House File 340 - Introduced



                                      HOUSE FILE       
                                      BY  HEDDENS, WESSEL=KROESCHELL,
                                          BUKTA, ABDUL=SAMAD, FREVERT,
                                          PETERSEN, SCHUELLER, GAYMAN,
                                          BERRY, WHITEAD, GASKILL,
                                          D. OLSON, WHITAKER, and
                                          MERTZ


    Passed House, Date               Passed Senate, Date             
    Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                 Approved                            

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act providing for the characteristics of a victim of a hate
  2    crime and making penalties applicable.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  4 TLSB 1620HH 82
  5 rh/gg/14

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 729A.2, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code
  1  2 2007, is amended to read as follows:
  1  3    "Hate crime" means one of the following public offenses
  1  4 when committed against a person or a person's property because
  1  5 of the person's actual or perceived race, color, religion,
  1  6 ancestry, national origin, political affiliation, sex, sexual
  1  7 orientation, age, or disability, or the person's association
  1  8 with a person of a certain actual or perceived race, color,
  1  9 religion, ancestry, national origin, political affiliation,
  1 10 sex, sexual orientation, age, or disability:
  1 11                           EXPLANATION
  1 12    This bill amends the definition of "hate crime" to include
  1 13 an assault, individual rights violation, criminal mischief, or
  1 14 trespass committed against a person or a person's property
  1 15 because of the offender's bias against a person's actual or
  1 16 perceived race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin,
  1 17 political affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, age, or
  1 18 disability.
  1 19    The penalties for an assault in violation of individual
  1 20 rights involving a hate crime range from a serious misdemeanor
  1 21 to a class "D" felony and penalties for trespass in violation
  1 22 of individual rights involving a hate crime are classified as
  1 23 either a serious misdemeanor or an aggravated misdemeanor.
  1 24 Penalties relating to the crimes of arson pursuant to Code
  1 25 chapter 712 and criminal mischief involving a hate crime are
  1 26 classified and punished as an offense one degree higher than
  1 27 the underlying offense.
  1 28 LSB 1620HH 82
  1 29 rh:nh/gg/14