Senate File 67 - Introduced SENATE FILE 67 BY DANIELSON A BILL FOR An Act relating to exemptions from motor vehicle window 1 transparency requirements, and including effective date and 2 applicability provisions. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 1709SS (4) 85 dea/nh
S.F. 67 Section 1. Section 321.438, subsection 2, Code 2013, is 1 amended to read as follows: 2 2. a. A person shall not operate on the highway a motor 3 vehicle equipped with a front windshield, a side window to the 4 immediate right or left of the driver, or a side-wing sidewing 5 forward of and to the left or right of the driver which is 6 excessively dark or reflective so that it is difficult for a 7 person outside the motor vehicle to see into the motor vehicle 8 through the windshield, window, or sidewing. The department 9 shall adopt rules establishing a minimum measurable standard 10 of transparency which shall apply to violations of this 11 subsection . 12 b. An exemption from the minimum standard of transparency 13 established by the department, which was granted by the 14 department to a person suffering from a severe light-sensitive 15 condition prior to July 4, 2012, shall continue to apply for as 16 long as the person’s need for an exemption is documented by a 17 physician. When the person who is the subject of the exemption 18 is no longer a passenger or operator of the motor vehicle 19 to which the exemption applies, the person may transfer the 20 exemption to another vehicle in which the person is a passenger 21 or operator by obtaining a form provided by the department, to 22 be signed by the person’s physician and carried at all times in 23 the vehicle to which the exemption applies, in the same manner 24 prescribed for the original exemption. 25 Sec. 2. EFFECTIVE UPON ENACTMENT. This Act, being deemed of 26 immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment. 27 Sec. 3. RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY. This Act applies 28 retroactively to July 4, 2012. 29 EXPLANATION 30 Current law prohibits a person from operating a motor 31 vehicle with a front windshield, front side windows, or 32 front sidewings to the left or right of the driver that are 33 excessively dark or reflective so that it is difficult for 34 a person to see into the motor vehicle. The department of 35 -1- LSB 1709SS (4) 85 dea/nh 1/ 2
S.F. 67 transportation has established by rule a minimum standard of 1 transparency of 70 percent light transmittance. 2 Prior to July 4, 2012, a person with a documented medical 3 need could apply to the department for an exemption from the 4 minimum standard of transparency. The department’s exemption 5 form bearing the signature of the person’s physician must be 6 carried at all times in the vehicle to which the exemption 7 applies. As of July 4, 2012, pursuant to administrative rules, 8 the department discontinued issuing new exemptions; however, 9 a motor vehicle to which a prior exemption still applies can 10 continue to be operated under the terms of the exemption for 11 as long as the motor vehicle continues to be used for the 12 transport of the passenger or operator who is the subject of 13 the exemption. 14 This bill provides that an exemption granted prior to July 4, 15 2012, does not expire when the vehicle to which it applies is 16 no longer used for the transport of the passenger or operator 17 who is the subject of the exemption. The person who is the 18 subject of the exemption may transfer the exemption to another 19 vehicle in which that person is a passenger or operator. To 20 accomplish the transfer, the person must obtain a form from the 21 department, to be signed by the person’s physician and carried 22 in the vehicle at all times, in the same manner in which the 23 original exemption was obtained. 24 The bill is effective upon enactment and applies 25 retroactively to July 4, 2012. 26 -2- LSB 1709SS (4) 85 dea/nh 2/ 2