HF 539 (LSB 2433YH (7) 88)

HOUSE FILE 539

BY  JENEARY and GERHOLD

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the public safety equipment fund, providing for voluntary contributions to the fund, and including effective date provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  80.47  Public safety equipment fund.
   1.  A public safety equipment fund is created in the state treasury under the control of the department. The fund shall consist of moneys remitted by the county treasurer of a county or by the department of transportation which were collected through the payment of a contribution made by an applicant for registration of a motor vehicle pursuant to section 321.44B and any other moneys appropriated to or deposited in the fund. Moneys in the fund are appropriated to the department for the purchase, maintenance, and replacement of equipment used by the department.
   2.  Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys in the fund that remain unencumbered or unobligated at the close of a fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain available for expenditure for the purposes designated. Notwithstanding section 12C.7, subsection 2, interest or earnings on moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund.
    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  321.44B  Voluntary contribution —— public safety equipment fund —— amount retained by county treasurer.
   For each application for registration or renewal, the county treasurer or the department shall request through use of a written form, and, if the application is made in person, through verbal communication, that an applicant make a voluntary contribution of one dollar or more, computed to the nearest whole dollar, to the public safety equipment fund established pursuant to section 80.47. One hundred percent of the moneys collected by the county and one hundred percent of the moneys collected by the department in the form of contributions shall be remitted to the treasurer of state for deposit in the public safety equipment fund to be used for the purposes specified for the fund. However, up to five percent of the moneys collected by the county may be retained by the county treasurer for deposit in the general fund of the county. The director shall adopt rules to administer this section.
    Sec. 3.  Section 331.557, subsection 1, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  Issue, renew, and replace lost or damaged vehicle registration cards or plates, and issue and transfer certificates of title for vehicles, and collect voluntary contributions, as provided in sections 321.17 to through 321.52.
    Sec. 4.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act takes effect January 1, 2020.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill creates a public safety equipment fund and appropriates moneys in the fund to the department of public safety for the purchase, maintenance, and replacement of equipment used by the department. The bill provides that for each application for registration or renewal of a registration for a motor vehicle, the county treasurer or the department of transportation (DOT) shall request through use of a written form, and, if the application is made in person, through verbal communication, that an applicant make a voluntary contribution of $1 or more, computed to the nearest whole dollar, to the public safety equipment fund. The moneys collected by the county and the DOT in the form of contributions must be remitted to the treasurer of state for deposit in the public safety equipment fund. However, up to 5 percent of the moneys collected by the county may be retained by the county treasurer for deposit in the general fund of the county.
   The bill takes effect January 1, 2020.