SF 2037 (LSB 5386XS (5) 87)

SENATE FILE 2037

BY  EDLER

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the minimum standard of transparency for motor vehicle window tint, providing penalties, and making penalties applicable. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 321.438, subsection 2, Code 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  a.  A person shall not operate on the highway a motor vehicle equipped with a front windshield, a side window to the immediate right or left of the driver, or a side-wing sidewing forward of and to the left or right of the driver which is excessively dark or reflective so that it is difficult for a person outside the motor vehicle to see into the motor vehicle through the windshield, window, or sidewing does not meet a minimum standard of transparency of thirty-five percent light transmittance. The department shall adopt rules establishing a minimum measurable standard of transparency which shall apply to violations of this subsection.
   b.  If a peace officer stops a motor vehicle equipped with a side window to the immediate right or left of the driver which has a transparency of seventy percent light transmittance or less, the driver shall lower the side window on the side of the officer’s approach of the vehicle to the side window’s lowest possible position prior to the completion of the officer’s approach of the vehicle, and shall keep the side window in the lowest possible position for the duration of the stop unless otherwise instructed by the officer. A person convicted of a violation of this paragraph is guilty of a simple misdemeanor punishable as a scheduled violation under section 805.8A, subsection 14, paragraph “m”. However, if the violation is a person’s first violation of this paragraph, and the person has not previously been issued a warning memorandum for a violation of this paragraph, the officer shall issue a warning memorandum to the driver in lieu of a citation.
    Sec. 2.  Section 805.8A, subsection 3, paragraph ag, Code 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   ag.  Section 321.438, subsection 1, subsection 2, paragraph 

“a”, and subsection 3$ 50.
    Sec. 3.  Section 805.8A, subsection 14, Code 2018, is amended by adding the following new paragraph:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  m.  Failure to lower tinted side window.  For violations under section 321.438, subsection 2, paragraph “b”, the scheduled fine is twenty dollars.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   Under current law, a person is prohibited from operating a motor vehicle equipped with a front windshield, a side window to the immediate right or left of the driver, or a sidewing forward of and to the left or right of the driver which is excessively dark or reflective so that it is difficult for a person outside the motor vehicle to see into the motor vehicle through the windshield, window, or sidewing. Under rules adopted by the department of transportation (761 IAC 450.7), “excessively dark or reflective” means the windshield, side window, or sidewing does not meet a minimum standard of transparency of 70 percent light transmittance.
   This bill prohibits a person from operating a motor vehicle equipped with a front windshield, a side window to the immediate right or left of the driver, or a sidewing forward of and to the left or right of the driver which does not meet a minimum standard of transparency of 35 percent light transmittance. The bill also strikes the provision requiring the department of transportation to adopt rules establishing a minimum measurable standard of transparency. A violation of this provision of the bill is punishable by a scheduled fine of $50.
   The bill also provides that if a peace officer stops a motor vehicle equipped with a side window to the immediate right or left of the driver which has a transparency of 70 percent light transmittance or less, the driver must lower the side window on the side of the officer’s approach of the vehicle to the side window’s lowest possible position prior to the completion of the officer’s approach of the vehicle, and must keep the side window in the lowest possible position for the duration of the stop unless otherwise instructed by the officer. A violation of this provision of the bill is punishable by a scheduled fine of $20. However, if the violation is a person’s first violation, and the person has not previously been issued a warning memorandum for a similar violation, the officer is required to issue a warning memorandum to the driver in lieu of a citation.