HSB 634 (LSB 5866YC (4) 87)

HOUSE FILE _____ 

BY  (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY BILL BY CHAIRPERSON NUNN)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the exclusive jurisdiction by the juvenile court over acts of prostitution committed by persons under the age of eighteen.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 725.1, subsection 1, Code 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  a.  Except as provided in paragraph “b”, a person who sells or offers for sale the person’s services as a partner in a sex act commits an aggravated misdemeanor.
   b.  If the person who sells or offers for sale the person’s services as a partner in a sex act is under the age of eighteen, the county attorney may elect, in lieu of filing a petition alleging that the person has committed a delinquent act, to refer that person to the department of human services for the possible filing of a petition alleging that the person is a child in need of assistance.  Notwithstanding section 232.8, the juvenile court shall retain exclusive jurisdiction over the person for the commission of an act under this subsection.
   c.  If the person who sells or offers for sale the person’s services as a partner in a sex act is under the age of eighteen, A person who was under the age of eighteen and who was convicted of a violation of paragraph “a” on or before June 30, 2018, upon the expiration of two years following the person’s conviction for a violation of paragraph “a” or of a similar local ordinance, the person may petition the court to expunge the conviction, and if the person has had no other criminal convictions, other than local traffic violations or simple misdemeanor violations of chapter 321 during the two-year period, the conviction shall be expunged as a matter of law. The court shall enter an order that the record of the conviction be expunged by the clerk of the district court. Notwithstanding section 692.2, after receipt of notice from the clerk of the district court that a record of conviction for a violation of paragraph “a” has been expunged, the record of conviction shall be removed from the criminal history data files maintained by the department of public safety.
   d.  A person under the age of eighteen shall not be charged with or convicted of prostitution under a local ordinance.
    Sec. 2.  Section 725.3, subsection 2, Code 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  A person who persuades, arranges, coerces, or otherwise causes a minor person under the age of eighteen to become a prostitute or to return to the practice of prostitution after having abandoned it, or keeps or maintains any premises for the purpose of prostitution involving minors persons under the age of eighteen or knowingly shares in the income from such premises knowing the character and content of such income, commits a class “C” felony.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to the exclusive jurisdiction by the juvenile court over acts of prostitution committed by individuals under the age of 18.
   Currently, if a person under the age of 18 is found to have engaged in prostitution, the law allows the juvenile court to waive jurisdiction. The bill requires, notwithstanding Code section 232.8, that the juvenile court retain exclusive jurisdiction over a juvenile alleged to have committed such a public offense.
   The law currently provides a process by which a person convicted of prostitution when the person was under the age of 18 can have the conviction expunged. The bill retains that process for a person who is under the age of 18 and convicted of prostitution on or before June 30, 2018. The bill provides that a person under the age of 18 shall not be charged with, or convicted of, prostitution under a local ordinance. 
   Code section 725.3 is amended to replace “minor” with “person under the age of eighteen” for consistency.