SF 383 – Sealing of juvenile records
SF 2091 – Real property, joint tenancy, tenants in common
SF 2092 – Fraudulent practices
SF 2118 – Domestic abuse protective orders for pets and companion animals
SF 2168 – Uniform Power of Attorney Act
SF 2169 – Probate bill
SF 2200 – Iowa business corporations act amendments
SF 2211 – Definition of sexually violent predator for civil commitment purposes
SF 2240 – Nonsubstantive Code Editor’s bill
SF 2259 – Security breach notification requirements to consumers and the AG
SF 2296 – Restoration of competency treatment costs
SF 2297 – Contagious and infectious diseases
SF 2310 – Underage possession or consumption of alcohol and “social hosting”
SF 2311 – Human trafficking and related criminal offenses
SF 2312 – Covenants, terms, conditions relating to coops and horizontal property regimes
SF 2313 – Appointment and removal of clerks of the district court
SF 2315 – Definition of “use restrictions” relating to real property
HF 159 – Meth precursors
HF 398 – Duties and responsibilities of insurance producers
HF 475 – Warrants for GPS placement by law enforcement
HF 2132 – Gideon Fellowship Program in the State Public Defender’s Office
HF 2278 – Disclosure of information by regional transit districts
HF 2289 – Unmanned aerial vehicles (aka drones)
HF 2325 – Corporations and requirements relating to publication
HF 2326 – Indigent defense fund payments
HF 2368 – Security freeze of protected consumer information – children and dependent adults
HF 2387 – Notice of garnishment to a judgment debtor
HF 2421 – Transfer of guardianship in child in need of assistance proceedings
HF 2423 – Substantive Code Editor’s bill
HF 2474 – Coaches and sexual exploitation by a school employee
SF 383 requires the juvenile court, on its own motion, to schedule a hearing two years after the date of the last official action relating to an adjudication of delinquency or the date the child adjudicated delinquent becomes 18, whichever is later. The purpose of the hearing relates to the sealing of the juvenile’s records. If there is no objection from the county attorney and other requirements currently in the law are met, the juvenile’s court records will be sealed. Previously, the person adjudicated delinquent had to make application to the court for a hearing and order for sealing of the juvenile records. In addition, the bill accelerates the removal of juvenile records stored within the computer data storage system of the Department of Public Safety. [4/29: 49-0 (Guth absent)]
SF 2091 adds language to the Code that creates a presumption in favor of joint tenancy with rights of survivorship if a conveyance of land is made to two or more persons who are married, or where the terms “joint tenants” or “their survivor” are used in the conveyance instrument. The bill also creates a presumption of severance of the joint tenancy with rights of survivorship upon an order of dissolution (of a marriage), annulment or separate maintenance. [2/24: 49-0 (Ernst absent)]
SF 2092 modifies the definition of fraudulent practice in the first degree to include a fraudulent practice where the amount of services involved in the fraud exceeds $10,000. Fraudulent practice in the first degree previously did not include the value of a service, but did include a fraudulent practice where the amount of money or value of property exceeded $10,000. The bill also specifies that if money, property or a service involved in two or more are attributable to a single scheme, they may be considered a single fraudulent practice with the value equaling the total of the money, property or service involved. [2/24: 49-0 (Ernst absent)]
SF 2118provides that when a court issues a domestic abuse protective order, it can include language prohibiting the respondent from taking, concealing or harming a family pet or companion animal. The court can grant exclusive care, possession or control of any family pets or companion animals to the petitioner. The bill excludes livestock from inclusion in domestic abuse protective orders. [2/24: 49-0 (Ernst absent)]
SF 2168 creates the Iowa Uniform Power of Attorney Act, which applies to financial powers of attorney only. A power of attorney created under this Chapter continues when a principal is incapacitated, unless the power of attorney expressly provides otherwise. This new Act provides clear, statutory guidance to agents acting under financial powers of attorney. It authorizes an expanded group of individuals to question in court the actions of an agent. Under current law, only the principal or a conservator has the right to bring an action in court. The Act specifies the powers that a principal can give to an agent, and it provides a statutory form of power of attorney that can be used by those who may not want to hire an attorney. [4/1: 48-0 (Houser, Petersen absent)]
SF 2169 is the Bar Association Probate bill and has three main components:
1. The bill allows the two witnesses who witnessed the testator signing the will to execute an affidavit of proof regarding the will any time after the will-signing ceremony. Previously, that only could happen after the testator’s death. With this change, the affidavit can be executed prior to the testator’s death. The affidavit essentially provides a validation of the will, which is required to probate a will.
2. The bill clarifies the Code section relating to the distribution of the property of a decedent by affidavit when the gross value of a decedent’s personal property is $25,000 or less, and there is no real property in the estate, or the real property passes to a joint tenant(s) with right of survivorship. The bill specifies the information that must be submitted to financial institutions and others who hold the decedent’s property in order for the person who swears to the affidavit to obtain or have the ownership of the property transferred. Specifically, the distribution by affidavit process is available when the value of the decedent’s personal property is, or has been at any time since the decedent’s death, $25,000 or less, and there is no real property that must go through probate. Only one of the successors to the property is required to sign and submit the affidavit. All reasonably identifiable beneficiaries must be listed in the affidavit. The name, address, tax ID number and relationship to the decedent must be provided on the affidavit for all beneficiaries. The affidavit must also include a general description of the property and that the individual or entity holding the decedent’s property must transfer the property described in the affidavit to or for the benefit of all of the beneficiaries listed in the affidavit.
3. This section relates to situations in which the personal representative of an estate files a claim against the estate indicating that the personal representative was a creditor of the decedent. Under this circumstance, the bill clarifies the procedure for a temporary administrator to follow when appointed to investigate the validity of the personal representative’s claim. [2/24: 49-0 (Ernst absent)]
SF 2200 amends the Iowa Business Corporations Act. It removes the 10-year limit on the duration of voting trust agreements and shareholder agreements. A voting trust is a device by which one or more shareholders retain ownership of the shares but transfer voting rights to one or more trustees. The bill clarifies that a corporation may fulfill the financial statement delivery requirement not only by obtaining shareholder consent for e-mail delivery, but also by notifying the shareholder that the financial statements are available on the Internet without charge and providing the shareholder with the instructions for accessing the statements. In addition, the bill makes it clear that certain regulated corporations (generally financial institutions) may fulfill their obligations to deliver financial statements by preparing and making their financial statements available as required by applicable regulations. Finally, the bill restores the requirements of prior law (pre-January 1, 2014) for corporations with fewer than 100 shareholders and for certain cooperatives. For these entities, financial statements are only required to be sent to shareholders who request a copy. [3/3: 48-0 (Ernst, Feenstra absent)]
SF 2211 relates to the determination of whether someone fits the criteria of a sexually violent predator for civil commitment purposes. The bill permits the use of juvenile delinquency adjudications for sexually violent offenses when determining whether someone should be civilly committed as a sexually violent predator. In addition, the bill allows the Department of Human Services 60 days (rather than 30 days) to develop a plan for a person who has been ordered to be released from civil commitment as a sexually violent predator. [3/26: 48-0 (Ernst, Houser absent)]
SF 2240 is the non-substantive Code Editor’s bill. This bill is submitted each year by the Iowa Code editor to the Judiciary Committee for making Code changes that generally exceed the Code Editor’s authority to make editorially but are considered to be non-substantive and non-controversial in nature. In some cases, the changes are within the Code Editor’s authority but are significant enough that public notice of the changes by means of this bill is considered important. The changes include things such as correcting clerical errors, grammatical changes and numerical updates. [2/26: 49-0 (Kapucian absent)]
SF 2259 relates to breaches of personal information. Previously, when an entity owned or leased consumer personal data and there was a security breach, the entity was required to notify the consumers whose data had been compromised. This bill amends the definition of “breach of security” to include personal information transferred from a computer to any medium, including paper. The definition of “personal information” is amended to include encrypted or redacted personal information if the keys to unencrypt, unredact or otherwise read the data elements have also been obtained. In addition, a person who owns or licenses computerized data that includes consumers’ personal information that has been subject to a breach must notify the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General’s Office within five business days (rather than three business days) after giving notice of the breach of security to any consumer if the breach impacts more than 500 people. The bill adds expiration dates of credit cards and debit cards combined with the credit or debit card number to the list of information included in “personal information” subject to a breach of security notification requirements. [3/26: 48-0 (Ernst, Houser absent)]
SF 2296 clarifies that the state will pay for the costs of the treatment when a criminal defendant is ordered into the custody of the Department of Corrections or the Department of Human Services for treatment to restore the defendant to competency in order to stand trial. There has been disagreement about who pays these costs. In some cases, counties have been paying and in other cases, the state has paid. [3/3: 48-0 (Ernst, Feenstra absent)]
SF 2297 creates the Contagious or Infectious Disease Transmission Act. Contagious or infectious disease means hepatitis in any form, meningococcal disease, AIDS or HIV, or tuberculosis. The bill establishes four offenses relating to intentionally or recklessly exposing an uninfected person to one of these diseases. Under the bill:
• It is a class “B” felony when a person, knowing they are infected with a contagious or infectious disease, exposes an uninfected person to that disease with the intent that they contract the disease and the uninfected person does contract the disease.
• It is a class “D” felony when a person, knowing they are infected with a contagious or infectious disease, exposes an uninfected person to the disease, but the uninfected person does not contract the disease. It is a class “D” felony when a person, knowing they are infected with a contagious or infectious disease, exposes an uninfected person with reckless disregard as to whether they contract the disease and the uninfected persons becomes infected.
• It is a serious misdemeanor to expose an uninfected person to a contagious or infectious disease with a reckless disregard as to whether they contract the disease, but the conduct does not result in the uninfected person becoming infected. In the bill, “exposes” is defined as “engaging in conduct that poses a substantial risk of transmission.”
Those convicted of transmitting a contagious or infectious disease will not be placed on the sex offender registry, and the bill retroactively requires the Department of Public Safety to expunge the registration of a person who was required to register on the sex offender registry as a result of a conviction under 709C.1 (1(a), the Code section relating to Criminal Transmission of HIV. The bill repeals Code Chapter 709C – Criminal Transmission of human immunodeficiency virus. [2/27: 48-0 (Ernst, Houser absent)]
SF 2310 is commonly referred to as the “social host” bill. The bill provides that a person with control over property that is not licensed to sell alcoholic beverages commits a simple misdemeanor if they knowingly permit others who are under age 18 to consume or possess alcoholic beverages on the property. A first-time violation is punishable by a fine of $200. Second and subsequent offenses are punishable by a fine of $500. Previously, it was against the law to furnish alcoholic beverages to underage people, but allowing them to drink on your property was not illegal if the property owner did not supply the alcoholic beverages. The bill also prohibits the “consumption” of alcohol by those under the legal drinking age. Code sections have prohibited the purchase, attempt to purchase, possession or control of alcoholic beverages by certain underage persons, but not the consumption. Landlords and property managers are excluded from those who could be charged with violating the “social host” law. [4/10: 47-0 (Bertrand, Chelgren, Sinclair absent)]
SF 2311 is a human trafficking bill which:
• Requires the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy to report to the Legislature what resources are devoted to training relating to human trafficking.
• Imposes a surcharge of $1,000 for those convicted of human trafficking, johns, pimps and panderers, and establishes the human trafficking victim fund in the Office of the Attorney General. The Fund will be used for services for victims of human trafficking as well as public awareness and training. The surcharge begins January 1, 2015.
• Specifies that enticement of a minor can include enticement through the mail, telephone, Internet or any social media.
• Allows a county attorney to refer any person under 18 who is suspected of prostitution to the Department of Human Services for Child in Need of Assistance proceedings.
• Allows for expunging a record of prostitution committed when the person was under 18 if there are no additional crimes for two years.
• “Johns” who purchase or offer to purchase services of a prostitute under age 18 commit a class “D” felony. The penalty for any john is currently an aggravated misdemeanor.
• Enhances the penalty for pimps who solicit patrons and enable prostitution for someone under 18 from a “D” felony to a Class “C” felony. However, it is an affirmative defense if the alleged “pimp” is under the age of 21 and was prostituted as a child because of coercion by an adult.
• Extends the criminal statute of limitations from three to ten years for various sex offenses committed against children.
• Allows the Attorney General to seek a warrant to intercept communications that relate to felony human trafficking. [4/2: 48-0 (Houser, Sinclair absent)]
SF 2312 clarifies that all the terms, conditions, covenants and provisions in documents creating and regulating a multiple housing cooperative (Chapter 499A) or a horizontal property regime (condominiums (499B) will continue and remain in full force and effect for as long as the cooperative or horizontal property regime exists, unless the terms, conditions, covenants and any provisions of the documents creating and regulating them are amended as allowed by the Iowa Code. The bill allows limited liability companies to organize for the purpose of ownership of residential or business property on a cooperative basis. [4/7: 49-0 (Houser absent)]
SF 2313 changes the procedure for the removal of clerks of court. Under this legislation, the chief judge of a judicial election district, after consultation with the district judges of the judicial election district, will be able to remove a clerk from office for cause. Previous law required a majority vote of the district judges in the judicial election district in order to remove a clerk for cause. [2/27: 48-0 (Ernst, House absent)]
SF 2315 clarifies “use restrictions” relating to limitations or prohibitions on the rights of a landowner to make use of their real property. Examples of use restrictions include prohibitions on commercial uses, rental use, parking and storage of recreational vehicles, and building dimensions and colors. A use restriction is not an easement, which is an affirmative right granted to a person to use land in the possession of another person. Under Iowa law, Code Section 614.24, a use restriction in a deed, conveyance, contract or will extends for 21 years, and in order for the use restriction to remain after the 21-year period, the claimant of the restriction must file a verified claim within the initial 21-year period with the county recorder in the county where the real estate is located. [2/27: 48-0 (Ernst, House absent)]
HF 159 adds four chemicals (sodium hydroxide, ammonia nitrate, ammonia sulfate, and light or medium petroleum distillate) to the current list of chemicals that cannot be possessed with the intent to manufacture a controlled substance. These substances are commonly used in manufacturing “one pot” methamphetamine. [3/24: 45-0 (Greiner, Houser, Kapucian, Segebart, Zumbach absent)]
HF 398 relates to the duties and responsibilities of insurance producers. The bill adds a definition of “policy owner” to Chapter 522B relating to licensing of insurance producers. In addition, the bill adds three new paragraphs to the section in 522B relating to license denial, non-renewal, revocation and limitations on duties and responsibilities of insurance producers. These new paragraphs strictly limit the duties that an insurance agent or company has.
The first additional paragraph notwithstands the holding in Pitts v. Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company. It specifies that an insurance producer is not in the business of supplying information to others unless the insurance producer holds himself or herself out as a specialist and is paid compensation apart from commissions on policies for the information.
The second paragraph requires that an insurance producer only has a duty to change a beneficiary of a life insurance policy when there is clear written evidence of the policy owner’s intent to change a beneficiary and that intent is presented to the insurance producer or insurer in a manner required by the policy and provided in the same manner as a claim for benefits.
The third paragraph notwithstands the holding in St. Malachy Roman Catholic Congregation v. Ingram. It specifies that the only duty an insurance producer owes is to a policy owner, the person in privity of contract with the insurance producer or a principal in an agency relationship with the insurance producer. This implies that an intended beneficiary cannot hold an insurance producer accountable for failing to comply with a policy owner’s wishes. [5/1: 26-21 (Beall, Black, Bolkcom, Bowman, Brase, Courtney, Danielson, Dotzler, Dvorsky, Garrett, Hart, Hatch, Hogg, Horn, Jochum, Mathis, Petersen, Quirmbach, Seng, Taylor, Wilhelm “no”; Chelgren, Guth, Houser absent)]
HF 475 permits local law enforcement officers to apply for a search warrant that authorizes placement, tracking monitoring or removal of a global positioning device. Current law only allows a “special state agent” (a sworn peace officer member of the Department of Public Safety) to apply for a search warrant relating to placement of a global positioning device. [3/18: 46-0 (Ernst, Greiner, Houser, Zumbach absent)]
HF 2132 establishes a Gideon Fellowship Program in the Office of the State Public Defender. The State Public Defender is authorized to hire up to four lawyers for a term of up to two years. Each hire must be a licensed lawyer admitted to practice law in Iowa prior to commencement of the fellowship. [3/24: 45-0 (Greiner, Houser, Kapucian, Segebart, Zumbach absent)]
HF 2278 relates to specific customer data and customer transaction history of those who use a regional transit system. Specific information concerning applicants, users and customers of a regional transit system that is collected through the Internet or a fare collections system is considered private data under the bill and is not subject to disclosure except under certain, specified circumstances. For example, aggregate data may be disclosed and personal data may be disclosed pursuant to a warrant. The bill comes from the Des Moines Area Rapid Transit System, which is going to a “swipe card” system. The card allows the collection of data regarding individual ridership patterns, for example. DART wants to ensure that personal data about its riders cannot be accessed by the public. [3/24: 45-0 (Greiner, Houser, Kapucian, Segebart, Zumbach absent)]
HF 2289 prohibits the state or a political subdivision from using unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) for traffic enforcement. In addition, evidence obtained by law enforcement using an unmanned aerial vehicle is not admissible as evidence in a criminal or civil trial unless it is obtained pursuant to a search warrant or is otherwise admissible if obtained in a manner that is consistent with state and federal law. The Department of Public Safety, in consultation with the Attorney General, state and local agencies, and other interested organizations will examine whether the Iowa criminal code should be modified to regulate misuse of unmanned aerial vehicles. The group will also develop model guidelines for law enforcement’s use of unmanned aerial vehicles and will report to the Legislature by December 31, 2014. [4/23: 48-1 (Sodders "no"; Segebart absent)]
HF 2325 provides that a corporation organized under Code Chapter 491 prior to July 1, 1971, that is allowed to continue its existence, may amend its articles of incorporation, merge with another corporation or dissolve without publishing notice in a paper. [3/18: 45-0 (Greiner, Hogg, Houser, Zaun, Zumbach absent)]
HF 2326 allows the State Public Defender to release fee claim information, which is currently confidential, to governmental agencies to investigate fraud or other criminal activity of the attorney or vendor submitting the claim. In addition, attorney fees in private actions for termination of parental rights must be paid by the person who is filing the action unless that person is indigent or the action is filed by a licensed private child-placing agency. The bill confirms that if a parent whose parental rights may be terminated is indigent and requests legal counsel, no other qualifications are necessary for representation. However, on appeal of a termination of parental rights order, the state public defender will assume the attorney costs for the parent whose rights have been terminated. [3/18: 45-0 (Greiner, Hogg, Houser, Zaun, Zumbach absent)]
HF 2368 allows a parent or guardian of a child under 16 or legal representative or guardian of a person who is incapacitated to request a security freeze on the child’s or incapacitated person’s credit history held by a consumer reporting agency. The freeze will prohibit the consumer-reporting agency from releasing the credit report. This bill is intended to protect children and other vulnerable Iowans from identity theft. [3/18: 45-0 (Greiner, Hogg, Houser, Zaun, Zumbach absent)]
HF 2387 adds notice requirements relating to garnishment proceedings. The bill provides that within seven days after a writ of execution is served upon a garnishee, the sheriff must serve a notice of garnishment and levy on the judgment debtor by either personal service or restricted certified mail and first class mail sent to the last known address of the debtor and the judgment debtor’s attorney. The creditor is required to provide the sheriff with the last known address of the defendant and the defendant’s attorney, if there is an attorney. The notice must inform the judgment debtor that certain personal property and wages of the judgment debtor may be exempt from execution or garnishment and that a hearing process is available for the judgment debtor to claim exemptions. [3/27: 46-0 (Bertrand, Boettger, Ernst, Houser absent)]
HF 2421 provides juvenile courts another option after a dispositional hearing in child in need of assistance (CINA) proceedings by allowing the transfer of guardianship of the child. The court may enter an order transferring guardianship of the child if the person receiving guardianship meets the definition of a “custodian” as defined in 232.2, and has maintained placement of the child since the petition was filed and the parent of the child does not appear at the hearing or the parent appears and does not object to the transfer of guardianship. Once the court transfers guardianship, the court may close the CINA case by transferring jurisdiction over the guardianship to the probate court, which will issue letters of appointment for guardianship. The guardianship proceedings and files are subject to the confidentiality requirements relating to non-criminal juvenile records. This bill will provide stability for some children at an earlier stage in the proceedings when there is a relative who has been caring for them and wishes to continue to care for and have custody of them. [3/17: 47-0 (Bertrand, Houser, Greiner absent)]
HF 2423 is the substantive Code Editor’s bill, which adjusts language to reflect current practices, inserts earlier omissions, deletes redundancies and inaccuracies, and resolves inconsistencies. [3/18: 44-0 (Ernst, Greiner, Houser, Hogg, Zaun, Zumbach absent)]
HF 2474 adds those with coaching authorizations to the definition of school employee for purposes of clarifying who can be charged with sexual exploitation by a counselor, therapist, or school employee under Code Section 709.15. [4/24: 48-0 (Johnson, Segebart absent)]