HF 2083 (LSB 5650HH (2) 83)

HOUSE FILE 2083

BY  WENDT and WHITEAD

(COMPANION TO SF 2027 BY WARNSTADT)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the authority of a certified law enforcement officer.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  817.3  Certified law enforcement officers —— oaths, signatures, and testimony.

   A law enforcement officer, as defined in section 80B.3, who is certified by the Iowa law enforcement academy, may administer oaths, acknowledge signatures, and take voluntary testimony pursuant to the officer’s duties as provided by law.
EXPLANATION
   This bill provides that a law enforcement officer certified by the Iowa law enforcement academy may administer oaths, acknowledge signatures, and take voluntary testimony pursuant to the officer’s duties as provided by law.
   Current law allows a peace officer under Code section 80.9A to perform the same functions. A peace officer, as defined in Code section 97A.1, is a member, except a non-peace officer member, of the division of state patrol, narcotics enforcement, state fire marshal, or criminal investigation, including but not limited to a gaming enforcement officer, who has passed a satisfactory physical and mental examination and has been duly appointed by the department of public safety in accordance with Code section 80.15 (Code section 97A.1).
   A certified law enforcement officer, as defined in Code section 80B.3, is an officer appointed by the director of the department of natural resources, a member of a police force or other agency or department of the state, county, city, or tribal government regularly employed as such and who is responsible for the prevention and detection of crime and the enforcement of the criminal laws of this state and all individuals, as determined by the law enforcement academy council, who by the nature of their duties may be required to perform the duties of a peace officer.