CRIMINAL LAW, PROCEDURE AND CORRECTIONS

SENATE FILE 2101 - Controlled Substance Violations - Receipt or Possession of Precursor or Other Substances - Intent
SENATE FILE 2148 - Motor Fuel Theft - VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR
SENATE FILE 2154 - Failure to Obey School Bus Warning Devices - Citations
SENATE FILE 2272 - Confinement of Dangerous or Mentally Incompetent Persons
SENATE FILE 2275 - Crimes and Criminal Sentencing
HOUSE FILE 250 - Assaults on Board of Parole Members or Employees and Department of Human Services Employees
HOUSE FILE 265 - Operating While Intoxicated - Withdrawal of Bodily Specimens
HOUSE FILE 561 - Invasion of Privacy
HOUSE FILE 2138 - Indigent Defense - Appointment and Payment of Legal Counsel
HOUSE FILE 2146 - Sex Offender Registration Requirements - Incest Committed Against Dependent Adult
HOUSE FILE 2149 - Venue for Trial of Simple Misdemeanors - Cities in Two or More Counties
HOUSE FILE 2259 - Pseudoephedrine - Sale, Purchase, or Theft - Penalties
HOUSE FILE 2367 - Corrections System - Presentence Investigations and Inmate Labor Fund
HOUSE FILE 2395 - Intellectual Property Counterfeiting
HOUSE FILE 2399 - Theft - Multiple Acts and Locations
HOUSE FILE 2493 - Unused Property Markets - Regulation of Sales
HOUSE FILE 2516 - Notarial Acts - Certifications of Uniform Citation and Complaints
HOUSE FILE 2522 - Sexual Abuse - Evidence
HOUSE FILE 2558 - Crimes Against Homo Sapiens at Any Stage of Development - VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR

RELATED LEGISLATION

SENATE FILE 2066 - Motor Vehicle Safety - Child Restraint Systems

SEE TRANSPORTATION. This Act revises requirements for the use of child restraint systems and safety belts for children being transported in motor vehicles and provides for an 18-month phase-in of the new law.

SENATE FILE 2070 - Motor Vehicle Regulations and State Transportation Department Duties and Activities

SEE TRANSPORTATION. This Act allows stolen vehicle reports from the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System to be included in the state's file of stolen or embezzled vehicles and allows for electronic notification of recovered vehicles.

SENATE FILE 2166 - Child Endangerment - Death of a Child or Minor

SEE CHILDREN & YOUTH. This Act provides that a child endangerment offense resulting in the death of a child or minor is a class "B" felony. The Act includes the same enhanced penalty provision as exists for the current class "B" child endangerment felony offense in that the term of confinement is not more than 50 years, rather than the usual maximum sentence for a class "B" felony, which is 25 years.

SENATE FILE 2193 - Sexually Violent Offenses - Insanity of Defendant - Civil Commitment

SEE CIVIL LAW, PROCEDURE & COURT ADMINISTRATION. This Act provides that if a sexually violent predator petition is filed and the person was previously found not guilty by reason of insanity for a sexually violent criminal offense, the court shall determine whether the elements of the sexually violent criminal offense were proven as a matter of law; if so proven, no further fact-finding is required in the civil commitment proceeding.

SENATE FILE 2199 - Landlord-Tenant Law - Dangerous Activities of Tenant - Notice of Termination and Notice to Quit

SEE CIVIL LAW, PROCEDURE & COURT ADMINISTRATION. This Act specifies that a residential tenant involved in a family violence or domestic abuse situation shall receive specific information in a landlord's written notice of termination and notice to quit relating to the tenant's activities that are alleged to create a clear and present danger to other affected persons. Such information shall include actions the tenant may take to make the termination and notice to quit inapplicable to the tenant if other persons are responsible for the clear and present danger.

SENATE FILE 2249 - Contests or Exhibitions Involving Animals

SEE AGRICULTURE. This Act amends Code Chapter 717D, which prohibits activities related to contests involving animals, and enhances the chapter's criminal penalties.

SENATE FILE 2269 - Elections and Voter Registration

SEE ELECTIONS, ETHICS & CAMPAIGN FINANCE. This Act makes criminal penalties applicable to certain types of election misconduct. The Act takes effect April 16, 2004, and applies to elections held on or after September 15, 2004.

SENATE FILE 2288 - Federal Block Grant Appropriations

SEE APPROPRIATIONS. This Act appropriates federal block grant and other nonstate moneys to state agencies for the federal fiscal year beginning October 1, 2004, and ending September 30, 2005. The Act includes funding for various programs involving criminals and corrections, including Drug Control and System Improvement, Local Law Enforcement, and Stop Violence Against Women Block Grants.

SENATE FILE 2298 - Government Funding, Administration, and Regulation - Appropriations and Miscellaneous Changes

SEE APPROPRIATIONS. Division IX of this Act creates an Iowa Offender Network Fund under the control of the Department of Corrections, requires the department to coordinate and provide information to the counties on available jail space on a statewide basis, permits the department to retain portions of inmate earnings for supervising inmates working in the private sector, provides that a person may not be prematurely discharged from probation unless the person has paid any court-appointed attorney fees and supervision fees, and provides for changes in the distribution of certain delinquent fines and costs collected by the country attorney which under current law would have gone to the state. Division XXV revises requirements for release of Sex Offender Registry information.

HOUSE FILE 2150 - Child Endangerment - Possession or Manufacture of Specified Controlled Substances

SEE CHILDREN & YOUTH. This Act establishes a new child endangerment criminal offense for permitting the presence of a child or minor at a location where amphetamine or methamphetamine is manufactured or possessed with intent to manufacture but there was not a serious injury to the child.

HOUSE FILE 2200 - Arson and Fire Safety Regulation

SEE HEALTH & SAFETY. This Act amends the definitions of arson and use of explosive or incendiary devices.

HOUSE FILE 2207 - Substantive Code Corrections

SEE 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. Changes made include changes to provisions relating to inspections of jails, local government reimbursement for prisoner expenses, the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision, the crime of abandonment of a vehicle, distribution of meat from hunters to Department of Corrections facilities, scheduled violations for certain traffic offenses, and no-contact orders issued in judgment and sentencing proceedings.

HOUSE FILE 2325 - Criminal Procedure - Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claims - Direct Appeals

SEE CIVIL LAW, PROCEDURE & COURT ADMINISTRATION. This Act relates to raising an ineffective assistance of counsel claim in a criminal case against an attorney in a postconviction proceeding or on direct appeal.

HOUSE FILE 2327 - Child Abuse Assessment and Training

SEE CHILDREN & YOUTH. This Act relates to child abuse assessment requirements involving notification of parents, interviews of persons alleged to have committed child abuse, and the training of child protection workers employed by the Department of Human Services.

HOUSE FILE 2351 - Waste Tire Management - Enforcement

SEE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. This Act requires the Attorney General, upon the request by the Department of Natural Resources, to institute any civil or criminal legal proceeding necessary to obtain compliance with an order of the Environmental Protection Commission or the department's director to prosecute a person for violating the Code section, or any rule adopted pursuant to the section, regulating waste tire disposal.

HOUSE FILE 2352 - Illegal Dumping Enforcement Officers

SEE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. This Act establishes a penalty for willfully obstructing, resisting, impeding, or interfering with an illegal dumping enforcement officer in connection with the officer's enforcement duties, and for willfully retaliating or discriminating against such an officer.

HOUSE FILE 2471 - Detention of Out-of-State Prisoners

SEE LOCAL GOVERNMENT. This Act allows a prisoner in another state who has not been charged with a crime in this state to be detained or committed in a county jail in this state. The Act takes effect April 28, 2004.

HOUSE FILE 2476 - Communicable Diseases Affecting Poultry - Pathogenic Viruses

SEE AGRICULTURE. This Act regulates certain pathogens affecting poultry, including avian paramyxovirus, commonly referred to as Newcastle disease, and avian influenza. The Act establishes a number of civil penalties imposed on persons who own poultry, operate establishments, or participate in certain activities which create a risk that the pathogen may spread. It also allows the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship or a local law enforcement officer to confiscate and destroy poultry as part of an enforcement action.

HOUSE FILE 2480 - Use of Pets As Prizes

SEE AGRICULTURE. This Act provides that a person is guilty of a simple misdemeanor if the person awards a pet or advertises that a pet may be awarded as a prize.

HOUSE FILE 2486 - Crimes Against Agricultural Production

SEE AGRICULTURE. This Act amends Code Chapter 717A, which prohibits a person from destroying property associated with agricultural production. The Act lowers the threshold for property damages required for conviction. It also makes it a crime to possess, transport or transfer a pathogen which may threaten the health of an animal or crop.

HOUSE FILE 2496 - Physical Therapy - Use of Professional Titles and Other Designations

SEE HEALTH & SAFETY. This Act establishes the false use of certain titles related to physical therapy as a serious misdemeanor.

HOUSE FILE 2506 - Electronic and Facsimile Prescriptions

SEE HEALTH & SAFETY. This Act makes existing penalties currently applicable to the forgery, alteration or falsifying of other types of prescriptions under Code Section 155A.24, applicable to electronic and facsimile prescriptions.

HOUSE FILE 2530 - Criminal Penalty Surcharges

SEE CIVIL LAW, PROCEDURE & COURT ADMINISTRATION. This Act reorganizes Code Chapter 911 by creating a separate Code section for surcharges added to criminal penalties, and makes related Code changes.

HOUSE FILE 2557 - Securities Regulation

SEE BUSINESS, BANKING & INSURANCE. This Act provides for the regulation of securities by revising Code Chapter 502, Iowa's "Blue Sky Law," as administered and enforced by the Securities Bureau of the Insurance Division of the Department of Commerce. The Act provides for enforcement mechanisms and civil and criminal penalties. The Act takes effect January 1, 2005.

HOUSE FILE 2569 - Scheduled Violations - County Enforcement Surcharge

SEE LOCAL GOVERNMENT. This Act imposes a county enforcement surcharge of $5 on fines or forfeitures imposed pursuant to citations issued by the county sheriff for state violations punishable as a scheduled fine if the board of supervisors authorizes the surcharge.

HOUSE FILE 2572 - Administration of Courts and Judicial Proceedings

SEE CIVIL LAW, PROCEDURE & COURT ADMINISTRATION. This Act provides in part that a person issued a citation for failing to carry their driver's license while operating a motor vehicle shall not be convicted of this offense if the person produces their driver's license to the clerk of the district court prior to going to court.

CRIMINAL LAW, PROCEDURE AND CORRECTIONS

SENATE FILE 2101 - Controlled Substance Violations - Receipt or Possession of Precursor or Other Substances - Intent (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act amends the definition of the criminal offense of possessing a product for use in the unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance. The Act makes it unlawful for a person to possess any product listed in Code Section 124.401(4) with the intent the product be used to unlawfully manufacture a controlled substance. Current law makes it unlawful to possess such product with the intent to use the product to unlawfully manufacture a controlled substance. A person who unlawfully possesses such a product commits a class "D" felony.

The Act amends the definition of the criminal offense of receiving a precursor substance with the intent to unlawfully manufacture a controlled substance. The Act makes it unlawful for a person to receive a precursor substance listed in Code Section 124B.2 with the intent the substance be used to unlawfully manufacture a controlled substance. Current law makes it unlawful to receive a precursor substance with the intent to use the substance unlawfully to manufacture a controlled substance. A person who unlawfully receives a precursor substance commits a class "C" felony.

SENATE FILE 2148 - Motor Fuel Theft - VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This bill would have allowed a court to order suspension of a person's driver's license or nonresident operating privilege in lieu of, or in addition to, any other penalty that may be imposed for theft of motor fuel not exceeding $200 in value from a retail dealer. In a case of extreme hardship, the person whose driver's license was ordered suspended could have petitioned the district court for a temporary restricted license to drive from the person's home to specified places involving employment, health care, education, substance abuse treatment, or court-ordered community service.

The bill would not have changed existing law, which provides that theft of property not exceeding $200 in value is a simple misdemeanor punishable by a fine of at least $50 but not more than $500, or by imprisonment for no more than 30 days, or by both.

SENATE FILE 2154 - Failure to Obey School Bus Warning Devices - Citations (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act provides that a peace officer investigating a school bus driver's report of a motor vehicle that failed to obey school bus warning devices may issue a citation to the owner of the vehicle if the identity of the driver of the vehicle cannot be determined. In a court proceeding where the peace officer was not able to identify the driver of the vehicle, proof that the vehicle described in the citation was used to commit the violation, together with proof that the person named in the citation was the registered owner of the vehicle at the time the violation occurred, creates a permissible inference that the registered owner was the driver who committed the violation. Under the Act and in current law, the state is still required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the driver of the motor vehicle failed to obey a school bus warning device.

Failure to obey school bus warning devices is punishable as a scheduled violation subject to a $100 fine.

SENATE FILE 2272 - Confinement of Dangerous or Mentally Incompetent Persons (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act relates to detaining criminal defendants who are mentally incompetent or who are dangerous to others or property.

CONFINEMENT OF DANGEROUS PERSONS. The Act moves Code Sections 812.1 and 812.2, relating to the confinement of dangerous persons, to Code Chapter 811, and makes some related changes. Current law and the Act provide that a person who is awaiting sentencing and who is suspected of being a danger to another person or property may be denied bail. The county attorney may file a verified ex parte motion requesting a detention hearing and asking the court for the immediate arrest of the defendant if the person is not already in custody. The Act provides that the detention hearing must be brought before a judge within 72 hours of the defendant's arrest, or if the defendant is in custody, within 72 hours of the filing of the motion. If the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the person is a danger to another person or property, the person shall be denied bail.

MENTAL INCOMPETENCY - SUSPENSION OF CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS. The Act amends Code Chapter 812 relating to detaining a criminal defendant who is mentally incompetent to stand trial. The Act provides that at any stage of a criminal proceeding, the defendant or the defense attorney may make an application to the court stating specific facts showing that the defendant is suffering from a mental disorder and is not competent to stand trial. The Act also permits the court to make its own motion if the defendant or defense attorney in the criminal proceeding fails to make an application. The court shall schedule a hearing to determine if probable cause exists to sustain the allegations. If the court determines probable cause exists, current law and the Act provide that the court shall suspend further proceedings, the defendant's right to a speedy indictment and speedy trial is tolled, and a hearing must be held on the defendant's competency to determine whether the defendant appreciates the charge, understands the proceedings, and can effectively assist in the defendant's defense. The court shall order a psychiatric evaluation of the defendant, or if a recent evaluation exists, the court may use that evaluation in the competency hearing. The Act entitles any party to a separate evaluation by a psychiatrist of their own choosing.

The Act provides that a competency hearing shall be held within 14 days of the filing of the order for a psychiatric evaluation, or within five days of the filing of an application if a recent evaluation will be used in the hearing.

COMPETENCY HEARING. The Act provides that the court shall receive all relevant and material evidence at the competency hearing and the court shall not be bound by the rules of evidence. If the court finds the defendant is competent to stand trial, the court shall reinstate the criminal proceedings against the defendant. If the court, by a preponderance of the evidence, finds the defendant is suffering from a mental disorder which prevents the defendant from appreciating the charge, understanding the proceedings, or assisting effectively in the defense, the court shall suspend the criminal proceedings indefinitely and order the defendant to be placed in a treatment program.

PLACEMENT AND TREATMENT. Under the Act, at the conclusion of the competency hearing, if the court finds the defendant does not pose a danger to the public peace and safety, is qualified for pretrial release, and is willing to cooperate with treatment, the court shall order the person to undergo mental health treatment designed to restore the defendant to competency.

If the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant does pose a danger to the public peace and safety, or is not qualified for pretrial release, or does not cooperate with treatment, the court shall commit the defendant to an appropriate inpatient treatment facility. If the defendant poses a danger to the public peace and safety, or is not qualified for pretrial release, the defendant shall be committed as a safekeeper to the custody of the Director of the Department of Corrections for treatment. If the defendant does not pose a danger to the public peace and safety but is otherwise being held in custody, the defendant shall be placed in a facility operated by the Department of Human Services for treatment.

The defendant may refuse chemotherapy or other somatic treatments, but if the director believes such treatments are necessary to preserve the defendant's life or to appropriately control behavior, the defendant must take the treatments. If the defendant refuses chemotherapy or other somatic treatments during treatment ordered pursuant to the Act, the director of the facility treating the defendant may request an order from the court authorizing such treatment methods.

RESTORATION OF COMPETENCY. After being ordered to undergo treatment pursuant to the Act, the psychiatrist or doctorate level psychologist providing outpatient treatment or the director of the facility providing inpatient treatment shall provide a status report to the court within the first 30 days of treatment, and at least every 60 days thereafter.

After placement, if the treating psychiatrist or doctorate level psychologist finds there is a substantial probability the defendant has acquired the ability to appreciate the charge, understand the proceedings, and effectively assist in the defendant's defense, the psychiatrist or psychologist, or the director of the facility treating the defendant, shall notify the court, and a hearing shall be set on the defendant's competency within 14 days of being notified.

If there is a substantial probability the competency of the defendant will not be restored, the court shall also be notified, and a hearing shall be held within 14 days of the court being notified.

If the treating psychiatrist or doctorate level psychologist finds the defendant would benefit from either a more restrictive or less restrictive placement for treatment, the psychiatrist or doctorate level psychologist shall notify the court, and a hearing shall be set on the matter by the court within 14 days of being notified.

RESTORATION OF COMPETENCY HEARING. Fourteen days after receiving a notice that there is a substantial probability that the competency of the defendant has been restored, or there is a substantial probability the defendant's competency will not be restored or the appropriate level of treatment should be modified, the court shall hold a restoration of competency hearing. Under the Act, if the court finds the defendant's competency has been restored, the court shall terminate the placement pursuant to the Act and restore the criminal proceedings against the defendant. If the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant's competency has not been restored but finds the defendant is making progress in regaining competency, the court shall continue the placement. The court may change the placement to a more restrictive or less restrictive placement if proven by clear and convincing evidence. If the court finds there is a substantial probability the defendant's competency will not be restored in a reasonable amount of time, the court shall terminate the placement.

LENGTH OF PLACEMENT AND OTHER PROCEEDINGS. A defendant shall not be placed pursuant to the Act for a period greater than the maximum term of confinement for the criminal offense for which the defendant is accused or 18 months, whichever is shorter. If the length of the defendant's placement equals the maximum length of the term of confinement for which the defendant is accused, the criminal offense shall be dismissed by the court with prejudice. When the defendant's placement equals 18 months, the court shall schedule a hearing to determine whether the competency of the defendant has been restored. If the defendant's mental competency has not been restored, the court shall terminate the placement of the defendant.

The Act provides that if placement is terminated, the state may commence civil commitment proceedings under Code Chapter 229 or 229A. After termination of the placement, if the criminal proceedings have not been dismissed with prejudice, the state may seek to file an application seeking to reinstate the criminal proceedings if it appears the competency of the defendant has been restored.

SENATE FILE 2275 - Crimes and Criminal Sentencing (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act provides that a person sentenced to an 85 percent sentence prior to July 1, 2003, may be eligible for parole or work release after serving seven-tenths of the maximum term of confinement. The Act does not change the maximum amount of earned time that can be earned by a person serving an 85 percent sentence; thus if a person is not released on parole or work release, the person shall serve approximately 85 percent of the sentence in confinement. Current law provides that a person serving an 85 percent sentence after July 1, 2003, is eligible for parole or work release after serving seven-tenths of the maximum term of confinement.

A person paroled or placed on work release under the Act shall not be discharged from parole or work release until the entire sentence is served less any time earned.

HOUSE FILE 250 - Assaults on Board of Parole Members or Employees and Department of Human Services Employees (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY. This Act amends Code Section 708.3A relating to an assault on a peace officer, jailer, correctional staff, health care provider, or fire fighter. The Act adds a "member or employee of the Board of Parole" and an "employee of the Department of Human Services" to the list of occupations covered under Code Section 708.3A. The Act effectively increases the penalty for most assaults on a member or employee of the Board of Parole or an employee of the Department of Human Services (DHS). However, the Act does not increase the penalty for a class "D" felony assault.

The Act provides that if a person assaults a member or employee of the Board of Parole or a DHS employee with the intent to inflict serious injury or uses or displays a dangerous weapon in connection with the assault, that person commits a class "D" felony. If a person assaults a member or employee of the Board of Parole or a DHS employee, and causes bodily injury or mental illness, that person commits an aggravated misdemeanor and if the person commits any other type of assault, that person commits a serious misdemeanor.

The Act defines an "employee of the Department of Human Services" to mean a person who is an employee of an institution controlled by the department or who is an employee of the civil commitment unit for sex offenders.

HOUSE FILE 265 - Operating While Intoxicated - Withdrawal of Bodily Specimens (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY. This Act relates to the warrantless withdrawal of blood from a person under arrest for a drunk driving-related violation resulting from a motor vehicle accident that causes a death or injury reasonably likely to cause a death. The Act provides that the person's blood may be withdrawn without the person's consent to determine the amount of alcohol or controlled substance in the person's blood if all the following criteria are met:

• The person involved in the foregoing circumstances does not object.
• The peace officer reasonably believes the blood drawn will produce evidence of intoxication.
• The method used to withdraw the blood is performed in a reasonable manner and pursuant to statutory requirements.
• The peace officer reasonably believes the situation to be an emergency.

If the person objects to the withdrawal of blood, a breath or urine sample may be taken if the person is capable of submitting to a breath test and a testing instrument is available, unless the peace officer involved in the situation has reasonable grounds to believe the person was under the influence of a controlled substance or a drug, in which case a urine sample shall be collected from the person.

HOUSE FILE 561 - Invasion of Privacy (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act provides that a person who knowingly views, photographs or films another person for the purpose of arousing or gratifying the sexual desires of any person while the other person is in a state of full or partial nudity commits invasion of privacy under certain circumstances.

A person commits invasion of privacy if the person being viewed, photographed or filmed does not consent or is unable to consent to being viewed, photographed or filmed; the person is in a state of full or partial nudity; and the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy. The Act defines "full or partial nudity" to mean a showing of genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or female nipple.

A person who commits invasion of privacy is guilty of a serious misdemeanor.

HOUSE FILE 2138 - Indigent Defense - Appointment and Payment of Legal Counsel (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act provides that a nonprofit organization may contract with the State Public Defender to provide legal services to indigent persons.

If an attorney has been retained or agreed to represent a person and subsequently applies to the court for appointment to represent the person as an indigent, the attorney must provide the State Public Defender with any representation agreement and information on any moneys earned prior to appointment by the court. If the attorney fails to disclose any representation agreement or moneys earned prior to appointment, the State Public Defender may then deny the attorney's claim for attorney fees.

An attorney's claim for compensation and reimbursement of expenses for representing an indigent person must be submitted to the State Public Defender within 45 days of the sentencing, acquittal or dismissal of a criminal case or the final ruling or dismissal of any other type of case.

An attorney may apply to the court to exceed attorney fee limitations for representing an indigent person after the attorney has exceeded the fee limitations if good cause excusing the attorney's failure to seek prior approval is shown. Failure to file an application to exceed a fee limitation prior to exceeding the fee limitation does not constitute good cause.

Costs incurred representing an indigent defendant in a contempt hearing, and an indigent juvenile in an adoption proceeding under Code Chapter 600, are payable from the Indigent Defense Fund.

HOUSE FILE 2146 - Sex Offender Registration Requirements - Incest Committed Against Dependent Adult (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES. This Act requires a person who is convicted of incest against a dependent adult as defined in Code Section 235B.2 to register as a sex offender. Under current law, only a person who commits incest against a minor has to register as a sex offender.

HOUSE FILE 2149 - Venue for Trial of Simple Misdemeanors - Cities in Two or More Counties (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY. This Act provides that a simple misdemeanor committed in a city located in two or counties shall be prosecuted in the county where the greater offense occurred if the simple misdemeanor is committed in conjunction with an offense greater than a simple misdemeanor. Current law provides that if a simple misdemeanor is committed in a city located in two or more counties, the simple misdemeanor shall be prosecuted in the county in which the seat of government of the city is located.

HOUSE FILE 2259 - Pseudoephedrine - Sale, Purchase, or Theft - Penalties (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY. This Act provides that a retailer shall not sell, and a person shall not purchase, in a single transaction, more than two packages containing pseudoephedrine as the products' sole active ingredient. A person who sells or purchases more than two packages containing pseudoephedrine in a single transaction commits a simple misdemeanor punishable by a scheduled fine of $100.

A retailer who offers for sale a product containing pseudoephedrine as the product's sole active ingredient shall display and offer such product for sale, except as otherwise provided, behind a counter where the public is not permitted or within 20 feet of a counter which allows the attendant to view the product in an unobstructed manner. The retailer may display or offer for sale without restriction a product containing pseudoephedrine as the sole active ingredient if the product is displayed using an antitheft device system.

A retailer shall display a notice stating that it is a simple misdemeanor to purchase in a single transaction more than two packages containing pseudoephedrine as the products' sole active ingredient.

If a person sells or purchases a product containing pseudoephedrine in violation of the Act, the retailer shall be assessed a civil penalty punishable as a scheduled fine in the amount of $100 for each criminal violation. If the retailer also displays a product containing pseudoephedrine in a manner which violates the Act, the retailer shall be assessed a $100 civil penalty.

Any enforcement action shall be brought in magistrate court.

All civil penalty moneys collected by the clerk of the district court shall be distributed to the state or the political subdivision of the state enforcing the Act.

A violation of this Act does not occur if a person purchases the product in liquid form, or the product is primarily intended for administration to children, or the Board of Pharmacy Examiners, in concurrence with the Department of Public Safety, exempts the product because the product is formulated to prevent a conversion of the product to methamphetamine.

The Act enhances the penalty for a person who commits a simple misdemeanor theft to a serious misdemeanor theft if the person commits a theft of more than two packages containing pseudoephedrine as the sole active ingredient or more than two packages containing pseudoephedrine in combination with other active ingredients.

HOUSE FILE 2367 - Corrections System - Presentence Investigations and Inmate Labor Fund (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY. This Act concerns distribution of presentence investigation reports, moneys related to inmate labor, and persons confined at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center at Oakdale.

The Act provides that a presentence investigation report may be provided to several entities by ordinary or electronic mail.

The Act establishes an Inmate Labor Fund. All fees, reimbursement costs, grants, or appropriations related to inmate labor shall be deposited into the fund and the moneys used by the Department of Corrections to offset staff and transportation costs related to providing inmate labor to public entities.

The Act requires the Medical Director of the Department of Corrections or the director's designee to secure the professional care and treatment of each person confined at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center. Current law requires the superintendent of the center to secure the professional care and treatment.

HOUSE FILE 2395 - Intellectual Property Counterfeiting (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act provides that any person who knowingly manufactures, produces, displays, advertises, sells, distributes, possesses with intent to sell, or distributes any item, or knowingly provides a service bearing or identified by a counterfeit mark commits intellectual property counterfeiting. "Counterfeit mark" is defined to mean any unauthorized reproduction or copy of intellectual property. "Intellectual property" means any trademark, service mark, trade name, label, term, device, design, or word adopted or used by a person to identify the goods or services of the person.

A person commits intellectual property counterfeiting in the first degree, a class "C" felony, if the person manufactures or produces the counterfeit items, or the offense involves 1,000 or more counterfeited items or the retail value is equal to or greater than $10,000, or the person has at least two prior violations of this Act.

A person commits intellectual property counterfeiting in the second degree, a class "D" felony, if the offense involves more than 100 but does not involve more than 1,000 counterfeited items or the total retail value of counterfeit items is equal to or greater than $1,000 but less than $10,000, or the person has a prior intellectual property counterfeiting violation.

All intellectual property counterfeiting which is not intellectual property counterfeiting in the first degree or second degree is intellectual property counterfeiting in the third degree. Intellectual property counterfeiting in the third degree is an aggravated misdemeanor.

If counterfeited items are seized for a violation of the Act, the intellectual property owner may request that all seized items bearing or identified by a counterfeit mark be released by the seizing agency to the intellectual property owner for destruction or disposition. If the intellectual property owner does not request release of the seized items, the items shall be destroyed unless the intellectual property owner consents to another disposition. The Act also provides that any personal property seized in addition to the counterfeited items seized be disposed of pursuant to Code Chapter 809.

HOUSE FILE 2399 - Theft - Multiple Acts and Locations (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY. This Act provides that if property is stolen from different locations by two or more acts within a 30-day period and the thefts are attributable to a person or a group of persons acting together in a single scheme, plan or conspiracy, these acts may be considered a single theft and the value of the thefts may be the total value of all property stolen.

HOUSE FILE 2493 - Unused Property Markets - Regulation of Sales (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY. This Act creates a new Code Chapter 546B regulating sales activities at unused property market events, commonly referred to as flea markets and swap meets, and prohibits the sale of baby food, infant formula, cosmetics or personal care products, or any nonprescription drug or medical device at such events, except by an authorized representative of the manufacturer or distributor of such product.

The Act requires an unused property merchant to retain receipts for the purchase of new and unused property from the producer, manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer for at least two years, and to produce such receipts for inspection upon reasonable notice, and further provides that an unused property merchant shall not knowingly falsify, obliterate or destroy receipts. Certain types of sales are excepted from these requirements.

Violations of the Act are punishable as a simple misdemeanor for a first offense, a serious misdemeanor for a second offense, and an aggravated misdemeanor for a third or subsequent offense. 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. 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. 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.

HOUSE FILE 2516 - Notarial Acts - Certifications of Uniform Citation and Complaints (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY. This Act creates an exception to the normal process of performing a notarial act with respect to a chief officer's certifying under oath of a verification of a uniform citation and complaint by a peace officer. Under the Act, the chief officer of a law enforcement agency or the chief officer's designee is not required to use a stamp or seal when certifying the verification of a uniform citation and complaint by a peace officer.

The Act takes effect April 8, 2004.

HOUSE FILE 2522 - Sexual Abuse - Evidence (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY. This Act provides that if an alleged victim of sexual abuse consents to a sexual abuse examination and to having the evidence preserved, the evidence must be collected and properly stored with the law enforcement agency under whose jurisdiction the offense occurred or with the agency that collected the evidence to ensure that the chain of custody is complete and sufficient.

The Act provides that if an alleged victim of sexual abuse does not wish to file a criminal complaint and a sexual abuse evidence collection kit has been completed, the kit must be stored for a minimum of 10 years. In addition, if the alleged victim does not want their name recorded on the sexual abuse collection kit, a case number or other identifying information shall be assigned to the kit in place of the name of the alleged victim.

HOUSE FILE 2558 - Crimes Against Homo Sapiens at Any Stage of Development - VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR (full text of bill)

BY GIPP. This bill would have provided that for the purposes of certain sections of the Code, as they pertain to victims of murder or manslaughter, "person" would have included a member of the species Homo sapiens, at any stage of development when carried in the womb or after birth.

The bill also would have provided that those sections would not apply to a legal abortion to which the pregnant woman or a person legally authorized to act on the pregnant woman's behalf consented, or for which consent was implied by law.

Under the bill, the penalty for each crime would be applicable to the perpetrator for each such victim.