H-8187

   Amend  the amendment, H-8186, to Senate File 2139, as passed by the Senate, as follows:
   1.  By striking page 1, line 1, through page 3, line 19, and inserting: 
   <Amend Senate File 2139, as passed by the Senate, as follows:
   1.  By striking everything after the enacting clause and inserting: 
<DIVISION I
TORT LIABILITY

   Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  668.12A  Liability for employee negligence in actions involving commercial motor vehicles.
   1.  Subject to subsection 4, in a civil action involving the operation of a commercial motor vehicle as defined in section 321.1, if an employer who is a defendant in the action complies with subsection 2, the employer’s liability for damages caused by the negligence of an employee operating a motor vehicle within the course and scope of employment shall be based solely on respondeat superior and not on the employer’s direct negligence in hiring, training, supervising, or trusting the employee.
   2.  On motion of an employer who is the defendant in a civil action involving the operation of a commercial motor vehicle, a trial court shall dismiss from the civil action any claim of the employer’s direct negligence in hiring, training, supervising, or trusting the employee, or other claim of direct negligence on the part of the employer for the employee’s harmful conduct, or other similar claims, if the employer stipulates that at the time of the event that caused the damages that are the subject of the civil action that the person whose negligence is alleged to have caused the damages was the employer’s employee and was acting within the course and scope of employment with the employer.
   3.  If an employer makes the stipulations in subsection 2 with respect to an employee, and the employee’s negligence is found to have caused or contributed to causing the damages, the employer shall be adjudged liable solely on the basis of respondeat superior for all the resulting damages.
   4.  This section shall not apply if the civil action involving a commercial motor vehicle arises from an incident for which an employee is convicted under section 321J.2 or found to be in violation of 49 C.F.R. §392.4 or 49 C.F.R. §392.5.
   5.  As used in this section, unless the context requires otherwise:
   a.  “Convicted” means convicted of an indictable offense and includes a guilty plea or other finding of guilt by a court of competent jurisdiction.
   b.  “Operation” or “operating” means actual physical control of a commercial motor vehicle upon a highway as defined in section 321.1.
   Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  668.15A  Noneconomic damages —— commercial motor vehicle owners or operators.
   1.  As used in this section:
   a.  “Commercial motor vehicle” means the same as defined in section 321.1.
   b.  “Convicted” means convicted of an indictable offense and includes a guilty plea or other finding of guilt by a court of competent jurisdiction.
   c.  “Inflation” means the annual percentage change in the United States department of labor bureau of labor statistics consumer price Index for all urban consumers for the midwest region, all items, or its successor index.
   d.  “Noneconomic damages” means damages arising from pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, mental anguish, emotional pain and suffering, loss of chance, loss of consortium, or any other nonpecuniary damages.
   e.  “Occurrence” means the event, incident, or happening, and the acts or omissions incident thereto, which proximately caused injuries or damages for which recovery is claimed.
   f.  “Operation” or “operating” means actual physical control of a commercial motor vehicle upon a highway as defined in section 321.1.
   2.  The total amount recoverable by each plaintiff in any civil action involving the operation of a motor vehicle for noneconomic damages for personal injury or death, whether in tort, contract, or otherwise, against the owner or operator of a commercial motor vehicle shall be limited to one million dollars, regardless of the number of claims, theories of liability, or defendants in the civil action.
   3.  This section shall not apply if the civil action involving a commercial motor vehicle arises from an incident for which an employee is convicted under section 321J.2 or found to be in violation of 49 C.F.R. §392.4 or 49 C.F.R. §392.5.
   4.  a.  The limitation on damages set forth in subsection 2 shall be adjusted for Inflation by the secretary of state on January 1, 2026, and each January 1 of an even-numbered year thereafter.
   b.  The secretary of state shall certify the adjusted limitation on damages within fourteen days after the appropriate information is available.
   Sec. 3.  Section 668A.1, subsection 2, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  An award for punitive or exemplary damages shall not be made unless the answer or finding pursuant to subsection 1, paragraph “a”, is affirmative. If such answer or finding is affirmative, the jury, or court if there is no jury, shall fix the amount of punitive or exemplary damages to be awarded, and such damages shall be ordered paid as follows:
   a.  If the answer or finding pursuant to subsection 1, paragraph “b”, is affirmative, the full amount of the punitive or exemplary damages awarded shall be paid to the claimant.
   b.  If the answer or finding pursuant to subsection 1, paragraph “b”, is negative, after payment of all applicable costs and fees, an amount not to exceed twenty-five percent of the punitive or exemplary damages awarded may be ordered paid to the claimant, with the remainder of the award to be ordered paid into a civil reparations trust fund administered by the state court administrator. Funds placed in the civil reparations trust shall be under the control and supervision of the executive council, and shall be disbursed only for purposes of indigent civil litigation programs or insurance assistance programs.
   c.  Notwithstanding paragraph “b”, if the claim involves the operation of a commercial motor vehicle, then the full amount of the punitive or exemplary damages awarded shall be paid to the claimant.
   Sec. 4.  Section 668A.1, Code 2022, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  2A.  A claim for punitive or exemplary damages shall not be included in any initial claim for relief. A claim for punitive or exemplary damages may be allowed by amendment to the pleadings only after the exchange of initial disclosures pursuant to the Iowa rules of civil procedure and after the plaintiff establishes prima facie proof of a triable issue. After the plaintiff establishes the existence of a triable issue, the court may, in its discretion and subject to subsection 3, allow discovery on the issue of punitive or exemplary damages as the court deems appropriate.
DIVISION II
COVID-19 —— PRIVACY PROTECTIONS

   Sec. 5.  Section 27C.2, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   27C.2  Proof COVID-19 proof of vaccination immunization —— immunization and medical treatment status —— denial of state grants or contracts —— penalties.
   1.  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, an employer shall not require an employee to furnish an immunity passport, and a business, educational institution, or governmental entity shall not require a customer, patron, client, patient, or other person who is invited onto the premises of the business, educational institution, or governmental entity to furnish proof of having received a vaccination for COVID-19, as defined in section 686D.2, an immunity passport prior to entering onto the premises of the business, educational institution, or governmental entity. This section does not prohibit a business or governmental entity from implementing a COVID-19 screening protocol that does not require proof of vaccination for COVID-19.
   2.  A business, educational institution, employer, or governmental entity shall not do any of the following:
   a.  Refuse, withhold from, or deny to a person any services, goods, facilities, advantages, privileges, access, transportation or freedom of movement, licensing, educational opportunities, or access to medical care, based on the person’s COVID-19 immunization status.
   b.  Except when federal law otherwise requires, exclude, segregate, refuse to serve, require a mask or other facial covering, require testing, or otherwise unfairly discriminate against a person, based on the person’s COVID-19 immunization status.
   c.  Except when federal law otherwise requires, inquire into the COVID-19 medical treatment status or maintain a record of the COVID-19 medical treatment status of a person.
   d.  Except when federal law otherwise requires, maintain an existing record of the COVID-19 medical treatment status of a person if the person requests that the record be deleted.
   3.  a.  Subsection 2, paragraph “c”, shall not interfere with a person’s right to access the person’s own health information under any applicable state or federal law or any responsibility of a health care professional to comply with any applicable state or federal law or standards of care in administering health care to a person.
   b.  Subsection 2, paragraphs “a”, “c”, and “d”, shall not apply to a health carrier as defined in section 514J.102 or to a person engaged in the business of insurance who is regulated under chapter 508 in relation to a contract, benefit, term, condition, or type of coverage based on sound actuarial principals or related to actual or reasonably anticipated experience.
   2.  4.  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, grants or contracts funded by state revenue shall not be awarded to or renewed with respect to a business or governmental entity any of the following:
   a.  A business or governmental entity that violates subsection 1 on or after May 20, 2021.
   b.  An educational institution or employer that violates subsection 1 on or after the effective date of this division of this Act.
   5.  Except when federal law otherwise requires immunization against COVID-19 related to employment, if an employer discharges an employee based on the employee’s COVID-19 immunization status, the discharged individual files a claim for benefits pursuant to section 96.6, and the department of workforce development determines the discharged individual was discharged based upon the discharged individual’s COVID-19 immunization status in violation of this section, the employer shall pay a fine of fifty thousand dollars to the department of workforce development. Upon receipt of the fine, the department of workforce development shall award twenty-five thousand dollars to the discharged individual and shall retain twenty-five thousand dollars as repayment receipts as defined in section 8.2. Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys retained by the department of workforce development pursuant to this section are not subject to reversion to the general fund of the state.
   3.  6.  For the purposes of this section: 
   a.  “Business” means a retailer required to obtain a sales tax permit pursuant to chapter 423, a nonprofit or not-for-profit organization, or an establishment which is open to the public at large or where entrance is limited by a cover charge or membership requirement, but does not include a health care facility as defined in section 686D.2.
   b.  “COVID-19” means the same as defined in section 686D.2.
   c.  “COVID-19 immunization” or “immunization against COVID-19” means receiving a vaccination against COVID-19 which may include a vaccine for which a biologics license application has not been approved pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §262 by the United States food and drug administration.
   d.  “Educational institution” includes any licensed child care center as defined in section 237A.1, preschool, elementary or secondary school, community college, area education agency, or postsecondary college or university and their governing boards.
   e.  “Employee” means an individual who is employed in this state for wages by an employer. “Employee” includes an applicant for employment.
   f.  “Employer” means a person, as defined in chapter 4, who in this state employs for wages a natural person.
   b.  g.  “Governmental entity” means the state or any political subdivision of the state that owns, leases, or operates buildings under the control of the state or a political subdivision of the state, but does not include a health care facility as defined in section 686D.2.
   h.  “Health care professional” means a person who is licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized or permitted by the law of this state to administer health care in the ordinary course of business or in the practice of a profession.
   i.  “Immunity passport” means a document, digital record, or software application indicating that a person has received immunization against COVID-19 or has gained natural immunity through infection and recovery.
   j.  “Medical treatment” means a health care treatment, service, or procedure designed to maintain or treat a person’s physical or mental condition, and includes preventive care, medical devices, and vaccinations.
   Sec. 6.  CODE EDITOR DIRECTIVE.  The Code editor shall amend the title of chapter 27C, Code 2022, to read “COVID-19 —— PROOF OF IMMUNIZATION —— IMMUNIZATION AND MEDICAL TREATMENT STATUS”.
   Sec. 7.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This division of this Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.>
   2.  Title page, by striking lines 1 and 2 and inserting <An Act relating to matters under the purview of the state, including civil torts and COVID-19 proof of immunization and immunization and medical treatment status, and including effective date provisions.>>

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BOUSSELOT of Polk