HF 128 (LSB 1826YH (2) 86)

HOUSE FILE 128

BY  SALMON

A BILL FOR

An Act increasing the penalty for lending a motor vehicle to a person whose driver’s license has been revoked due to a conviction for operating-while-intoxicated.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 321J.4B, subsection 4, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   4.  An owner of a motor vehicle impounded or immobilized under this section, who knows of, should have known of, or gives consent to the operation of, the motor vehicle in violation of subsection 2, paragraph “a”, subparagraph (2), shall be both of the following:
   a.  Guilty of a simple serious misdemeanor, and.
   b.  Jointly and severally liable for any damages caused by the person who operated the motor vehicle, subject to the provisions of chapter 668.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with

the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   Current law prohibits the owner of a motor vehicle from allowing the operation of the motor vehicle by a person whose driver’s license has been suspended, denied, revoked, or barred due to a conviction for operating-while-intoxicated. A violation of this provision is a simple misdemeanor. A simple misdemeanor is punishable by up to 30 days in prison and a $625 fine under Code section 903.1.
   This bill increases the penalty for a violation of the provision to a serious misdemeanor. A serious misdemeanor is punishable by up to one year in prison and a $1,875 fine under Code section 903.1.