House File 646 - Introduced



                                      HOUSE FILE       
                                      BY  COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION

                                      (SUCCESSOR TO HF 476)


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

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to the transportation of passengers in an open
  2    truck bed and providing penalties.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  4 TLSB 1199HV 82
  5 dea/je/5

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  321.447 MINOR PASSENGERS IN OPEN
  1  2 TRUCK BED.
  1  3    1.  Except as otherwise provided in this section, a person
  1  4 shall not operate a motor vehicle on a highway while
  1  5 transporting a passenger under eighteen years of age in an
  1  6 unenclosed area of the vehicle not intended for passenger
  1  7 seating, including but not limited to the open bed of a motor
  1  8 truck.
  1  9    2.  Except as otherwise provided in this section, a person
  1 10 shall not ride in an unenclosed area of a motor vehicle not
  1 11 intended for passenger seating, including but not limited to
  1 12 the open bed of a motor truck, while the vehicle is being
  1 13 operated on a highway.
  1 14    3.  Subsections 1 and 2 do not apply if the owner of the
  1 15 motor vehicle is a person engaged in farming or ranching and
  1 16 the vehicle is being operated within the boundaries of land
  1 17 that is owned or managed by the owner of the vehicle as a farm
  1 18 or ranch, including the incidental operation of the vehicle on
  1 19 a highway for the purpose of traveling not more than one mile
  1 20 from one part of the farm or ranch to another part of that
  1 21 farm or ranch.
  1 22    4.  Subsections 1 and 2 do not apply if the motor vehicle
  1 23 is being operated in a parade that is supervised by a public
  1 24 law enforcement agency and the speed of the vehicle does not
  1 25 exceed eight miles per hour.
  1 26    5.  The operator and passengers in a motor vehicle may each
  1 27 be charged separately for a violation of this section.  A
  1 28 violation of this section is a simple misdemeanor punishable
  1 29 as a scheduled violation under section 805.8A, subsection 14,
  1 30 paragraph "j".
  1 31    Sec. 2.  Section 805.8A, subsection 14, Code 2007, is
  1 32 amended by adding the following new paragraph:
  1 33    NEW PARAGRAPH.  j.  PASSENGER SEATING VIOLATIONS.  For a
  1 34 violation under section 321.447, subsection 1 or 2, the
  1 35 scheduled fine is twenty=five dollars.
  2  1                           EXPLANATION
  2  2    This bill prohibits the operator of a motor vehicle from
  2  3 transporting passengers who are under 18 years of age in an
  2  4 unenclosed area of the vehicle not intended for passenger
  2  5 seating, such as an open truck bed.  The bill also prohibits
  2  6 persons from riding in such an area of a motor vehicle.  The
  2  7 bill makes an exception for a motor vehicle owned by a farmer
  2  8 or rancher when the vehicle is being driven on land owned or
  2  9 managed by the farmer or rancher or traveling on the highway
  2 10 between one part of the farm or ranch to another part of the
  2 11 farm or ranch for a distance of one mile or less.  Another
  2 12 exception is allowed for a motor vehicle being operated at a
  2 13 speed of not more than eight miles per hour in a parade that
  2 14 is supervised by law enforcement.
  2 15    The penalty for a violation of the bill's provisions is a
  2 16 simple misdemeanor, punishable by a scheduled fine of $25.
  2 17 Both the driver and passengers may each be charged with a
  2 18 separate violation.
  2 19 LSB 1199HV 82
  2 20 dea:nh/je/5