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Text: HF00296                           Text: HF00298
Text: HF00200 - HF00299                 Text: HF Index
Bills and Amendments: General Index     Bill History: General Index

House File 297

Partial Bill History

Bill Text

PAG LIN
  1  1    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  321M.1  IMPOUNDMENT OF MOTOR
  1  2 VEHICLES USED TO COMMIT CERTAIN OFFENSES &endash; LIABILITY OF OWNER
  1  3 PERMITTING ILLEGAL USE OF VEHICLE.
  1  4    1.  If a person whose motor vehicle license or operating
  1  5 privilege has been suspended, denied, revoked, or barred under
  1  6 section 321.209, 321.210, 321.210A, 321.560, 321A.4, 321A.5,
  1  7 321A.17, or 321J.17, for an offense which arose out of the
  1  8 same facts and circumstances that resulted in the person's
  1  9 conviction of a violation of section 321J.2, or has been
  1 10 revoked under section 321J.9 or 321J.12 or section 707.6A,
  1 11 subsection 1, paragraph "a", operates a motor vehicle in
  1 12 violation of section 321.218, 321.561, 321A.32, or 321J.21,
  1 13 and the person knew or should have known that the person's
  1 14 license has been suspended, denied, revoked, or barred, the
  1 15 motor vehicle which is operated shall be impounded as provided
  1 16 in this chapter.  If the person who operates the motor vehicle
  1 17 is the owner of the motor vehicle, the person shall not be
  1 18 permitted to regain possession of the motor vehicle until the
  1 19 period of revocation or suspension has ended.  The department
  1 20 of transportation shall send a copy of the notice advising a
  1 21 person convicted of a violation of section 321.218, 321.561,
  1 22 321A.32, or 321J.21, of the date of expiration of the period
  1 23 of revocation or suspension to the court which enters the
  1 24 order of conviction.
  1 25    2.  A person who owns a motor vehicle, who is not the
  1 26 person who operates the motor vehicle under subsection 1, but
  1 27 who knows of, should have known of, or gives consent to the
  1 28 operation of the motor vehicle in violation of subsection 1,
  1 29 shall be jointly liable for any damage caused by the person
  1 30 who operated the motor vehicle, as well as for any costs
  1 31 associated with the seizure or impoundment of the motor
  1 32 vehicle.
  1 33    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  321M.2  NOTICE OF SEIZURE.
  1 34    Upon the arrest of a person for a violation of section
  1 35 321.218, 321.561, 321A.32, or 321J.21, the motor vehicle used
  2  1 to commit the offense shall be seized.  The officer taking
  2  2 possession of the motor vehicle shall make a written inventory
  2  3 of the motor vehicle and any property contained in the vehicle
  2  4 and deliver a copy of the inventory to the person from whom it
  2  5 was seized and the county attorney.  If the person operating
  2  6 the motor vehicle is not the registered owner or titleholder
  2  7 of the vehicle, the officer shall also cause a copy of the
  2  8 inventory to be delivered to the registered owner or
  2  9 titleholder, or both the registered owner and titleholder if
  2 10 they are different persons.  The county attorney shall file a
  2 11 copy of the inventory with the district court in the county in
  2 12 which the motor vehicle was seized, along with a list of the
  2 13 names and addresses of the persons who have received copies of
  2 14 the inventory.
  2 15    Sec. 3.  NEW SECTION.  321M.3  APPLICATIONS FOR RETURN OF
  2 16 VEHICLE.
  2 17    Any person claiming right to immediate possession of the
  2 18 vehicle may make application for the vehicle's return in the
  2 19 office of the clerk of the district court for the county in
  2 20 which the property was seized.  The application shall state
  2 21 the nature of the claimant's interest and the grounds upon
  2 22 which the claimant seeks to have the property immediately
  2 23 returned.  If no grounds are set out in the application for a
  2 24 return, the court may enter judgment on the pleadings without
  2 25 further hearing.
  2 26    Sec. 4.  NEW SECTION.  321M.4  HEARING &endash; APPEAL.
  2 27    1.  Unless the person making application is the person who
  2 28 operated the motor vehicle in violation of section 321.218,
  2 29 321.561, 321A.32, or 321J.21, an application for the return of
  2 30 the motor vehicle shall be set for hearing not less than five
  2 31 nor more than thirty days after the filing of the application
  2 32 and shall be tried to the court.  If the person making
  2 33 application is the person who operated the motor vehicle, the
  2 34 hearing on the application shall be held not less than five
  2 35 nor more than thirty days after receipt of the copy of the
  3  1 notice of the period of revocation, suspension, or bar from
  3  2 the department of transportation.  All claims to the same
  3  3 motor vehicle shall be heard in one proceeding unless it is
  3  4 shown that the proceeding would result in prejudice to one or
  3  5 more parties.  If the total value of the motor vehicle sought
  3  6 to be returned is less than ten thousand dollars, the
  3  7 proceeding may be conducted by a magistrate or a district
  3  8 associate judge, and appeals are to be conducted under the
  3  9 same procedures applicable to appeals of small claims.  In all
  3 10 other cases, the hearing shall be conducted by a district
  3 11 judge.  Appeals from judgments entered by a district judge
  3 12 shall be made within thirty days after the entry of a judgment
  3 13 order.  The motor vehicle shall remain in impoundment during
  3 14 the course of the appeal.
  3 15    2.  The following persons shall be entitled to immediate
  3 16 return of the motor vehicle without payment of costs
  3 17 associated with seizure or impoundment of the vehicle:
  3 18    a.  The owner of the motor vehicle, if the person is not
  3 19 the same person as the person who operated the motor vehicle
  3 20 and the motor vehicle was operated without the owner's
  3 21 knowledge or consent, either express or implied.
  3 22    b.  A motor vehicle rental or leasing agency, if the agency
  3 23 did not or could not have known that the person operating the
  3 24 motor vehicle did not have a valid motor vehicle license or
  3 25 operating privileges and the operation of the motor vehicle in
  3 26 violation of section 321.218, 321.561, 321A.32, or 321J.21
  3 27 constitutes a violation of the rental or leasing agreement.
  3 28    c.  A person who owns the motor vehicle and who is charged
  3 29 but is not convicted of the violation of section 321.218,
  3 30 321.561, 321A.32, or 321J.21, which resulted in the seizure
  3 31 and impoundment of the motor vehicle under this chapter.
  3 32    3.  A person who owns a motor vehicle which has been seized
  3 33 and impounded under this chapter who knew or should have
  3 34 known, or who gave consent to the operation of the motor
  3 35 vehicle by the person whose motor vehicle license was
  4  1 suspended or revoked, shall be entitled to the return of the
  4  2 motor vehicle upon payment of the costs, as well as the costs
  4  3 of the hearing on the application, which are associated with
  4  4 the seizure and impoundment of the motor vehicle.
  4  5    4.  A person who owns a motor vehicle which has been seized
  4  6 and impounded under this chapter who has been convicted of a
  4  7 violation of section 321.218, 321.561, 321A.32, or 321J.21
  4  8 shall be entitled to the return of the motor vehicle upon
  4  9 expiration of the period of revocation or suspension and upon
  4 10 payment of the costs, as well as the costs of the hearing on
  4 11 the application, which are associated with the seizure and
  4 12 impoundment of the motor vehicle.  
  4 13                           EXPLANATION
  4 14    This bill provides for the impoundment of motor vehicles
  4 15 used to commit knowing violations of various provisions
  4 16 prohibiting the operation of motor vehicles while a person's
  4 17 motor vehicle license is suspended, revoked, or barred if the
  4 18 reason for the suspension, revocation, or bar is related to an
  4 19 operation while intoxicated offense.  Persons who use their
  4 20 own vehicles to commit the offenses specified under the
  4 21 chapter cannot get the vehicles back until after the period of
  4 22 suspension, revocation, or bar have ended and the person has
  4 23 paid for the costs associated with the seizure and
  4 24 impoundment.  Persons who are not convicted of one of the
  4 25 offenses and persons who did not knowingly permit the use of
  4 26 the motor vehicle in the commission of the offense are
  4 27 permitted to get their vehicles back without paying for the
  4 28 costs of seizure and impoundment.  Persons who did know or
  4 29 consent to the use of the vehicle by someone whose license is
  4 30 revoked, suspended, or barred can get the vehicle back, but
  4 31 they are not only jointly liable for any damage that the
  4 32 person who committed the offense may have caused but they also
  4 33 must pay for the costs associated with the seizure and
  4 34 impoundment of the motor vehicle.
  4 35    A hearing must be held on applications for possession of a
  5  1 motor vehicle.  If the owner of the vehicle is not the person
  5  2 who operated the vehicle while under revocation, suspension,
  5  3 or a bar, then the hearing is to be held not sooner than five
  5  4 but not less than 30 days after the filing of the application.
  5  5 If the owner is the person who committed the violation, the
  5  6 hearing is to be held not sooner than five but not less than
  5  7 30 days after receipt of the notice from the department of
  5  8 transportation, which contains the information relating to the
  5  9 length of revocation, suspension, or bar.  If the value of the
  5 10 motor vehicle is less than $10,000, the hearing may be held
  5 11 before a magistrate or district associate judge and appealed
  5 12 in the same manner as small claims proceedings.  If the value
  5 13 of the motor vehicle is $10,000 or more, the matter is to be
  5 14 heard by a district judge.  Appeals from an order of a
  5 15 district judge are to be made within 30 days of entry of the
  5 16 order.  The motor vehicle is to remain in impoundment during
  5 17 the course of the appeal.  
  5 18 LSB 1766YH 76
  5 19 lh/jw/5
     

Text: HF00296                           Text: HF00298
Text: HF00200 - HF00299                 Text: HF Index
Bills and Amendments: General Index     Bill History: General Index

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