SSB 3030 (LSB 5081XC (2) 88)

SENATE FILE _____ 

BY  (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY BILL BY CHAIRPERSON ZAUN)

A BILL FOR

An Act requiring search warrants for certain activities under the jurisdiction of the natural resource commission.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 481A.12, Code 2020, is amended to read as follows:
   481A.12  Seizure of wildlife taken or handled illegally.
   The director or any peace officer shall seize with or without pursuant to a search warrant and take possession of, or direct the disposal of, any fish, furs, birds, animals, mussels, clams, or frogs, which that have been caught, taken, or killed at a time, in a manner, or for a purpose, or had in possession or under control, or offered for shipment, or illegally transported in the state or to a point beyond its borders, contrary to the Code. All fish, furs, birds, animals, mussels, clams, or frogs seized under this section shall be relinquished to a representative of the commission, disposed of, or and kept as provided in section 481A.13.
    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  481A.35A  Enforcement —— search warrant required —— exception.
   1.  A peace officer shall not enter onto private property, without the permission of the owner or occupant of the property, for the purposes of investigating a violation of or enforcing a provision of this chapter or any other law under the authority of the natural resource commission without first making an application under oath or affirmation to the district court of the county in which the property is located for the issuance of a search warrant to search that property. However, a peace officer may enter onto private property without permission or a search warrant if the officer has probable cause to believe that illegal activity is occurring or has occurred on the property based on the officer’s own first-hand observations that are made from a location at which the officer is legally authorized to be.
   2.  The court may issue a search warrant, after examination of the applicant and any witnesses, if the court is satisfied that there is probable cause to believe the existence of the allegations in the application.
    Sec. 3.  Section 483A.32, subsection 1, Code 2020, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  Subject to subsection 2, any device, contrivance, or material used to violate a rule adopted by the commission, or any other provision of this chapter or chapter 481A, 481B, 482, 484A, or 484B, is a public nuisance and may be condemned by the state. The director, the director’s officers, or any peace officer, shall seize the devices, contrivances, or materials used as a public nuisance, without warrant or process pursuant to a search warrant, and deliver them to a magistrate having jurisdiction. An automobile shall not be construed to be a public nuisance under this section.
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 when the director of the department of natural resources or the director’s officers or any peace officer seizes wildlife possessed or taken illegally, or seizes property used to violate a provision of the natural resources laws relating to wildlife, the director or officer must conduct that seizure pursuant to a search warrant. Currently, such seizure may be accomplished without obtaining a search warrant.
   The bill also provides that a peace officer shall not enter onto private property, without the permission of the owner or occupant of the property, for the purposes of investigating a violation of or enforcing the wildlife laws arising under Code chapter 481A or any other law under the authority of the natural resource commission, without first making an application to the district court of the county where the property is located for the issuance of a search warrant to search that property. However, a peace officer may enter onto private property without permission or a search warrant if the officer has probable cause to believe that illegal activity is occurring on that property based on the officer’s own first-hand observations that are made from a location at which the officer is legally authorized to be.