HF 373 (LSB 1338HV (1) 86)

HOUSE FILE 373

BY  COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

(SUCCESSOR TO HSB 91)

A BILL FOR

An Act increasing the criminal penalty for a sexually violent predator who escapes or attempts to escape from custody.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 229A.5B, subsection 2, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  A person who violates subsection 1 commits a simple serious misdemeanor or may be subject to punishment for contempt.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with

the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   Under current law, a sexually violent predator who is civilly committed pursuant to Code chapter 229A, or a person who is detained pending a determination of whether the person is a sexually violent predator, who escapes or attempts to escape from custody pursuant to Code section 229A.5B commits a simple misdemeanor or may be subject to punishment for contempt. This bill provides that such a violation is a serious misdemeanor or may be punishable as contempt.
   A simple misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than 30 days or a fine of at least $65 but not more than $625 or by both. A serious misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than one year and a fine of at least $315 but no more than $1,875.