HOUSE FILE 2059

BY  MURPHY

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to failure to make contact with or verify the whereabouts and safety of a child and the reporting of the death of a child to a law enforcement agency, and providing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  726.9  Failure to make contact with or verify whereabouts and safety of a child —— penalty.
   1.  As used in this section, “caregiver” means the following:
   a.  A parent, guardian, adult household member, or other person responsible for a child’s welfare.
   b.  A person who has accepted, undertaken, or assumed supervision of a child from the parent or guardian of the child.
   c.  A person who has undertaken or assumed temporary supervision of a child without explicit consent from the parent or guardian of the child. 
   2.  The caregiver of a child eight years of age or younger who knowingly or recklessly fails to make contact with or verify the whereabouts and safety of the child within a twenty-four-hour period commits an aggravated misdemeanor.
    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  726.9A  Reporting the death of a child.
   1.  As used in this section, “caregiver” means the same as defined in section 726.9, and “health care provider” means the same as defined in section 708.3A.
   2.  The caregiver of a child shall report the death of the child to a law enforcement agency within two hours of learning of the death of the child.
   3.  The caregiver of a child shall report the location of the corpse of the child within one hour of learning the location of the corpse if the death of the child appears to be a death under circumstances described in section 331.802, subsection 3, except for the circumstances described in section 331.802, subsection 3, paragraph “f”, “g”, “h”, or “k”.
   4.  This section does not apply if a health care provider has been contacted about the death of the child within two hours of the caregiver learning of the death or a health care provider has been contacted within one hour of the caregiver learning about the location of the corpse of the child.
   5.  A person who violates this section commits an aggravated misdemeanor.
EXPLANATION
   This bill relates to reporting a missing child or the death of a child to a law enforcement agency.
   The bill creates a new criminal offense for failing to make contact with or verify the whereabouts and safety of a child. Under the bill, a caregiver of a child eight years of age or younger who knowingly or recklessly fails to make contact with or verify the whereabouts and safety of the child within a 24-hour period commits an aggravated misdemeanor.
   The bill defines “caregiver” to mean a parent, guardian, adult household member, or other person responsible for a child’s welfare, or a person who has accepted, undertaken, or assumed supervision of a child from the parent or guardian of the child, or a person who has undertaken or assumed temporary supervision of a child without explicit consent from the parent or guardian of the child.
   The bill also creates the new criminal offense of failure to report the death of a child. Under the bill, a caregiver of a child is required to report the death of the child to a law enforcement agency within two hours of the learning of the death of the child. The bill also requires the caregiver of a child to report the location of the corpse of the child within one hour of learning the location of the corpse if the death of the child appears to be a death under circumstances described in Code section 331.802(3), except for the circumstances described in Code section 331.802(3)(f), (g), (h), or (k). The bill does not apply if a health care provider has been contacted about the death of the child within two hours of the caregiver learning of the death or a health care provider has been contacted within one hour of the caregiver learning about the location of the corpse of the child. A caregiver who fails to report the death of a child or the location of the corpse of a child commits an aggravated misdemeanor.
   A person convicted under this bill may be required to register as a sex offender, if the offense was committed against a minor and the fact finder makes a determination that the offense was sexually motivated, in accordance with Code section 726.10.
   An aggravated misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than two years and a fine of at least $625 but not more than $6,250.