. For example, if you have 50 visual depictions, such as 50 downloaded photographs, on one computer and the same two children are in those 50 visual depictions, that would constitute two charges because the visual depictions involved two children. [3/15: short form (Sorenson excused)]

HF 2399 relates to scrap metal transactions and the recording of scrap metal transactions. This bill is intended to help thwart the theft of certain scrap metals, primarily copper. When a person sells scrap metal to a dealer in Iowa, the seller must provide the seller’s name, address and place of business, if any, and present the dealer with a valid driver’s license or nonoperator’s identification card, military ID card, passport or other government-issued photo identification. After an initial transaction with a seller, the scrap metal dealer may only require the person’s name and place of business for subsequent purchases, if the dealer retains all information received during the initial transaction. Scrap metal dealers must keep a confidential log of all of the transactions that must be provided to a law enforcement agency upon request during normal business hours if the agency has reasonable grounds to request such information as part of a criminal investigation. All scrap metal transactions that exceed a sale price of $50 shall require payment by check or electronic funds transfer. Exceptions to the requirements for record keeping in the bill include the transactions for the sale of catalytic converters for which the sale price is $75 or less, transactions in which a scrap metal dealer is selling scrap metal, transactions in which the person selling the scrap metal is known to the scrap metal dealer purchasing the scrap metal to be an officer, employee, agent of an established commercial or industrial business. Violations of this section are subject to a civil penalty of $100 for the first violation, $500 for a second violation and $1000 for a third or subsequent violation. This bill preempts any local ordinance adopted by a subdivision that regulates scrap metal transactions. [3/15: short form (Sorenson excused)]

SF 2285 – Substantive Code Editor’s Bill

SF 2295 – Statute of Limitation for Child Sex Abuse Cases

SF 2296 – Solicitation to Commit Murder

SF 2304 – DNA Samples from Aggravated Misdemeanants

SF 2306 – Consumer Credit Code

SF 2307 – Sealing of Juvenile Records

HF 563 – Private Attorney Contracts with the Attorney General

HF 609 – Probate Bill

FLOOR ACTION:

SF 2218 is a bill relating to school bus safety. The bill:

**Enhances the penalty for drivers of vehicles that unlawfully pass a stopped school bus. Under current law, a person who unlawfully passes a school bus is subject to a $200 scheduled fine (a ticket). There is no enhancement under current law for more than one violation. This section creates a new penalty structure and drivers who unlawfully pass a stopped school bus are guilty of a simple misdemeanor for a first offense and will not receive a scheduled fine. The person will be subject to a potential fine of at least $250 up to $675 and/or up to 30 days in jail. For a second or subsequent violation, the driver is guilty of a serious misdemeanor and subject to a fine of at least $315 and up to $1,875 and up to one year in jail.

** Adds unlawfully passing a school bus to the list of traffic violations that are subject to additional penalties if, as a result of the violation, a person is seriously injured or killed. For a violation causing serious injury, the additional penalty is a fine of $500 or suspension of the violator’s driver’s license or operating privileges for not more than 90 days, or both. For a violation causing death, the penalty is a fine of $1,000 or suspension of the violator’s driver’s license or operating privileges for not more than 180 days, or both.

** Instructs the Department of Transportation, the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Education to jointly conduct a study or arrange for a study relating to school bus safety. The study will focus on the use of cameras mounted on school buses to aid enforcement of bus safety violations, safer bus routes, and school bus safety as a priority in driver training curriculum. Funding for the study will come out of the Department of Transportation’s statutory allocations fund. The report regarding the study is due to the General Assembly by December 31, 2012.

** Directs the Department of Transportation to treat unlawfully passing a school bus as a “serious” violation and initiate rulemaking that provides for tiers of administrative driver’s license suspensions for convictions for first, second or subsequent violations.

** Directs the Department of Transportation to include the form requesting Departmental (driver) reexamination of a person who may be physically or mentally unable to drive safely in the Iowa traffic and criminal software (TRACS). This is the software that almost all law enforcement agencies use when issuing tickets. This means that law enforcement would be able to electronically initiate the reexamination process.

** Directs the Department of Transportation, the Department of Public Safety, and the Department of Education to cooperate in establishing educational programs for public awareness of school bus safety laws.

** The portions of the bill dealing with the study, DOT’s adoption of rules, reexamination requests and public awareness programs are effective upon enactment. Criminal penalty enhancements will go into effect July 1, 2012. [3/1: 47-0 (Quirmbach, Fraise, Horn excused)]

SF 2285 is divided into three divisions and contains the Code Editor’s recommendations to clean up more substantive issues in the Iowa Code. Although these changes may slightly alter the meaning of or eliminate existing provisions, the changes are not an attempt to make new policy but rather an attempt to conform the Code provisions to current law or practice. The first and longest division contains a variety of changes, including clean-up related to bills enacted in previous years; eliminating obsolete text; updating language that otherwise would refer to provisions that have been repealed or eliminated; conforming terminology used to refer to sanctions imposed in civil or administrative proceedings; and rewriting language to clarify the meaning of or restructure various provisions in the Code. The second division of this bill is focused on correcting references to provisions changed in division I of the bill. The third division contains the effective and applicability date provisions for the bill. [3/5: 49-0 (Behn excused)]

SF 2295 relates to statutes of limitation for child sex abuse cases. The bill extends the time for filing a civil lawsuit for damages suffered because of sexual abuse when the individual was a child from one to ten years after the minor turns 18. In addition, the bill extends the time for filing a lawsuit for damages suffered as a result of sexual abuse when the individual was a child in cases where the injured individual discovers the injury and the relationship between the abuse and the injury from four to ten years after discovery after the child reaches the age of majority (18). SF 2295 extends the time for filing a criminal action against an individual who is accused of sexual abuse of a child (anyone under 18) from ten to 20 years after the child turns 18. Current law provides that if a perpetrator is identified through the use of a DNA profile, criminal charges must be brought within three years from the date the person is identified by the DNA profile. However, any case may be brought at the later date, either 20 years after the person turns 18 or three years after an individual is identified through DNA. [3/5: 49-0 (Behn excused)]

SF 2296 creates a specific crime of solicitation to commit murder and penalties for this crime. A person who solicits someone to commit murder, intending that the murder be carried out is guilty of solicitation to commit murder, a class “C” felony. Currently under Iowa law, there is the crime of solicitation to commit a felony (a class “D” felony), which applies to soliciting someone to commit any felony. [3/6: 97-1 (McCoy “no”, Courtney and Johnson excused)]

SF 2304 expands Iowa’s criminal DNA law to require that those who plead guilty to or are convicted of certain aggravated misdemeanors to submit a DNA sample for profiling. The bill excludes those who plead guilty or are convicted of the crime of driving while barred pursuant to 321.561, third-degree theft in violation of 714.2(3), and operating a vehicle without consent under 714.7. The effective date of the bill is July 1, 2013. [3/5: 33-16, (Anderson, Bertrand, Boettger, Bolkcom, Chelgren, Dix, Feenstra, Greiner, Hahn, Hamerlinck, Kettering, McCoy, Quirmbach, Seymour, Smith, Sorenson voting “no”; Behn excused)]

SF 2306 relates to the Chapter 537, the Consumer Credit Code. The bill directs the Attorney General to adopt rules that will provide creditors with alternative notice forms relating to a consumer’s right to cure that conform to the requirements of federal law. [3/5: 49-0, (Behn excused)]

SF 2307 provides for a process for sealing juvenile records. The juvenile court, on its own motion, shall order and set a hearing two years after the date of the last official action in a juvenile delinquency case, or after the date the child becomes 18 years of age, whichever is later, and order, if there is no objection from the county attorney, that the delinquency records be sealed. In order for the juvenile records to be sealed, a juvenile must not have committed any subsequent criminal violations greater than a simple misdemeanor and a juvenile must have successfully completed any youthful offender placement. The bill also accelerates the removal of juvenile records stored within the computer data storage system of the Department of Public Safety. The Department of Public Safety is required to remove the records from the Department’s records that relate to a juvenile arrest or taking of the juvenile into custody if no disposition data has been recorded within two years of the arrest or taking into custody. Current law provides for juvenile information to be removed from the Department’s system within four years of the arrest or taking into custody. [3/5: 47-2 (McKinley, Zaun “no”, Behn excused)]

COMMITTEE ACTION:

HF 563 creates the Transparency in Private Attorney Contracts Act, which addresses the procedure that must be followed when the state retains a private attorney to do work on behalf of the state. The bill relates to contingency fee contracts that private attorneys enter into with the state and limits contingency fees based on the amount of the recovery. The Attorney General must make a written determination that the contingency fee representation will be cost effective and in the public interest. In addition, the Attorney General must follow the procurement process used by the Department of Administrative Services in seeking private attorneys unless there is a written determination that such a request is not feasible under the circumstances. In addition, all information related to a contingency fee contract is to be posted on the Attorney General’s website. [3/7: short form]

HF 609 updates the Probate Code, Trust Code and Inheritance Tax Chapter. Many of the changes in the bill are designed to make the process of disposing of one’s assets at death the same whether it is by will through probate or via a revocable living trust. [3/7: short form]

SF 2096 – County Confinement Reimbursements for Holding State Prisoners

SF 2111 – Victims of Crimes, Victim Compensation, and the Identity Theft Passport Program

SF 2203 – Non-substantive Code Editor’s Bill

SF 2208 – Confidentiality of an Arrest Warrant and the Department of Corrections

SF 2209 – Credit for Time Served While on Probation

SF 2231 – Practices and Procedures of the State Public Defender

SF 2232 – Driving Related Convictions

SF 2260 – Iowa Nonprofit Corporation Act

SF 2265 – Notarial Acts

SF 2295 – Statute of Limitation for Child Sex Abuse Cases

SF 2296 – Solicitation to Commit Murder

SF 2297 – Sex Abuse in the 4th Degree

SF 2304 – DNA Samples from Aggravated Misdemeanants

SF 2305 – Civil Law and Practice

SF 2306 – Consumer Credit Code

SF 2307 – Sealing of Juvenile Records

FLOOR ACTION:

SF 2092 eliminates a program for the establishment and support of locally organized informal dispute resolution centers in the office of prosecuting attorneys training coordinator of the Department of Justice. The program is redundant and has not been funded for years. [2/27: 50-0]

SF 2096 lengthens the time period in which a county may request reimbursement from the Department of Corrections (DOC) for keeping prisoners in the county jail who have been sentenced to the custody of the Department. The bill provides the counties with 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter within which to submit their requests to the DOC for reimbursement for holding state prisoners. Currently, the vouchers are required to be submitted within 15 days of the end of each calendar quarter. In addition, the amendment mandates that if a county does not submit its bill to the DOC by the end of the 30-day time period, the Department shall deny the claim. Currently, the DOC has the discretion to deny claims made by the counties that are submitted after 15 days. [2/27: 50-0]

SF 2111 is an Attorney General sponsored bill which:

** Amends the Attorney General’s Identity Theft Passport program to allow Iowans who have been victims of identity theft outside the state to qualify for an Identity Theft Passport. The Attorney General provides victims of identity theft with a “passport” to show to law enforcement and creditors when necessary to support their claims that someone is impersonating them. Currently, only Iowans who are victims of identity theft that occurred within Iowa are eligible for the program.

** Allows the staff of the Victim Compensation Program to participate in restitution plan hearings by telephone. Victim compensation amounts are included in an offender’s restitution plan and sometimes staff testimony is required at hearings.

** Adds victims of identity theft, elderly victims of financial exploitation and dependent adults who are victims of financial exploitation to the list of persons who are eligible for compensation from the Victim Compensation Fund.

** Establishes a single definition of “Homicide Victim Survivor” to replace different definitions relating to three benefits specifically designated for homicide victim survivors—mental health therapy, health care and lost wages. A single definition for a “homicide victim survivor” is needed to streamline administration of the benefits. Currently, it is difficult to determine and explain the differences in the definition to survivors. For example, one of the definitions inadvertently excludes nieces and nephews, while it includes cousins.

** Makes clear that installation of new security items is a covered benefit of the Victim Compensation Program, in addition to the replacement of security items, which is currently a covered benefit.

** Clarifies that a secondary victim or homicide victim survivor is not eligible for compensation if the victim is ineligible.

** Makes other changes to create consistency in definitions and applications of the program. [2/27: 50-0]

SF 2203 is this year’s non-substantive Code Editor’s bill. The bill is divided into five divisions that contain the Code editor’s recommendations for various minor changes designed to clean up the Iowa Code. The first division contains a variety of technical corrections in provisions scattered throughout the Code. The changes include corrections to Code and Act references, federal cites, terminology, grammar and format, as well as the correction of various clerical errors. The second division is focused on the renumbering of provisions in Volume V of the Code. The third division contains corrections to internal references to sections renumbered in division II of the bill. The fourth division contains a series of directives to correct hyphenation in several words as well as to renumber provisions in Volume V. The renumbering of the provisions listed here does not require internal reference corrections within the sections themselves or elsewhere in the Code. The fifth and last division contains the effective and applicability date provisions for the bill. [2/28: 50-0]

SF 2208 allows employees of the Department of Corrections and Community Based Corrections who have been authorized by the Director of the Department of Corrections to have access to confidential arrest warrant information. Under current law, peace officers, county attorneys, judicial officers and court employees have access to confidential arrest warrant information. In addition, the bill specifies that once a defendant has made an initial appearance in court, the arrest warrant information is no longer confidential. [2/28: 50-0]

SF 2209 is a bill that responds to a recent Iowa Supreme Court case, referred to as the Anderson case, in which it was recognized by the Court that current Iowa law specifically provides that all persons who are placed on supervised probation who have that probation revoked will get credit for time served while on probation. The law, as written, had unintended consequences. For example, someone on supervised probation who had freedom of movement (e.g., living at home) would get credit for that probation and time taken off of their prison sentence for the time spent on probation. The bill, as amended, specifies that if a defendant is placed on probation, they will only get credit for time served if their probation is revoked for the time served in a community based corrections residential facility or an alternative jail facility as part of their probation. [2/29: 50-0]

SF 2231 relates to the practices and procedures of the State Public Defender. The bill:

** Restates the authority of the public defender to designate specific offices or attorneys to receive court appointments in a given case and county and expressly permits the public defender to enter into contracts based on something other than an hourly basis.

** Clarifies how appellate cases, which the appellate defender is unable to handle, are to be handled.

** Requires appointed attorneys to tell their client when they file an application to hire an expert or to exceed the fee limitations.

** Makes it clear that a person charged with a class A felony is not entitled to one retained attorney and one court-appointed attorney.

** Makes it clear that a person is required to reimburse the state for legal assistance provided, but only to the extent they are reasonably able to do so. [2/28:50-0]

SF 2232 addresses the situation where a person is found guilty of multiple counts of operating a motor vehicle while license is suspended or revoked under Code Section 321.218, subsection 1, arising out of one driving event or occurrence. A person’s driver’s license may be suspended or revoked for a number of different reasons, including failure to pay fines or court costs, failure to pay child support, and violation of the financial responsibility statute. A person who operates a motor vehicle while their driver’s license is suspended or revoked under Code Section 321.218, subsection 1, commits a simple misdemeanor. The bill clarifies that if a person is found guilty of multiple offenses of driving under suspension or driving while revoked arising out of one driving event or occurrence, the court shall enter a deferred judgment or judgment for only once offense under Code Section 321.218, subsection 1. A prosecutor may initially charge multiple offenses under Code Section 321.218, subsection 1, and select any of the offenses when offering a plea agreement. If the case goes to trial on multiple offenses for one driving incident, and the defendant is found guilty on multiple offenses, the court shall not enter judgment or deferred judgment for more than one offense of operating a motor vehicle while license is suspended or revoked under Code Section 312.218, subsection 1. [2/28:50-0]

SF 2260 is the Revised Iowa Nonprofit Corporation Act. The bill:

** Provides a process for termination and suspension of members of nonprofit corporations by permitting an organization to provide for termination in accordance with procedures set forth in the articles of incorporation or bylaws of the organization.

** Permits meetings to be held via the Internet or other electronic means.

** Sets forth a procedure for appointment of a chair of a member meeting in the absence of any provision in the articles or bylaws. In addition, it provides that unless otherwise provided in the articles of incorporation or bylaws, the chair shall determine the rules of the meeting and such rules shall be fair to the members.

** Includes provisions providing for inspectors of elections.

** Expressly recognizes that nonprofits can have advisory committees. They can be composed of non-board members and are strictly advisory in nature. Currently, the act only addresses board committees that can be made up of only board members.

** Makes it clear that directors and officers must disclose information to other directors and officers that is not already known to the others when such information is pertinent to the decision-making and oversight functions of the other directors and officers.

** Addresses a process for handling situations where a director is presented a business opportunity that may be beneficial to the nonprofit corporation.

** Permits mergers between nonprofit corporations and unincorporated entities, including unincorporated nonprofit associations and maintains the restrictions imposed on mergers involving public benefit and religious corporations and for-profit or mutual-benefit entities. [2/29: 50-0]

SF 2265 repeals Iowa’s current Chapter 9E relating to Notarial Acts and replaces it with the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts. The bill authorizes the performance of notarial acts by a “notarial officer,” which can be a notary public or any other individual authorized to perform a notarial act, such as a judge, clerk of court or any other individual who is specifically statutorily authorized. However, a notarial officer is prohibited from performing a notarial act in which the officer or the officer’s spouse is a party or in which either of them has a direct beneficial interest in the underlying transaction. The bill sets out a minimum standard for being a notary public. The bill also requires a personal appearance by a party before the notarial officer if the notarial act relates to a statement made in or a signature executed on a record. One of the most significant aspects of the bill is that it allows for notarial acts for electronic records. If the Secretary of State establishes standards for approval of technology, any technology selected must conform to those standards. [2/29: 50-0]

COMMITTEE ACTION:

SF 2295 relates to statutes of limitation for child sex abuse cases. The bill extends the time for filing a civil lawsuit for damages suffered because of sexual abuse when the individual was a child from one to ten  years after the minor turns 18. In addition, the bill extends the time for filing a lawsuit for damages suffered as a result of sexual abuse when the individual was a child in cases where the injured individual discovers the injury and the relationship between the abuse and the injury from four to ten years after discovery after the child reaches the age of majority (18). SF 2295 extends the time for filing a criminal action against an individual who is accused of sexual abuse of a child (anyone under 18) from ten to 20 years after the child turns 18. Current law provides that if a perpetrator is identified through the use of a DNA profile, criminal charges must be brought within three years from the date the person is identified by the DNA profile. However, any case may be brought at the later date, either 20 years after the person turns 18 or three years after an individual is identified through DNA. [2/23: short form]

SF 2296 creates a specific crime of solicitation to commit murder and penalties for this crime. A person who solicits someone to commit murder, intending that the murder be carried out is guilty of solicitation to commit murder, a class “C” felony. Currently under Iowa law there is the crime of solicitation to commit a felony, a class “D” felony, which applies to soliciting someone to commit any felony. [2/23: short form]

SF 2297 creates the crime of sex abuse in the 4th degree to apply to a very specific group of people. When two individuals, one age 14 and the other is 18, 19 or 20, engage in a voluntary sex act, the 18, 19 or 20 year old commits sex abuse in the 4th degree. Or when one of the individuals is 15 and the other is 19 or 20, engage in a voluntary sex act, the 19 or 20 year old commits sex abuse in the 4th degree. This is commonly referred to as “statutory rape” and is a strict liability crime based on the ages of the persons engaging in the sex act. Sex abuse 4th is an aggravated misdemeanor, subject to up to two years in prison, 10 years on the sex offender registry (not the public registry), with no special sentence of parole.

As indicated, under current law, these older individuals are considered guilty of statutory rape and are committing sex abuse in the 3rd degree, a “C” felony. They are subject to a lifetime special sentence of parole and lifetime sex offender registration. The bill has a retroactive piece. Persons who are currently serving time in prison, probation or a special sentence for sex abuse in the 3^rd degree, who would have been guilty of sex abuse in the 4th degree had the crime existed at the time they offended, will now be subject to the penalties under sex abuse 4th. [2/23: 8-5, (Dix, Sodders, Sorenson, Ward, and Whitver voting “no”)]

SF 2304 expands Iowa’s criminal DNA law to require that persons who plead guilty to or are convicted of certain aggravated misdemeanors to submit a DNA sample for profiling. The bill excludes persons who plead guilty or are convicted of the crime of driving while barred pursuant to 321.561, third degree theft in violation of 714.2(3), and operating a vehicle without consent under 714.7. The effective date of the bill is July 1, 2013. [2/23: 10-2 (Dix and Sorenson voting “no”, Quirmbach “passes”)]

SF 2305 expands the definition of personal representative under the probate code for purposes of obtaining a decedent’s medical records or asserting a decedent’s rights under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPA) and designates the personal representative under such circumstances to be the first of the following persons who exist when the request for medical records or assertion of rights is made: the executor or administrator, the decedent’s spouse, the decedent’s adult child or the decedent’s adult sibling. In addition, the bill specifies that a party calling an expert witness in a professional liability case brought against a licensed professional must state the element or elements of the cause of action about which the expert will testify, in addition to the other information regarding the expert witness that is currently required by Code. [2/23: short form (Dix and Sorenson voting “no”)]

SF 2306 relates to the Chapter 537, the Consumer Credit Code. The bill directs the Attorney General to adopt rules that will provide creditors with alternative notice forms relating to a consumer’s right to cure, that conform to the requirements of federal law. [2/23: short form]

SF 2307 provides for a process for sealing juvenile records. The juvenile court, on its own motion, shall order and set a hearing two years after the date of the last official action in a juvenile delinquency case, or after the date the child becomes 18 years of age, whichever is later, and order, if there is no objection from the county attorney, that the delinquency records be sealed. In order for the juvenile records to be sealed, a juvenile must not have committed any subsequent criminal violations greater than a simple misdemeanor and a juvenile must have successfully completed any youthful offender placement. The bill also accelerates the removal of juvenile records stored within the computer data storage system of the Department of Public Safety.  The Department of Public Safety is required to remove the records from the Department’s records that relate to a juvenile arrest or taking of the juvenile into custody if no disposition data has been recorded within two years of the arrest or taking into custody. Current law provides for juvenile information to be removed from the Department’s system within four years of the arrest or taking into custody. [2/23: short form]

SF 2231/SSB 3061– State Public Defender

SF 2232/SSB 3074 – Driving Related Convictions

SSB 3126 – Nonprofit Corporation Act

SSB 3133 – Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts

SSB 3153 – Substantive Code Editor’s Bill

COMMITTEE ACTION:

SF 2028, as amended in committee, prohibits employment discrimination based on an individual’s status as unemployed. The bill prohibits an employer or an employment agency from publishing advertisements for jobs that state or indicate a person would be disqualified from consideration for the job if the person is currently unemployed. The bill also prohibits an employer or employment agency from considering an individual for a job opening solely on the basis that the person is unemployed. The bill establishes civil penalties for violation of the law and places enforcement with the Attorney General’s Office. [2/21: 7-6 (Hancock, Boettger, Dix, Sorenson, Ward, Whitver “no”)]

SF 2231/SSB 3061, as amended in committee:

** Restates the authority of the public defender to designate specific offices or attorneys to receive court appointments in a given case and county and expressly permits the public defender to enter into contracts based on something other than an hourly basis.

** Clarifies how appellate cases, which the appellate defender is unable to handle, are to be handled.

** Requires appointed attorneys to tell their client when they file an application to hire an expert or to exceed the fee limitations.

** Makes it clear that a person charged with a class A felony is not entitled to one retained attorney and one court-appointed attorney.

** Makes it clear that a person is required to reimburse the state for legal assistance provided, but only to the extent they are reasonably able to do so. [2/16: short form]

SF 2232/SSB 3074, as amended in committee, addresses the situation where a person is found guilty of multiple counts of operating a motor vehicle while license is suspended or revoked under Code Section 321.218, subsection 1, arising out of one driving event or occurrence. A person’s driver’s license may be suspended or revoked for a number of different reasons, including failure to pay fines or court costs, failure to pay child support and violation of the financial responsibility statute. A person who operates a motor vehicle while their driver’s license is suspended or revoked under Code Section 321.218, subsection 1, commits a simple misdemeanor. The bill clarifies that if a person is found guilty of multiple offenses of driving under suspension or driving while revoked arising out of one driving event or occurrence, the court shall enter a deferred judgment or judgment for only once offense under Code Section 321.218, subsection 1. A prosecutor may initially charge multiple offenses under Code Section 321.218, subsection 1, and select any of the offenses when offering a plea agreement. If the case goes to trial on multiple offenses for one driving incident, and the defendant is found guilty on multiple offenses, the court shall not enter judgment or deferred judgment for more than one offense of operating a motor vehicle while license is suspended or revoked under Code Section 312.218, subsection 1. [2/16: short form]

SSB 3126 is the Revised Iowa Nonprofit Corporation Act. As amended in committee, the bill:

** Provides a process for termination and suspension of members of nonprofit corporations by permitting an organization to provide for termination in accordance with procedures set forth in the articles of incorporation or bylaws of the organization.

** Permits meetings to be held via the Internet or other electronic means.

** Sets forth a procedure for appointment of a chair of a member meeting in the absence of any provision in the articles or bylaws. In addition, it provides that unless otherwise provided in the articles of incorporation or bylaws, the chair shall determine the rules of the meeting and such rules shall be fair to the members.

** Includes provisions providing for inspectors of elections.

** Expressly recognizes that nonprofits can have advisory committees. They can be composed of non-board members and are strictly advisory in nature. Currently, the act only addresses board committees that can be made up of only board members.

** Makes it clear that directors and officers must disclose information to other directors and officers that is not already known to the others when such information is pertinent to the decision-making and oversight functions of the other directors and officers.

** Addresses a process for handling situations where a director is presented a business opportunity that may be beneficial to the nonprofit corporation.

** Permits mergers between nonprofit corporations and unincorporated entities, including unincorporated nonprofit associations and maintains the restrictions imposed on mergers involving public benefit and religious corporations and for-profit or mutual-benefit entities. [2/21: short form]

SSB 3133, as amended in committee, repeals Iowa’s current Chapter 9E relating to Notarial Acts and replaces it with the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts. The bill authorizes the performance of notarial acts by a “notarial officer,” which can be a notary public or other individual authorized to perform a notarial act, such as a judge, clerk of court or any other individual who is specifically statutorily authorized. However, a notarial officer is prohibited from performing a notarial act in which the officer or the officer’s spouse is a party or in which either of them has a direct beneficial interest in the underlying transaction. The bill sets out a minimum standard for being a notary public. The bill also requires a personal appearance by a party before the notarial officer if the notarial act relates to a statement made in or a signature executed on a record. One of the most significant aspects of the bill is that it allows for notarial acts for electronic records. If the Secretary of State establishes standards for approval of technology, any technology selected must conform to those standards. [2/21: short form]

SSB 3153 is the substantive Code Editor’s bill and contains a variety of changes, including clean-up related to bills enacted in previous years. It eliminates obsolete text, updates language that otherwise would refer to provisions that have been repealed or eliminated, conforms terminology used to refer to sanctions imposed in civil or administrative proceedings, and rewrites of language to clarify the meaning of or restructure various provisions in the Code. [2/21: short form]

SSB 3026 – Relating to Arrest Warrants

SSB 3075 – Credit for Time Served (The “Anderson fix”)

SSB 3134 – Nonsubstantive Code Editor’s Bill

COMMITTEE ACTION:

SF 2021, as amended in Committee:

** Reiterates current law that a school bus driver who violates certain traffic laws specifically relating to driving a bus and the stop arm requirements, is subject to a scheduled fine of $100.

** Enhances the penalty for drivers of vehicles that unlawfully pass a stopped school bus. Under current law, a person who unlawfully passes a school bus is subject to a $200 scheduled fine (a ticket). There is no enhancement under current law for more than one violation. This section creates a new penalty scheme and drivers who unlawfully pass a stopped school bus are guilty of a simple misdemeanor for a first offense and will not receive a scheduled fine. The person will be subject to a potential fine of at least $250 up to $675 and/or up to 30 days in jail. For a second or subsequent violation, the driver is guilty of a serious misdemeanor and subject to a fine of at least $315 and up to $1,875 and up to one year in jail.

** Adds unlawfully passing a school bus to the list of traffic violations that are subject to additional penalties if, as a result of the violation, a person is seriously injured or killed. For a violation causing serious injury, the additional penalty is a fine of $500 or suspension of the violator’s driver’s license or operating privileges for not more than 90 days, or both. For a violation causing death, the penalty is a fine of $1,000 or suspension of the violator’s driver’s license or operating privileges for not more than 180 days, or both.

** Instructs the Department of Transportation, the Department of Public Safety, and the Department of Education to jointly conduct a study or arrange for a study relating to school bus safety. The study will focus on the use of cameras mounted on school buses to aid enforcement of bus safety violations, safer bus routes, and school bus safety as a priority in driver training curriculum. Funding for the study will come out of the Department of Transportation’s statutory allocations fund. The report regarding the study is due to the General Assembly by December 31, 2012.

** Directs the Department of Transportation to treat unlawfully passing a school bus as a “serious” violation and initiate rulemaking that provides for tiers of administrative driver’s license suspensions for convictions for first, second or subsequent violations.

** Directs the Department of Transportation to include the form requesting Departmental (driver) reexamination of a person who may be physically or mentally unable to drive safely in the Iowa traffic and criminal software (TRACS). This is the software that almost all law enforcement agencies use when issuing tickets. Thus law enforcement would be able to electronically initiate the reexamination process. This is to be funded from the statutory allocation fund.

** Directs the Department of Transportation, the Department of Public Safety, and the Department of Education to cooperate in establishing educational programs for public awareness of school bus safety laws.

** The portions of the bill dealing with the study, DOT’s adoption of rules, reexamination requests and public awareness programs are effective upon enactment. Criminal penalty enhancements will go into effect July 1, 2012. [2/14: short form]

SSB 3026 relates to the confidentiality of arrest warrants. As amended in committee, the bill allows employees of the Department of Corrections and Community Based Corrections who have been authorized by the Director of the Department of Corrections to have access to confidential arrest warrant information. Under current law, peace officers, county attorneys, judicial officers and court employees have access. In addition, the bill specifies that once a defendant has made an initial appearance in court, then the arrest warrant information is no longer confidential. [2/14: short form]

SSB 3075 is a bill that responds to a recent Iowa Supreme Court case referred to as the Anderson case, which said that Iowa law specifically provides that all persons who are placed on supervised probation who have that probation revoked will get credit for time served while on probation. Thus, someone on supervised probation who has freedom of movement, is living at home, etc., would get credit for that probation and time taken off of their prison sentence for the time spent on probation. The bill, as amended, specifies that if a defendant is placed on probation, they will only get credit for time served when revoked, if the defendant was sentenced to a community based corrections residential facility or an alternative jail facility as part of their probation. [2/14: short form]

SSB 3134 is this year’s Nonsubstantive Code Editor’s bill. The bill is divided into 5 divisions that contain the Code editor’s recommendations for various minor changes designed to clean up the Iowa Code. The first division contains a variety of technical corrections in provisions scattered throughout the Code. The changes include corrections to Code and Act references, federal cites, terminology, grammar and format, as well as the correction of various clerical errors. The second division is focused on the renumbering of provisions in Volume V of the Code. The third division contains corrections to internal references to sections renumbered in division II of the bill. The fourth division contains a series of directives to correct hyphenation in several words as well as to renumber provisions in Volume V. The renumbering of the provisions listed here does not require internal reference corrections within the sections themselves or elsewhere in the Code. The fifth and last division contains the effective and applicability date provisions for the bill. The Committee voted to recommend the bill with an amendment. [2/14: short form]

SSB 3032 – Relating to the nomination and appointment of judges

SSB 3055 – Relating to crime victim compensation, and the identity theft passport program

SSB 3073 – Eliminating the informal dispute resolution program

COMMITTEE ACTION:

SSB 3024, as amended in committee, lengthens the time period in which a county may request reimbursement from the Department of Corrections for keeping persons in the county jail who have sentenced to the custody of the Department. The bill provides the counties with 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter within which to submit their requests to the Department of Corrections for reimbursement for holding state prisoners. Currently, the vouchers are required to be submitted within 15 days of the end of each calendar quarter. In addition, the amendment mandates that if a county does not submit its bill to the Department of Corrections by the end of the 30-day time period, the Department shall deny the claim. Currently, the Department of Corrections has the discretion to deny claims by the counties that are submitted after 15 days. [1/31: short form]

SSB 3032, as amended in committee, specifies that a district judge appointee shall be a resident of the judicial district where the nomination occurred before assuming office. If the judicial district is divided into judicial election districts, then prior to assuming office, the appointee shall be a resident of the judicial election district where the nomination occurred. In addition, the bill requires a person who seeks appointment as an associate juvenile judge to be a resident of the judicial election district in which the vacancy exists. Current law requires an applicant to be a resident of the county in which the vacancy exists. In addition, a full-time associate juvenile judge must be a resident of the judicial election district in which the office is held during the entire term of office. [1/31: short form]

SSB 3055 is an Attorney General’s bill that:

• Amends the Attorney General’s Identity Theft Passport program to allow Iowans who have been victims of identity theft outside the state to qualify for an Identity Theft Passport. The Attorney General provides victims of identity theft with a “passport” to show to law enforcement and creditors when necessary to support their claims that someone is impersonating them. Currently, only Iowans who are victims of identity theft that occurred within Iowa are eligible for the program.
• Allows the staff of the Victim Compensation program to participate in restitution plan hearings by telephone. Victim compensation amounts are included in an offender’s restitution plan and thus sometimes staff testimony is required at hearings.
• Adds victims of identity theft and elderly victims of financial exploitation to the list of persons who are eligible for compensation from the Victim Compensation Fund.
• Establishes a single definition of “Homicide Victim Survivor” to replace different definitions in three benefits specifically designated for homicide victim survivors—mental health therapy, health care and lost wages. A single definition for a “homicide victim survivor” is needed to streamline administration of the benefits. Currently, it is difficult to determine and explain the differences in the definition to survivors.  For example, one of the definitions inadvertently excludes nieces and nephews, while it includes cousins.
• Makes clear that installation of new security items is a covered benefit of the Victim Compensation program, in addition to the replacement of security items, which is currently a covered benefit.
• Clarifies that a secondary victim or homicide victim survivor is not eligible for compensation if the victim is ineligible.
• Makes other changes to create consistency in definitions and applications of the program. [1/31: short form]

SSB 3073 eliminates a program for the establishment and support of locally organized informal dispute resolution centers in the office of prosecuting attorneys training coordinator of the Department of Justice. The program is redundant and has not been funded for numerous years. [1/31: short form]