House File 2022 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2022 BY WOLFE A BILL FOR An Act modifying the criminal offense of accommodation, and 1 providing penalties. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 5167HH (4) 86 jm/nh

H.F. 2022 Section 1. Section 124.410, Code 2016, is amended to read 1 as follows: 2 124.410 Accommodation offense. 3 In a prosecution for unlawful delivery or possession with 4 intent to deliver marijuana, if the prosecution proves that 5 the defendant violated the provisions of section 124.401, 6 subsection 1 , by proving that the defendant delivered or 7 possessed with intent to deliver one-half ounce or less than 8 forty-two and one-half grams of marijuana which was not offered 9 for sale , the defendant is guilty of an accommodation offense 10 and rather than being sentenced as if convicted for a violation 11 of section 124.401, subsection 1 , paragraph “d” , shall be 12 sentenced as if convicted of a violation of section 124.401, 13 subsection 5 . An accommodation offense may be proved as an 14 included offense under a charge of delivering or possessing 15 with the intent to deliver marijuana in violation of section 16 124.401, subsection 1 . This section does not apply to hashish, 17 hashish oil, or other derivatives of marijuana as defined in 18 section 124.101, subsection 19 . 19 EXPLANATION 20 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 21 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 22 This bill modifies the criminal offense of accommodation. 23 The bill provides that in a prosecution for unlawful 24 delivery or possession with intent to deliver marijuana, if 25 a defendant delivers or possesses with intent to deliver 26 less than 42.5 grams of marijuana, the defendant is guilty 27 of an accommodation offense rather than unlawful delivery or 28 possession with intent to deliver marijuana under Code section 29 124.401(1)(d). 30 The bill effectively lowers the criminal penalty for 31 unlawful delivery of or possession of with the intent to 32 deliver certain amounts of marijuana by increasing the amount 33 of marijuana that can be delivered or possessed with intent 34 to deliver and prosecuted as an accommodation offense and by 35 -1- LSB 5167HH (4) 86 jm/nh 1/ 2

H.F. 2022 striking the requirement that the marijuana not be “offered for 1 sale”. 2 Under current law, a defendant commits an accommodation 3 offense when the defendant unlawfully delivers or possesses 4 with intent to deliver one-half ounce or less of marijuana 5 which was not offered for sale. 6 Under the bill and in current law, if a defendant is found 7 guilty of an accommodation offense, the defendant shall be 8 sentenced as if the person were convicted of a violation of 9 possessing marijuana under Code section 124.401(5). 10 The bill lowers the criminal penalty from a class “D” 11 felony to a serious misdemeanor for a defendant who unlawfully 12 delivers or possesses with intent to deliver marijuana if the 13 marijuana is not offered for sale and the amount of marijuana 14 involved is less than 42.5 grams but more than one-half ounce. 15 The criminal penalty remains the same for an accommodation 16 offense involving one-half ounce or less of marijuana and the 17 criminal penalty also remains the same for marijuana offenses 18 involving 42.5 grams or greater amounts. 19 A first violation for accommodation under Code section 20 124.401(5) is a serious misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment 21 in the county jail for not more than six months or by a fine 22 of not more than $1,000, or by both. A second or subsequent 23 conviction for an accommodation offense may be punished under 24 Code section 124.411 by imprisonment for a period not to exceed 25 three times the term otherwise authorized, or fined not more 26 than three times the amount otherwise authorized, or punished 27 by both imprisonment and fine. 28 -2- LSB 5167HH (4) 86 jm/nh 2/ 2