Senate Study Bill 1081 



                                 SENATE/HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION       
                                 BY  (PROPOSED DEPARTMENT OF
                                      TRANSPORTATION RESOLUTION)


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

                                SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

  1 A Joint Resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of
  2    the State of Iowa eliminating a requirement that a criminal
  3    offense, where the maximum permissible penalty does not exceed
  4    thirty days of imprisonment, be prosecuted on information
  5    under oath.
  6 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  7 TLSB 1356DP 83
  8 jm/rj/5

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  The following amendment to the Constitution of
  1  2 the State of Iowa is proposed:
  1  3    Section 11, unnumbered paragraph 1, of Article 1 of the
  1  4 Constitution of the State of Iowa, is amended to read as
  1  5 follows:
  1  6    All offenses less than felony and in which the maximum
  1  7 permissible imprisonment does not exceed thirty days shall be
  1  8 tried summarily before an officer authorized by law, on
  1  9 information certified under oath penalty of perjury, without
  1 10 indictment, or the intervention of a grand jury, saving to the
  1 11 defendant the right of appeal; and no person shall be held to
  1 12 answer for any higher criminal offense, unless on presentment
  1 13 or indictment by a grand jury, except in cases arising in the
  1 14 army, or navy, or in the militia, when in actual service, in
  1 15 time of war or public danger.
  1 16    Sec. 2.  REFERRAL AND PUBLICATION.  The foregoing proposed
  1 17 amendment to the Constitution of the State of Iowa is referred
  1 18 to the General Assembly to be chosen at the next general
  1 19 election for members of the General Assembly, and the
  1 20 Secretary of State is directed to cause the proposed amendment
  1 21 to be published for three consecutive months previous to the
  1 22 date of that election as provided by law.
  1 23                           EXPLANATION
  1 24    This joint resolution proposes an amendment to the
  1 25 Constitution of the State of Iowa eliminating requirements
  1 26 that a criminal offense where the maximum permissible penalty
  1 27 is less than 30 days of imprisonment be prosecuted on
  1 28 information under oath.
  1 29    The resolution removes the word "oath" from the
  1 30 constitutional provision and inserts the words "certified
  1 31 under penalty of perjury".  The resolution effectively permits
  1 32 a simple misdemeanor to be prosecuted on information that is
  1 33 certified under penalty of perjury rather than under oath.
  1 34    The resolution is in response to an Iowa supreme court
  1 35 case, City of Cedar Rapids v. Atsinger, 617 N.W.2d, 272.
  2  1    The resolution, if adopted, would be referred to the
  2  2 Eighty=fourth General Assembly for adoption, before being
  2  3 submitted to the electorate for ratification.
  2  4 LSB 1356DP 83
  2  5 jm/rj/5.1