2000 Summary of Legislation CIVIL LAW, PROCEDURE AND COURT ADMINISTRATION Published by the Iowa General Assembly -- Legislative Service Bureau

CIVIL LAW, PROCEDURE AND COURT ADMINISTRATION LEGISLATION

SENATE FILE 2007 - Guardians -- Procurement of Professional Services for Ward (full text of act)

   BY McKEAN. This Act provides that a guardian is not required to seek prior court approval in the instance in which, if necessitated by the physical or mental disability of the ward, anesthesia is used in providing the ward professional care, counseling, treatment, or services limited to the provision of routine physical and dental examinations, and the administration of anesthesia is within the health care practitioner's scope of practice. The Act defines "routine dental examinations and procedures" and "routine physical examinations and procedures."

SENATE FILE 2142 - Crime Victim Compensation (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act amends Code Section 915.86, relating to crime victim compensation.

   The Act adds compensation for parents or caretakers of a dependent victim for lost wages related to the dependent's medical and counseling appointments, and for lost wages for victims, parents and caretakers related to meetings with law enforcement and prosecutors in connection with the criminal proceedings.

   The Act limits certain compensation for health care and lost wages for relatives of homicide victims to a specified list of relatives. The Act expands compensation for crime scene cleanup to include crimes other than homicides.

SENATE FILE 2212 - Procedures Administered by Clerk of Court (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act makes several changes governing the duties and responsibilities of clerks of the district court.

   Code Section 6B.4 is amended to require the applicant for condemnation of property, rather than the clerk of court, to mail the list of condemnation commissioners to the owner of the property and to require the applicant to file proof of the mailing with the sheriff.

   Code Section 450.24 is amended to increase the term of office for inheritance real estate appraisers from one to four years.

   Code Section 624.20 is amended to permit a clerk of court to enter satisfaction of judgment if the judgment remaining is $1 or less.

   Code Sections 804.21 and 804.22 are amended to extend the time for an initial appearance before a magistrate from 10 days to 30 days after arrest by warrant, or without a warrant, and subsequent release on bail.

   Code Section 811.6 is amended to require that the clerk of court, rather than the sheriff, provide 10 days' notice to the defendant and the defendant's sureties of entry of judgment for forfeited bail.

   Code Section 910.9 is amended concerning the collection of restitution payments. The Act provides that if an entity other than the clerk of court is authorized to receive payments, that entity shall regularly notify the clerk about the receipt of such payments. In addition, the clerk of court is permitted to allocate payments among multiple victims at the clerk's discretion, instead of pursuant to a set percentage of the total owed to each victim, when the payment to a victim would be $25 or less. The Code section is also amended to eliminate the requirement that the sentencing court be notified when full restitution has been made.

SENATE FILE 2214 - Forcible Entry and Detainer Actions -- Rent or Property Recovery (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT. This Act changes residential landlord-tenant law as it relates to forcible entry and detention of real property actions.

   The Act amends Code Section 648.19 to specify that certain actions which are jointly filed must be treated separately by the court, and creates new Code Section 648.22B to address mobile or manufactured homes that are subject to a foreclosure action.

SENATE FILE 2220 - Residential Landlord-Tenant -- Forcible Entry and Detainer -- VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This bill would have allowed for use of an action for forcible entry and detainer when a seller of real estate seeks to recover possession of the property when the buyer of the real estate defaults or forfeits on the contract for deed governing the sale. The bill also would have allowed such actions to be pursued as small claims actions in small claims court.

SENATE FILE 2303 - Administration of Justice -- Appointments -- Benefits -- Magistrate Apportionment (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act makes changes to provisions in the Code relating to benefits applicable to Judicial Branch employees and in the manner of making certain quasi-judicial appointments.

   Code Section 331.754 is amended to provide that the county board of supervisors, and not the district court, shall appoint an acting county attorney, if necessary, if the county attorney or any assistant county attorneys are unable through sickness, absence or disability to perform county attorney duties.

   Code Sections 341A.2 and 341A.3 are amended to provide that the county board of supervisors appoints two of the three members to the civil service commission. The appointment of the other member by the county attorney is not changed by this Act. Previously, the county board of supervisors appointed one member and the presiding district court judge for that court appointed one member of the three members appointed.

   Code Section 450.24 is amended to provide that the chief judge of the judicial district, and not the court, shall appoint inheritance tax appraisers for each county.

   Code Section 602.1401 is amended to provide that the Judicial Branch can specifically establish a benefits plan for its employees and that the plan can provide benefits to court employees not covered by a collective bargaining agreement similar to those provided to employees covered by such an agreement, notwithstanding general Code provisions applicable to other state employees for sick leave accrual and credit for accrued sick leave.

   Code Section 602.6401 is amended to provide that the requirement of the State Court Administrator to apportion magistrate offices shall be done in the year in which magistrates' terms end and not every odd-numbered year.

   Code Section 602.6603 is amended to provide that the chief judge of a judicial district, and not a district judge, may appoint a temporary court reporter. The provisions of Code Chapter 607A governing the appointment of jury commissioners is changed to provide for their appointment by the chief judge of the judicial district and not the judges of the district court in that district.

   Code Section 633.20 is amended to provide that the chief judge of the judicial district, and not the court, shall appoint referees in probate.

   Code Section 905.3, concerning the board of directors of each judicial district department of correctional services, is amended to provide that the members from project advisory committees shall be appointed by the chief judge of the judicial district and not the judges of the judicial district.

   The Act also requests the Legislative Council of the General Assembly to establish an interim study committee to review issues concerning the appointment and compensation of mental health advocates.

SENATE FILE 2308 - Domestic Abuse Records and Electronic Harassment (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act relates to domestic abuse, addressing protective orders under Code Chapter 236 and harassment under Code Section 708.7.

   Code Section 236.10 is amended to provide for the court to order the sealing of a domestic abuse file or portion of the file as necessary to protect the privacy or safety of any person, rather than automatic sealing of the entire file by the clerk of court.

   Code Section 236.19, relating to foreign protective orders, is amended to specify inclusion of protective orders issued by Indian tribunals and courts in U. S. territories, to expand venue to include any county that would have venue if the action were being commenced in Iowa, to include filing of certified copies of foreign protective orders, and to allow filing of orders that are not certified or authenticated if supported by an affidavit, subject to penalties of perjury, of a person with personal knowledge, which may be the person protected by the order. Code Section 236.19 is also amended to prohibit service of copies of the order to a respondent unless expressly directed by the person in whose favor the order is entered.

   Code Section 236.19 is also amended to specify that a valid foreign protective order shall be enforced in this state even if not filed with a clerk of court or placed in a registry of protective orders unless a peace officer finds the order invalid on its face. The Code section lists criteria required for a valid order and provides that failure to meet all criteria provides an affirmative defense in an action for enforcement. A peace officer is granted civil and criminal immunity for reasonable, good faith enforcement actions under this section.

   Code Section 236.19 is further amended to provide that filing and service costs related to foreign protective orders may be waived or deferred as provided in Code Section 236.3.

   This Act also makes harassment via electronic communication a crime under Code Section 708.7. Harassment varies by degree according to the type of threat communicated. A person commits harassment in the first degree when the person commits harassment involving a threat to commit a forcible felony, or commits harassment and has previously been convicted of harassment three or more times during the preceding 10 years. Harassment in the first degree is an aggravated misdemeanor. An aggravated misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than two years and a fine of at least $500 but not more than $5,000.

   A person commits harassment in the second degree when the person commits harassment involving a threat to commit bodily injury, or commits harassment and has previously been convicted of harassment two times during the preceding 10 years. Harassment in the second degree is a serious misdemeanor. A serious misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than one year and a fine of at least $250 but not more than $1,500.

   Any other act of harassment is harassment in the third degree. Harassment in the third degree is a simple misdemeanor. A simple misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than 30 days or a fine of at least $50, but not more than $500, or by both.

HOUSE FILE 683 - Child Custody, Visitation, and Support -- Mediation (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act provides for mediation services related to custody, visitation and support of a child.

   The Act provides that the intent of the General Assembly is that the parties to family law actions maintain responsibility for their decision making, improve their communications concerning their children, and commit themselves to the decisions they reach. The General Assembly finds that the best interests of children are normally served by maintenance of maximum contact with both parents, that parental conflict may result in emotional and psychological damage to the parties and their children, and that mediation should be utilized to the greatest extent possible in resolution of domestic relations disputes.

   The Act provides that the court, on its own motion or on the motion of a party, may order the parties to participate in mediation in dissolution of marriage actions or other domestic relations actions. The provisions of Code Chapter 679C, relating to mediation including confidentiality, mediator privilege, and mediator immunity, apply to the provisions of the Act. The provisions of the Act do not apply if the action involves a child support or medical support obligation being enforced by the Department of Human Services' Child Support Recovery Unit or if the action involves domestic abuse. The provisions are not to affect a judicial district's or court's authority to order settlement conferences. On application of a party, the court may waive court-ordered mediation based upon demonstration of a history of domestic abuse.

   The Act directs the Supreme Court to establish a dispute resolution program in family law cases and to prescribe rules for the mediation program, and provides standards for dispute resolution programs.

   The Act also directs the Supreme Court to prescribe qualifications for mediators on or before January 1, 2001. The qualifications are not to include a requirement that the mediator be licensed to practice any particular profession.

   The Act further directs the Supreme Court to submit a report to the General Assembly by January 1, 2001, including any recommendations for implementing, modifying and funding the Act.

   The Act takes effect July 1, 2001, except that the portion of the Act relating to the submission of the report by the Supreme Court takes effect May 3, 2000.

HOUSE FILE 2135 - Child Support -- Liens -- Motor Vehicle Registration -- Income Withholding (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES. This Act relates to support obligations. The Act amends the section of the Code relating to development of a statewide support lien index. The Act provides that a task force previously established by the Child Support Recovery Unit of the Department of Human Services is to develop and implement provisions for the filing of notices of liens and actions to release liens, and a process for delaying the renewal of a motor vehicle registration due to a support delinquency and recommendations for additional statutory changes to the General Assembly. The law formerly required development, only, of a plan for a statewide support lien index. The Act adds specific members to the task force, including representatives of the Iowa Bankers Association, the Iowa Recreational Vehicle Dealers' Association, the Independent Automobile Dealers' Association of Iowa, the Iowa Mortgage Bankers' Association, the Iowa Motorcycle Association, and the Iowa Credit Union League.

   The Act removes the date October 1, 1999, as the last date on which a payor of income (an employer, trustee or governmental entity) was required to include, in payment identification, the date income was withheld from a support obligor. By removing the date, the Act allows continuation of the practice of including the date that income was withheld in the identification of the support payments made by payors of income. The Act instructs the Department of Human Services to rescind any administrative rules in conflict with the Act.

   The Act takes effect April 20, 2000.

HOUSE FILE 2168 - Dissolutions of Marriage Hearings -- Exceptions (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act relates to the exceptions to the holding of a hearing in a dissolution of marriage action by eliminating the provision that prohibits the court from entering a decree of dissolution without a hearing if there are children of the marriage for whom support might be ordered. The same prohibition is also eliminated when a respondent has not entered an appearance or filed a motion or pleading in the case and the waiting period of 90 days, with exceptions, has expired. The Act does not change the provisions that require the parties to certify in writing that there has been a breakdown of the marriage relationship, to file all documents required by the court, and to provide a written agreement settling all of the issues involved in the dissolution of marriage.

HOUSE FILE 2173 - Intestate Succession -- Great-Grandparents, Great-Aunts, Great-Uncles, and Second Cousins (full text of act)

   

   BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act amends the Code section relating to the rules of inheritance for intestate succession to provide for inheritance by great-grandparents or descendants of great-grandparents (great-aunts, great-uncles, and second cousins) when no descendants, parents, siblings or descendants of siblings, or grandparents or descendants of grandparents (aunts, uncles, and first cousins) are available to inherit from an intestate decedent.

HOUSE FILE 2240 - Guardianships and Conservatorships -- Notice -- Counsel (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act amends certain parallel Code sections relating to notice and the appointment of counsel in guardianship and conservatorship proceedings. The Act specifies the timing for the appointment of counsel and provides for notice of the hearing, both to the proposed ward and certain other interested parties; provides the court with certain rights to reconsider the determination of counsel and to discharge court-appointed counsel; and requires specific notice to the proposed ward that private counsel can be retained.

HOUSE FILE 2254 - Real Estate Title Actions -- Certain Older Claims (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act changes two Code sections relating to certain older claims to real estate.

   The Act adds Code Section 614.17A to a list of related Code sections in Code Section 614.19, which together address the handling of certain old claims to real estate. The effect of the addition is to negate the applicability of the special statute of limitations involving actions by minors and persons with mental illness.

   The Act also makes certain language consistent in the two subsections of Code Section 614.22, which addresses actions relating to ancient deeds and the possession of those claiming title under the deeds.

HOUSE FILE 2388 - Modification of Child Custody or Support Orders -- Pilot Project (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act provides for implementation of a pilot project relating to the concurrent jurisdiction of the juvenile court and the district court in modification of child custody and support orders when the juvenile court issues an order removing a child from the custody of a parent previously granted custody or support. The Act directs the Judicial Branch to implement the pilot project in at least one judicial district and to submit a report to the General Assembly on or before December 1, 2000, regarding the progress of the pilot project and recommendations for continuation or expansion of the project.

HOUSE FILE 2473 - Reports and Proceedings Regarding School Violence and Other Activities -- Immunity (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION. This Act creates new Code Section 280.27, which establishes civil and criminal immunity for a school employee related to the employee's reasonable and good faith participation in reporting or investigating violence, threats of violence, or other inappropriate activity against a school employee or student in a school building, on school grounds, or at a school-sponsored function. A coordinating provision is added in Code Chapter 613, relating to immunity in civil actions.

HOUSE FILE 2518 - Estates and Trusts (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act amends several sections of Code Chapter 633 relating to probate and trusts.

   The Act changes the notice and reporting date schedule for delinquent inventories and reports due by law; allows bequests of $10,000 or less to a minor to be paid to a custodian for the minor under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act without a court order; specifies that when a divorce of the testator revokes will provisions relating to the testator's spouse, the revocation includes dispositions, appointments of property, or nominations to serve in a fiduciary or representative capacity; amends the definition of "heir" in Code Sections 633.304 and 633.305 to include notice to grandparents or issue of grandparents of the decedent in addition to the decedent's children and parents; and allows an attorney in fact or agent to complete an affidavit that the attorney in fact or agent had no knowledge of the revocation or termination of a power of attorney at the time of an act pursuant to the power of attorney.

   This Act also makes certain amendments to the Iowa Trust Code, which becomes effective on July 1, 2000. The Act amends the definition of "term" to include proof of a settlor's intent via evidence admissible under the rules of evidence; deletes the procedure for setting aside an improper termination or modification of the trust, and provides that the court, rather than the trustee, shall distribute property upon termination of the trust; adds a new Code section relating to modification of administrative provisions of the trust when there is a change in circumstances not known or anticipated by the settlor of the trust; places a limitation on the combination or division of a trust when the trust is a court reporting trust, and provides a mechanism for division; specifies that revocation of trust provisions due to a settlor's divorce will also apply to dispositions, appointments of property, and nominations to serve in any fiduciary or representative capacity; expands the definition of "heir" to include grandparents and issue of grandparents, consistent with those entitled to inherit under Code Section 633.219, and specifies the notice that must be published if the decedent was not a resident of Iowa; places a limitation on trustee indemnification to the extent of distributions made to creditors; makes certain changes on filling trustee vacancies; eliminates the ability of the court to remove a trustee on its own motion; and repeals new Code Section 633.4309, relating to delegation of investment and management functions.

   The Act also makes certain technical or grammatical amendments in many sections of the Trust Code.

HOUSE FILE 2521 - Mediation of Farm Disputes (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act amends the mandatory mediation provisions of two Code sections relating to resolution of farm disputes. The Act specifies that the mediation requirements in Code Sections 654A.6 and 654B.3 are jurisdictional prerequisites that must be satisfied before a case can be filed under those chapters. A 1999 federal district court ruling held that the current Code language did not prevent the filing of a suit under Code Chapter 654B prior to mediation of the dispute.

HOUSE FILE 2522 - Domestic Abuse Actions -- Plaintiff's Mailing Address (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act provides that a plaintiff seeking relief from domestic abuse under Code Chapter 236 may use the mailing address of a shelter or other agency, a public or private post office box, or any other mailing address with the permission of the resident of that address, as a mailing address for purposes of filing a petition for relief under the Code chapter, as well as for obtaining utility or other services. Changes of address must be reported to the clerk of court within five days.

HOUSE FILE 2525 - Motor Vehicle Accidents -- Damages (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act provides that a person shall not recover noneconomic losses including, but not limited to, pain and suffering, in an action to recover damages arising out of the operation or use of a motor vehicle if the injured person was the operator of the motor vehicle, a passenger in the motor vehicle, or a pedestrian and the injuries were caused by the person's commission of a felony. The Act provides that these provisions shall not apply if the injured person is found to have no fault in the accident. The Act provides that if a person injured in a motor vehicle accident has been formally charged with a violation of a felony in connection with the accident, motor vehicle liability and uninsured and underinsured motorist insurers shall advise the injured party that settlement of the claim will be resolved, pending a judgment on the charges.

RELATED LEGISLATION

SENATE FILE 421 -- Juvenile Court Jurisdiction -- Adoption and Termination of Parental Rights (Complete summary under CHILDREN & YOUTH.)

   This Act permits the juvenile court to exercise jurisdiction over adoption proceedings.

SENATE FILE 2092 -- Substantive Code Corrections (Complete summary under STATE GOVERNMENT.)

   This Act contains statutory corrections that adjust language to reflect current practices, insert earlier omissions, delete redundancies and inaccuracies, delete temporary language, resolve inconsistencies and conflicts, update ongoing provisions, or remove ambiguities. The Act includes the following:

Civil Penalty for Sale of Alcohol to Minors. The civil penalty applicable to holders of liquor licenses or permits for first offense violations of Code Section 123.49, subsection 2, paragraph "h," which relates to sales of alcohol to minors, is changed from $300 to $500.

Child Abuse Information Expunged After 30 Years. Language relating to the expunging of child abuse information from the Child Abuse Registry is changed to specify that information relating to the types of child abuse which are specified in paragraph "c" or "e" of Code Section 232.68, subsection 2, is not to be expunged for 30 years.

Mechanic's Liens. A provision relating to the methods of causing a mechanic's lien which has been satisfied to be cancelled or forfeited is amended to provide that it is the demand and required attachments which are to be filed with the clerk of the district court and subsequently mailed by the clerk to both parties affected by a mechanic's lien.

Judges. Certain provisions relating to the canvassing of the results of a judicial election are amended by adding the phrase "full-time associate juvenile judge, or full-time associate probate judge." The word "part-time" is added before the words "associate probate judge" in provisions relating to the appointment, removal and qualification of part-time associate probate judges.

Child Custody Matters. The word "part-time" is added before the words "associate probate judge" in provisions relating to the appointment, removal and qualification of part-time associate probate judges. Provisions relating to temporary emergency jurisdiction of courts of this state in child-custody matters are amended by replacing the word "or" in the phrase "court or another state under a statute" with the word "of." Language relating to the listing, in an order for hearing in a child-custody proceeding, of the circumstances which must be demonstrated by a respondent to prevent the hearing from going forward is amended to reflect the mutual exclusivity of those circumstances.

Property Exempt From Execution. 1999 Iowa Acts, Chapter 131, Section 3, is amended by striking the phrase "all claims of exemption under this section" and inserting the phrase "all claims of exemption under this Act," in order to apply the effective date provision to the substantive part of the Act. This change is made retroactively applicable to May 17, 1999.

SENATE FILE 2254 -- Child Support -- Medical Support -- Data Matching (Complete summary under HUMAN SERVICES.)

   This Act provides changes in child support law relating to medical support, to payment of financial institutions for the costs of quarterly data matches and automation program development, and to liability of financial institutions relating to data matches.

SENATE FILE 2302 -- Public Health Programs and Issues (Complete summary under HEALTH & SAFETY.)

   This Act makes changes relating to programs under the purview of the Iowa Department of Public Health. The Act increases the fee for filing an application to marry to $35, $4 of which is retained by the county. The Act eliminates the required issuance of an uncertified copy of the marriage certificate by the officiating minister or magistrate to the parties to the marriage, but provides for issuance of a certified copy of the original certificate of marriage by the county registrar, following receipt of the original certificate of marriage.

SENATE FILE 2344 -- Child and Family Services (Complete summary under CHILDREN & YOUTH.)

   This Act relates to child and family services involving the Department of Human Services and includes a number of requirements involving juvenile court orders for temporary removal of children, child in need of assistance proceedings, and permanency hearings and orders.

SENATE FILE 2366 -- Purchase, Possession, and Sale of Cigarettes and Tobacco Products (Complete summary under HEALTH & SAFETY.)

   This Act relates to cigarette and tobacco product provisions. The Act provides that a person who violates the prohibition against a minor smoking, using, possessing, purchasing, or attempting to purchase tobacco, tobacco products or cigarettes is subject to a civil penalty and to performance of community work requirements. The Act increases the civil penalties, eliminates the criminal fine for failure to pay the initial civil penalty, requires that the current uniform judicial citation and complaint form include a place for citing a person for such a violation, and requires judicial magistrates to hear and determine such violations. The Act establishes civil penalties for a retailer or an employee of a retailer who violates the laws relating to the supplying of tobacco products or cigarettes to minors through vending machines or relating to the prohibition against the giving away of samples.

SENATE FILE 2411 -- Public Retirement Systems (Complete summary under STATE GOVERNMENT.)

   This Act makes numerous changes pertaining to public retirement systems, including the Public Safety Peace Officers' Retirement, Accident, and Disability System (Code Chapter 97A), the Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System (Code Chapter 97B), the Statewide Fire and Police Retirement System (Code Chapter 411), and the Judicial Retirement System.

SENATE FILE 2435 -- Appropriations -- Human Services (Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS.)

   This Act makes appropriations to the Department of Human Services and includes many child welfare, child support, and juvenile justice items, including foster care, adoption, and other child welfare services, funding for court-ordered services for juveniles, directives to juvenile court services, and other provisions involving the juvenile court.

HOUSE FILE 2172 -- Law Enforcement Employment -- Polygraph Examinations (Complete summary under CRIMINAL LAW, PROCEDURE & CORRECTIONS.)

   This Act permits a polygraph examination of an applicant for a position with a law enforcement agency of a political subdivision who would have direct access to prisoner funds, other cash assets, and confidential information. The provision may be enforced through a civil action.

HOUSE FILE 2205 -- Electronic Commerce (Complete summary under BUSINESS, BANKING & INSURANCE.)

   This Act creates new Code Chapter 554D, relating to electronic transactions, that replaces Code Chapter 554C, enacted during the 1999 Session. The Act establishes evidentiary standards and requirements with respect to electronic records and provides that in a legal proceeding, evidence of a record or signature shall not be excluded solely because it is in electronic form.

HOUSE FILE 2321 -- Medical Assistance -- Eligibility -- Transfer of Assets (Complete summary under HUMAN SERVICES.)

   This Act amends portions of the Code relating to medical assistance. The Act addresses disclaimers of inheritance and failure of a spouse to take against a will rather than take what is provided under the provisions of the will under the Probate Code, as these mechanisms relate to transfer of assets policies when establishing eligibility under the Medical Assistance (MA) Program (Medicaid). The Act establishes that under the Probate Code, a disclaimer of property, interest or right constitutes a transfer of assets, in determining MA eligibility, in the amount of the value of the property, interest or right. The Act also provides that failure of a spouse to take against a will constitutes a transfer of assets, in determining MA eligibility, to the extent the value received by taking against the will would have exceeded the value of the inheritance received under the will.

HOUSE FILE 2377 -- Access to Child Abuse Information (Complete summary under CHILDREN & YOUTH.)

   This Act provides for access to child abuse information for purposes of review and public disclosure and includes a provision for expunging child abuse information from the Department of Human Services' Child Abuse Registry upon a written finding by a juvenile or district court that the information is unfounded.

HOUSE FILE 2429 -- Official Publications and County Records (Complete summary under LOCAL GOVERNMENT.)

   This Act provides for the maintenance of public records by electronic means in a county system and establishes a new rate for official publications.

HOUSE FILE 2431 -- Ethics and Campaign Disclosure -- Regulation and Enforcement (Complete summary under ELECTIONS, ETHICS & CAMPAIGN DISCLOSURE.)

   This Act relates to enforcement actions commenced against public officers and employees for violations of the Code relating to conflicts of interest and to orders for enforcement of actions by the Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board.

HOUSE FILE 2470 -- Indigent Defense (Complete summary under CRIMINAL LAW, PROCEDURE & CORRECTIONS.)

   This Act makes procedural and administrative changes relating to the Office of the State Public Defender and to the payment of indigent defense costs.

HOUSE FILE 2513 -- Uniform Commercial Code -- Secured Transactions (Complete summary under BUSINESS, BANKING & INSURANCE.)

   This Act adopts revisions to Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (Code Chapter 554), as proposed by the American Law Institute and the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, and conforming amendments to a number of articles within that Code chapter as well as other chapters providing for security interests and liens, which provide for the creation, priority and enforcement of creditors' consensual liens, which are defined as security interests in personal property and fixtures.

HOUSE FILE 2531 -- Emergency Medical Services Funding and Lost Property Disposition (Complete summary under LOCAL GOVERNMENT.)

   This Act amends provisions of Code Chapter 556F relating to the disposition of lost goods, financial instruments, and other things of value.

HOUSE FILE 2554 -- Appropriations -- Judicial Branch (Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS.)

   This Act appropriates moneys for FY 2000-2001 to the Judicial Branch.

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