House File 51

                                       HOUSE FILE       
                                       BY  SMITH


    Passed House, Date               Passed Senate,  Date             
    Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                 Approved                            

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to child endangerment offenses that result in the
  2    death of a child or minor and providing a penalty.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  4 TLSB 1469HH 80
  5 jp/pj/5

PAG LIN

  1  1    Section 1.  Section 726.6, Code 2003, is amended by adding
  1  2 the following new subsection:
  1  3    NEW SUBSECTION.  3A.  A person who commits child
  1  4 endangerment resulting in the death of a child or minor is
  1  5 guilty of a class "B" felony.  Notwithstanding section 902.9,
  1  6 subsection 2, a person convicted of a violation of this
  1  7 subsection shall be confined for no more than fifty years.
  1  8                           EXPLANATION
  1  9    Under current law in Code section 707.2, a person who kills
  1 10 a child while committing child endangerment under Code section
  1 11 726.6, subsection 1, paragraph "b", or while committing
  1 12 assault under Code section 708.1 upon the child, and the death
  1 13 occurs under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference
  1 14 to human life, commits murder in the first degree, which is a
  1 15 class "A" felony.  Under current law in Code section 726.6A, a
  1 16 person who engages in a course of conduct including three or
  1 17 more acts of child endangerment within a period of 12 months,
  1 18 where one or more of the acts results in serious injury to the
  1 19 child or minor or results in a skeletal injury to a child
  1 20 under four years of age, is guilty of a class "B" felony.
  1 21 Notwithstanding Code section 902.9, subsection 2, which limits
  1 22 the term of confinement for a class "B" felony to 25 years, a
  1 23 person convicted of such a child endangerment offense shall be
  1 24 confined for no more than 50 years.
  1 25    This bill provides that a child endangerment offense
  1 26 resulting in the death of a child or minor, which does not
  1 27 require a showing of extreme indifference to human life, is a
  1 28 class "B" felony.  The bill includes the same penalty
  1 29 provision as exists for the current class "B" child
  1 30 endangerment felony offense in that the term of confinement is
  1 31 not more than 50 years rather than 25 years.
  1 32 LSB 1469HH 80
  1 33 jp/pj/5
  1 34
  1 35