H-1196

   Amend Senate File 547, as passed by the Senate, as follows:
   1.  Page 1, before line 1 by inserting: 
<DIVISION I
USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES WHILE DRIVING>
   2.  Page 7, after line 7 by inserting: 
<DIVISION ___
FRONT REGISTRATION PLATE DISPLAY EXEMPTION

   Sec. ___.  Section 321.37, subsection 1, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  Registration plates issued for a motor vehicle other than an autocycle, motorcycle, motorized bicycle, or truck tractor shall be attached to the motor vehicle, one in the front, unless exempted under section 321.37A, and the other in the rear. The registration plate issued for an autocycle, motorcycle, or other vehicle required to be registered hereunder under this chapter shall be attached to the rear of the vehicle. The registration plate issued for a truck tractor shall be attached to the front of the truck tractor. The special plate issued to a dealer shall be attached on the rear of the vehicle when operated on the highways of this state.
   Sec. ___.  NEW SECTION.  321.37A  Front registration plate display exemption.
   1.  The registered owner of a motor vehicle other than an autocycle, motorcycle, motorized bicycle, truck tractor, or motor vehicle operating under a special plate issued to a dealer may submit an application along with the required fee to the department for an exemption to the requirement to display a front registration plate on each eligible motor vehicle. The application must include a completed form prescribed by the department, which may be used for more than one eligible vehicle exemption, and a fee of fifty dollars per motor vehicle. The front registration plate display exemption shall remain valid for as long as the registered owner owns the vehicle.
   2.  Upon receipt of a valid, completed form and the required fee, the department shall note the front registration plate display exemption in the electronic database used by the department and law enforcement to access registration, titling, and driver’s license information.
   3.  The department shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to administer this section.
   4.  The fees collected by the department under this section shall be remitted to the treasurer of state and deposited in the road use tax fund.
DIVISION ___
WINDOW TINT

   Sec. ___.  Section 321.438, subsection 2, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  a.  (1)  A person shall not operate on the highway a motor vehicle equipped with a front windshield, to which material that reduces the transmission of light has been applied, except a windshield may have such material applied that allows at least thirty-five percent light transmittance and does not exceed a luminous reflectance of twenty-five percent above the manufacturer’s AS-1 line or within the top five inches of the windshield.
   (2)  A person shall not operate on the highway a motor vehicle equipped with a side window to the immediate right or left of the driver operator, or a sidewing forward of and to the left or right of the driver which is excessively dark or reflective so that it is difficult for a person outside the motor vehicle to see into the motor vehicle through the windshield, window, or sidewing operator, that allows less than thirty-five percent light transmittance or exceeds a luminous reflectance of twenty-five percent.
   (3)  A person shall not operate on the highway a motor vehicle equipped with a window other than as described in subparagraphs (1) and (2) that allows less than thirty-five percent light transmittance or exceeds a luminous reflectance of twenty-five percent. This subparagraph does not apply to a person operating a motor vehicle equipped with an outside mirror attached to each side of the vehicle if the mirrors comply with section 321.437.
   b.  If a peace officer stops a motor vehicle equipped with a side window to the immediate right or left of the driver that allows less than fifty percent light transmittance, the driver shall lower the side window on the side of the officer’s approach of the vehicle to the side window’s lowest possible position prior to the completion of the officer’s approach of the vehicle, and shall keep the side window in the lowest possible position for the duration of the stop unless otherwise instructed by the officer. A person convicted of a violation of this paragraph is guilty of a simple misdemeanor punishable as a scheduled violation under section 805.8A, subsection 14, paragraph “q”. However, if the violation is a person’s first violation of this paragraph, and the person has not previously been issued a warning memorandum for a violation of this paragraph, the officer shall issue a warning memorandum to the driver in lieu of a citation.
   a.  The department shall adopt rules establishing a minimum measurable standard of transparency which shall apply to violations of this subsection.
   b.  c.  This subsection does not apply to a person who operates a motor vehicle owned or leased by a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency if the operation is part of the person’s official duties.
   Sec. ___.  Section 805.8A, subsection 3, paragraph ai, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   ai.  Section 321.438, subsection 1, subsection 2, paragraph 

“a”, and subsection 3 $ 70.
   Sec. ___.  Section 805.8A, subsection 14, Code 2023, is amended by adding the following new paragraph:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  q.  Failure to lower tinted side window.  For violations under section 321.438, subsection 2, paragraph “b”, the scheduled fine is twenty dollars.
DIVISION ___
AUTOMATED OR REMOTE SYSTEMS FOR TRAFFIC LAW ENFORCEMENT

   Sec. ___.  NEW SECTION.  321P.1  Definitions.
   As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
   1.  “Automated or remote system for traffic law enforcement” or “system” means a camera or other optical device designed to work in conjunction with an official traffic control signal or speed measuring device to detect motor vehicles being operated in violation of traffic laws, the use of which results in the issuance of citations sent through the mail or by electronic means.
   2.  “Critical traffic safety issues” include traffic violations resulting in a traffic collision or accident and traffic collisions and accidents resulting in serious injury or death occurring at a location.
   3.  “Department” means the state department of transportation.
   4.  “Local authority” means a county or municipality having authority to adopt local police regulations under the Constitution of the State of Iowa and laws of this state.
   Sec. ___.  NEW SECTION.  321P.2  Permit required.
   A person shall not use an automated or remote system for traffic law enforcement unless authorized under this chapter. A local authority shall not adopt, enforce, or otherwise administer an ordinance authorizing the use of a system, and shall not use a system, unless the local authority holds a valid permit to use a system at the system’s location. A local authority may apply for a permit by submitting an application to the department in a manner determined by the department. The department may approve or disapprove the application for a permit based on the department’s determination that a system is appropriate and necessary and the least restrictive means to address the critical traffic safety issues at a location. The department shall only issue one permit for a local authority, which shall set forth all locations at which a local authority is authorized to use a system. A local authority may submit an application to the department to update the local authority’s permit with a new location in the same manner and with the same information as required for the initial permit. An application for a permit must contain all of the following for a location at which the local authority intends to operate a system:
   1.  Records detailing the number and description of traffic violations at the location, which shall be compiled and maintained by the local authority for at least one year prior to the installation of the system and for each year the system is in operation. The records shall be considered public records for purposes of chapter 22.
   2.  Records detailing the number and severity of traffic collisions and accidents occurring at the location.
   3.  An analysis of existing traffic speed data, posted speed limits, traffic volume data, and intersection and roadway measurements of the location. The analysis must demonstrate to the department that existing speed restrictions and traffic control signal timing are appropriate and must describe how the speed restrictions and traffic control signal timing were established.
   4.  The proposed cause of critical traffic safety issues at the location.
   5.  Alternative methods to improve traffic safety at the location that the local authority has implemented or has considered but declined to implement. Alternative methods to improve traffic safety may include but are not limited to changes relating to law enforcement practices, roadway or intersection design, traffic control devices used, and public education campaigns.
   6.  Details of discussions, if any, held with an entity that has resources which may aid the reduction of traffic collisions and accidents caused at the location by failure to obey speed restrictions or traffic control signals and subsequent actions taken by the local authority.
   7.  An explanation detailing the reasons that the use of a system at the location is appropriate and necessary and the least restrictive means to address the critical traffic safety issues.
   Sec. ___.  NEW SECTION.  321P.3  Use limited.
   1.  A local authority shall not use an automated or remote system for traffic law enforcement to issue a citation for a traffic violation unless the violation is for any of the following:
   a.  Failure to yield or stop at an intersection controlled by a traffic control signal.
   b.  Failure to yield or stop at a railroad crossing.
   c.  Exceeding the speed limit by more than ten miles per hour.
   2.  A local authority with a population of twenty thousand or less based on the 2020 federal decennial census shall not use a mobile system to issue a citation for a traffic violation. The department shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A otherwise authorizing and regulating the operation of mobile systems, taking into consideration a mobile system’s mobility, flexible usage, and the needs of a local authority to control traffic speed to address critical traffic safety issues at a location. However, the rules shall not authorize the use of a mobile system other than in neighborhoods, construction zones, school zones, including collegiate zones, and locations where traffic enforcement is difficult or dangerous to enforce by alternative methods.
   3.  A local authority, regardless of its population, may issue a warning memorandum to the owner of a vehicle that was operated in violation of a traffic law if the violation was detected by an automated or remote system for traffic law enforcement, including a mobile system.
   Sec. ___.  NEW SECTION.  321P.4  Notice —— signage and reports.
   1.  a.  A local authority shall not operate an automated or remote system for traffic law enforcement at a fixed location unless permanent signs meeting the requirements as specified in the department manual on uniform traffic-control devices and giving notice of the system are erected at least five hundred feet but not more than one thousand feet along the approach of the highway where the system is used. Signs required under this paragraph shall be erected by the local authority at the local authority’s expense at least thirty days prior to the system enforcing any detected violations. 
   b.  A local authority shall not operate a mobile automated or remote system for traffic law enforcement unless permanent signs meeting the requirements as specified in the department manual on uniform traffic-control devices and giving notice of the local authority’s use of a mobile system within the boundaries of the local authority are posted at the location where any highway enters the boundaries of the local authority.
   2.  A local authority using a system shall submit to the department an annual report by March 1 of each year detailing the number of traffic collisions and accidents that occurred at each location where a system is in use, the number of citations issued for each system during the previous calendar year, and any other relevant information about the systems that the local authority deems appropriate. The local authority shall post the report on the local authority’s internet site, if the local authority has an internet site.
   Sec. ___.  NEW SECTION.  321P.5  Enforcement.
   1.  A local authority shall not issue a citation or warning memorandum for a violation detected by a system until a peace officer of the local authority has reviewed and approved the recorded photograph or video to affirm a traffic violation occurred.
   2.  a.  For a violation other than an excessive speed violation, the amount of the fine imposed by a citation resulting from a violation detected by a system shall not exceed the amount of the scheduled fine for the violation under section 805.8A.
   b.  For an excessive speed violation detected by a system other than as provided in paragraph “c”, the fine shall not exceed the following amounts:
   (1)  Seventy-five dollars for speed greater than ten miles per hour in excess of the limit but not more than twenty miles per hour in excess of the limit.
   (2)  One hundred dollars for speed greater than twenty miles per hour in excess of the limit but not more than twenty-five miles per hour in excess of the limit.
   (3)  Two hundred fifty dollars for speed greater than twenty-five miles per hour in excess of the limit but not more than thirty miles per hour in excess of the limit.
   (4)  Five hundred dollars for speed greater than thirty miles per hour in excess of the limit.
   c.  For an excessive speed violation detected by a system in a road work zone, as defined in section 321.1, the fine shall not exceed the following amounts:
   (1)  One hundred fifty dollars for speed greater than ten miles per hour in excess of the limit but not more than twenty miles per hour in excess of the limit.
   (2)  Two hundred dollars for speed greater than twenty miles per hour in excess of the limit but not more than twenty-five miles per hour in excess of the limit.
   (3)  Five hundred dollars for speed greater than twenty-five miles per hour in excess of the limit but not more than thirty miles per hour in excess of the limit.
   (4)  One thousand dollars for speed greater than thirty miles per hour in excess of the limit.
   3.  A system not in compliance with this chapter shall not be used to detect violations. A citation issued while the system is not in compliance with this chapter is void and unenforceable.
   4.  A violation detected by an automated or remote system for traffic law enforcement is a civil infraction. Such a violation shall not be considered by the department of transportation for purposes of driver’s license sanctions, and shall not be considered by an insurer for purposes of a person’s automobile insurance rates. The fine associated with a citation issued by a local authority as the result of the use of a system shall be a civil penalty.
   Sec. ___.  NEW SECTION.  321P.6  Liability for violations detected.
   1.  A citation for a violation detected by an automated or remote system for traffic law enforcement shall be issued to the owner of the identified motor vehicle.
   2.  a.  Notwithstanding subsection 1, a local authority shall provide the owner of a motor vehicle who receives a citation for a violation detected by a system with an opportunity to submit evidence that the owner was not operating the motor vehicle at the time of the violation. As part of the proceeding, the owner shall provide the name and address of the person who was operating the motor vehicle at the time of the violation.
   b.  Notwithstanding subsection 1, a citation issued to the owner of a motor vehicle may be amended and issued to the person identified under paragraph “a” who was operating the motor vehicle.
   3.  For purposes of this section, “owner” means a person who holds the legal title to a motor vehicle. However, if the motor vehicle is the subject of a security agreement with a right of possession in the debtor, the debtor is deemed the owner for purposes of this section, or if the motor vehicle is leased as defined in section 321.493, the lessee is deemed the owner for purposes of this section.
   Sec. ___.  NEW SECTION.  321P.7  Revenue —— disbursement and retention.
   A local authority that operates an automated or remote system for traffic law enforcement under this chapter shall remit monthly to the treasurer of state ten percent of the moneys from the use of the system, not including the cost to install, operate, and maintain the system. Moneys remitted under this section shall be deposited in the rebuild Iowa infrastructure fund created in section 8.57. The remaining moneys retained by the local authority shall be used only for public safety or improvements to transportation infrastructure within the local authority’s jurisdiction.
   Sec. ___.  NEW SECTION.  321P.8  Installation and maintenance.
   1.  A local authority shall install a system in a manner that minimizes the effect of camera flash on drivers, if a camera flash is used.
   2.  An automated or remote system for traffic law enforcement shall only record a photograph or video of a vehicle and the vehicle’s registration plate while the vehicle is used to commit an alleged traffic violation. A local authority shall not install a system such that the system’s camera is placed to capture the face of any person in the motor vehicle being recorded. If a person’s face is unintentionally captured by the system, the person’s face shall be obfuscated by the local authority in any recording released to a person other than an employee or agent of the local authority or the owner of the vehicle, as defined in section 321P.6, unless otherwise ordered by a court. The system’s unintentional capture of a person’s face does not invalidate the associated citation.
   3.  A system shall verify its internal calibrations daily, and a person trained in the calibration of the system shall conduct a monthly calibration.
   4.  A local authority operating a system shall maintain a monthly log detailing whether a person trained in the calibration of the system successfully performed the monthly calibrations and whether the system successfully performed the daily internal calibrations.
   5.  The log and documentation of the calibrations required under this section are admissible in any court proceeding relating to a violation detected by the system.
   6.  If a daily or monthly calibration is not successfully performed, the system shall not operate until a successful calibration is subsequently performed.
DIVISION ___
SYSTEM REVENUE —— CONTINGENT AMENDMENT

   Sec. ___.  Section 321P.7, if enacted by this Act, is amended to read as follows:
   321P.7  Revenue —— disbursement and retention.
   A local authority that operates an automated or remote system for traffic law enforcement under this chapter shall remit monthly to the treasurer of state ten percent of the moneys from the use of the system, not including the cost to install, operate, and maintain the system. Moneys remitted under this section shall be deposited in the rebuild Iowa infrastructure length of service award program grant fund created in section 8.57 100B.52. The remaining moneys retained by the local authority shall be used only for public safety or improvements to transportation infrastructure within the local authority’s jurisdiction.
   Sec. ___.  CONTINGENT EFFECTIVE DATE.  This division of this Act takes effect on the effective date of 2023 Iowa Acts, House File 340, if enacted.
DIVISION ___
EXISTING SYSTEMS

   Sec. ___.  EXISTING SYSTEMS.
   1.  A local authority using an automated or remote system for traffic law enforcement prior to July 1, 2023, may submit to the department of transportation by July 1, 2023, a list of system locations and justifications for placement and use of the systems at the locations in conformance with section 321P.2, as enacted in this Act, to the extent practicable, as determined by the department. The department shall, by October 1, 2023, issue a permit as provided in section 321P.2, as enacted in this Act, to a local authority that provided valid submissions in accordance with this subsection. A local authority using a system prior to July 1, 2023, may continue to use the system in the same manner and at the same locations as the system was used on or before July 1, 2023, during the period of time between the local authority’s submission to the department and the date the department issues the permit to the local authority. If, on October 1, 2023, a local authority has not been issued a permit by the department as a result of a submission that was not timely filed, or due to a timely filed submission that did not otherwise comply with this subsection, the local authority shall cease using all systems until the local authority obtains a permit from the department pursuant to section 321P.2, as enacted in this Act.
   2.  A local authority using an automated or remote system for traffic law enforcement at a location for the first time on or after July 1, 2023, shall not be issued a permit by the department of transportation pursuant to section 321P.2, as enacted in this Act, before July 1, 2025.
   Sec. ___.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This division of this Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.>
   3.  Title page, by striking lines 1 through 3 and inserting <An Act relating to motor vehicles, including the use of electronic devices while driving, front registration plate exemptions, window tint, and automated or remote systems for traffic law enforcement, providing penalties, making penalties applicable, providing fees, and including effective date provisions.>
   4.  By renumbering as necessary.

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BEST of Carroll