SF 462 (LSB 1349SV (2) 88)

SENATE FILE 462

BY  COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

(SUCCESSOR TO SSB 1008)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to restrictions on bailable defendants charged with homicide by motor vehicle.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 811.2, subsection 1, Code 2019, is amended by adding the following new paragraph:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  c.  Any bailable defendant who is charged with unintentionally causing the death of another by operating a motor vehicle in violation of section 707.6A, subsection 1 or 2, and who is ordered released may, as a condition of that release, be subject to a court order immediately suspending the defendant’s driver’s license and prohibiting the defendant from operating a motor vehicle, and be placed under supervision. The clerk of the district court shall, upon entry of the order, forward notice of the order suspending the defendant’s driver’s license to the department of transportation. Upon receipt of the notice, the department of transportation shall note the suspension in the defendant’s driving record. The department of transportation shall not issue a new license to the defendant until the court terminates the order.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill provides that any bailable defendant who is charged with unintentionally causing the death of another by operating a motor vehicle in violation of Code section 707.6A(1) (operating-while-intoxicated) or Code section 707.6A(2) (reckless driving or eluding law enforcement) and who is ordered released may, as a condition of that release, be subject to a court order immediately suspending the defendant’s driver’s license and prohibiting the defendant from operating a motor vehicle, and be placed under supervision.
   The bill requires the clerk of the district court to, upon entry of the order, forward notice of the order suspending the defendant’s driver’s license to the department of transportation (DOT). Upon receipt of the notice, the DOT must note the suspension in the defendant’s driving record. The bill prohibits the DOT from issuing a new license to the defendant until the court terminates the order.
   Under Code section 811.1, a defendant is not bailable if the defendant is awaiting judgment of conviction and sentencing following either a plea or verdict of guilty for a charge under Code section 707.6A(1) or if the defendant is appealing a conviction for a violation of Code section 707.6A(1) or 707.6A(2). Therefore, the bill does not apply to such defendants.