SF 107 – Statute of Limitations for Child Sex Abuse
SF 152 – Condemnation of Property
SF 238 – Prisoner Charges and Expenses
SF 250 – Indemnification of Peace Officers
SF 296 – Unauthorized Placement of a Global Positioning Device
SSB 1077 – Costs in Probate
SSB 1089 – Certification and Regulation of Shorthand Reporters
SSB 1110 – Expunging Criminal Court Records
SSB 1161 – Definition of Sex Act in the Criminal Code
SSB 1176 – Resolving Adverse Medical Outcomes – CANDOR
SSB 1196 – Temporary Restricted Licenses
SSB 1225 – Definition of Stalking
SSB 1227 – Substantive Code Editor’s Bill
COMMITTEE ACTION:
SF 107, as amended in committee, extends the statute of limitations relating to civil actions for damages for sexual abuse perpetrated against a minor. A person will have 25 years past the age of 18 to file a lawsuit. In addition, an action for damages for sex abuse committed against a child (under 14) but not discovered until after the child has attained the age of majority can be brought by the injured person up to 25 years past the time of discovery by that person. Under the bill, there will be no criminal statute of limitations for sex abuse committed against a minor. Thus, criminal charges can be brought at any time against a perpetrator. The bill also extends the statute of limitations for damages for sexual abuse or sexual exploitation by a counselor, therapist or school employee from five years to 10 years of the date the victim was last treated by the counselor or therapist, or within 10 years of the date the victim was last enrolled in or attended the school. [3/4: short form]
SF 152 clarifies the procedures and requirements for condemning property and for disposing of certain condemned real property when that property is to be offered for sale to the public. [3/4: short form]
SF 238, as amended in committee, clarifies who pays for costs of housing prisoners in jails, as well as who pays for medical costs for prisoners. If a prisoner qualifies for Medicaid or is insured, the hospital or medical facility will bill Medicaid or the prisoner’s insurer. If there is no insurance or Medicaid qualification, the hospital or medical facility will bill the prisoner. If a prisoner fails to pay, the applicable board of supervisors or city council will pay the medical expenses. If a prisoner is injured prior to being transferred to the custody of the sheriff, the arresting entity will be liable for the costs of the medical treatment if they are not collected from the person arrested or the insurer. [3/3: short form]
SF 250 relates to indemnification of peace officers. The bill adds a new Code section, 80F.2, relating to “Rights of peace Officers and Public Safety and Emergency Personnel.” Under the bill, if a peace officer or corrections officer is charged with a crime based on acts or omissions within the scope of the officer’s lawful duty or authority and the charge is dismissed or the officer is acquitted of the charge, the officer will be reimbursed for any costs incurred in defending against the charge if the court finds that the charge was without probable cause; the charge was filed for malicious purposes; or the charge was unwarranted in consideration of all the circumstances and matters of law. The officer can apply for review of an adverse decision relating to the grounds for awarding the costs incurred during the defense. [3/2: short form (Whitver absent)]
SF 296 prohibits a person who, without legitimate purpose, places a global positioning device on another person or object that is intended to track the movements of the other person without authorization. A person who commits this violation is guilty of a serious misdemeanor. [3/4: short form]
SSB 1077 relates to the court costs charged and collected by the clerk of probate. The bill specifies that for purposes of calculating the court costs for services performed in the settlement of an estate of any decedent, minor, person with mental illness or other person under a legal disability, the value of the person’s personal property and real estate is equal to the gross assets of the estate listed in the probate inventory minus joint tenancy property, transfers made during the person’s lifetime and assets payable to beneficiaries. [3/2: short form (Whitver absent)]
SSB 1089 relates to the certification and regulation of shorthand reporters. The bill will provide accreditation of training acquired while in military service and provide reciprocal licensing for veterans who hold a valid shorthand reporter certification in another state. These changes are intended to implement Iowa’s Home Base Iowa efforts. The bill allows the Board of Examiners of Shorthand Reporters to consider an applicant’s past record of any felony conviction, as well as an applicant’s past record of disciplinary action with respect to certification as a shorthand reporter in any jurisdiction. The bill creates a new Code section that prohibits a shorthand reporting services agreement from requiring a certified shorthand reporter to relinquish control of an original deposition transcript and copies of the transcript before it is certified by the shorthand reporter. The committee adopted an amendment specifying that a shorthand reporter’s audio recordings used solely for the purpose of providing a verbatim written transcript of a court proceeding or a proceeding conducted in anticipation of use in a court proceeding are considered the personal property and private work product of the reporter and thus not subject to discovery or open records laws. [3/3: short form]
SSB 1110 provides for the confidentiality (expunging) of certain court records relating to criminal charges. A defendant in a case will be able to make application to the court to expunge a criminal record when all criminal charges in the case have been dismissed, or the defendant was acquitted of all charges in the case and:
- All court costs, fees and financial obligations ordered by the court have been paid.
- The case was dismissed with prejudice (permanently) or is beyond the statute of limitations.
- The defendant is not being charged with a crime in a related case or has not been convicted of a crime in a related case.
- Defendant was not found “not guilty by reason of insanity” or incompetent to stand trial.
- All parties in the case have notice of the application to expunge and an opportunity to object.
If all of the requirements have been met, the court must expunge the records of the criminal case. The expunged record will be a confidential record exempt from public access but will be available to the defendant and to various justice system agencies. [3/2: short form [Whitver absent)]
SSB 1161 says that any person who commits an assault as defined in section 708.1 by touching a person’s breast with the intention to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of either party or for the purpose of sexually degrading or humiliating the other person commits the crime of assault with sexual intent. [3/2: short form (Whitver absent)]
SSB 1176 sets up a voluntary method for resolving adverse medical outcomes, which relies on open communication between physicians and patients. The process for resolution will be initiated by the healthcare professional and all conversations during the process will be confidential. This will allow healthcare providers to enter into an open discussion with a patient regarding the adverse outcome. Ideally, these discussions will lead to an agreement for addressing the unanticipated outcome, which could include a financial settlement and improved healthcare procedures in the future. If no agreement is reached, a patient would still be able to initiate litigation. [3/4: short form]
SSB 1196 provides for the issuance of temporary restricted drivers licenses in certain circumstances when a person’s driver’s license has been suspended. The license will be issued for a person to drive to and from home and work. The temporary restricted employment license will be good for six months after issuance and will be renewable if a person is current with his or her payment plan. [3/4: short form]
SSB 1225 relates to the definition of stalking. It expands the definition of “course of conduct” for purposes of the definition of the crime of stalking in the criminal code to include situations where a technological device is repeatedly used to locate, listen to or watch another person without a legitimate purpose. In addition, the elements to prove the criminal offense of stalking are modified in such a way that a person commits stalking when the person purposefully engages in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated or threatened. Under current law, a person must fear that the stalker intends to cause bodily injury to or death of the person or the person’s immediate family member. In addition, the law will require that the stalker knows or should know that a reasonable person would feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated or threatened, or fear bodily injury or death by the course of conduct. [3/3: short form]
SSB 1227 is the substantive Code Editor’s Bill, which relates to statutory corrections that may adjust language to reflect current practices, insert earlier omissions, delete redundancies and inaccuracies, delete temporary language, resolve inconsistencies and conflicts, update ongoing provisions, or remove ambiguities, and including effective date and retroactive applicability provisions. [3/2: short form (Whitver absent)]