HOUSE FILE _____

BY  (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE BILL BY CHAIRPERSON SODERBERG)

A BILL FOR

An Act applying criminal trespass provisions to public utility property, and providing a penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

   Section 1.  Section 716.7, subsection 2, Code 2011, is amended by adding the following new paragraph:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  f.  Entering or remaining upon or in public utility property without lawful authority or without the consent of the public utility that owns, leases, or operates the public utility property. This paragraph does not apply to passage over public utility right-of-way by an unarmed person if the person has not been notified or requested by posted signage or other means to abstain from entering onto the right-of-way or to vacate the right-of-way.
   Sec. 2.  Section 716.7, subsection 3, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  The term“trespass” shall not mean entering upon the property of another for the sole purpose of retrieving personal property which has accidentally or inadvertently been thrown, fallen, strayed, or blown onto the property of another, provided that the person retrieving the property takes the most direct and accessible route to and from the property to be retrieved, quits the property as quickly as is possible, and does not unduly interfere with the lawful use of the property.  This subsection does not apply to public utility property where the person has been notified or requested by posted signage or other means to abstain from entering.
   Sec. 3.  Section 716.7, Code 2011, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  5A.  For purposes of this section, “public utility property” means any land, dwelling, building, conveyance, vehicle, or other temporary or permanent structure owned, leased, or operated by a public utility and that is completely enclosed by a physical barrier of any kind. For the purposes of this section, a“public utility” is a public utility as defined in section 476.1 or an electric transmission line as provided in chapter 478.
   Sec. 4.  Section 716.7, subsection 6, Code 2011, is amended by adding the following new paragraphs:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  d.  Representatives of the Iowa utilities board, the federal energy regulatory commission, or the federal communications commission who enter or remain upon or in public utility property while engaged in the performance of official duties.
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  e.  Employees of a public utility who enter or remain upon or in public utility property while acting in the course of employment.
   Sec. 5.  Section 716.8, subsection 2, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  Any person committing a trespass as defined in section 716.7, other than a trespass as defined in section 716.7, subsection 2, paragraph “f”, which results in injury to any person or damage in an amount more than two hundred dollars to anything, animate or inanimate, located thereon or therein commits a serious misdemeanor.
   Sec. 6.  Section 716.8, Code 2011, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  6.  Any person who commits a trespass as defined in section 716.7, subsection 2, paragraph “f”, commits a class “D” felony.
EXPLANATION
   This bill incorporates trespassing onto public utility property into the definition of “trespass” provided in Code section 716.7.
   The bill defines “public utility property” as any land, dwelling, building, conveyance, vehicle, or other temporary or permanent structure owned, leased, or operated by a public utility and that is completely enclosed by a physical barrier of any kind. The bill defines a “public utility” to include a public utility as defined in Code section 476.1, which would include furnishing gas, electricity, communications services, or water to the public for compensation, and an electric transmission line as provided in Code chapter 478.
   The bill provides that the term “trespass” includes entering or remaining upon or in public utility property without lawful authority or without the consent of the public utility. The bill provides an exception for passage over a public utility right-of-way by an unarmed person if the person has not been notified or requested by posted signage or other means to abstain from entering onto the right-of-way or to vacate the right-of-way. Similar provisions are contained in Code section 716.7 with regard to railway property.
   The bill provides that an exception to the term “trespass” for entering upon the property of another for the sole purpose of retrieving personal property under specified circumstances shall not apply to public utility property where the person has been notified or requested by posted signage or other means to abstain from entering.
   The bill adds the Iowa utilities board, the federal energy regulatory commission, the federal communications commission, and public utility employees, when acting in the course of their official duties, to a list of entities and individuals to whom the trespass provisions do not apply.
   The bill provides that any person who violates the bill’s provisions commits a class “D” felony. A class “D” felony is punishable by confinement for no more than five years and a fine of at least $750 but not more than $7,500.