House Study Bill 115 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY BILL BY CHAIRPERSON KLEIN) A BILL FOR An Act relating to judicial officer, prosecuting attorney, 1 and peace officer personal information under the control 2 of local officials, providing penalties, and including 3 effective date provisions. 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 5 TLSB 2051YC (2) 89 as/ns

H.F. _____ Section 1. NEW SECTION . 331.911 Request to limit public 1 access to certain judicial officer, prosecuting attorney, and 2 peace officer personal information —— internet sites. 3 1. Notwithstanding chapter 22, a currently active or 4 retired state or local judicial officer, as defined in section 5 4.1, a currently active or retired state or local prosecuting 6 attorney or peace officer, as those terms are defined in 7 section 801.4, or a spouse or child of such a person, may file 8 a written request with a local official on a form prescribed by 9 the department of public safety, in consultation with the Iowa 10 county recorders association and the Iowa state association of 11 assessors, to prohibit the general public from accessing, on an 12 internet site maintained by the local official, the judicial 13 officer’s, prosecuting attorney’s, or peace officer’s name, 14 including the name of a spouse or child, residential address, 15 and telephone number, as identified by the judicial officer, 16 prosecuting attorney, peace officer, spouse, or child, that are 17 contained in instruments, books, records, indexes, and other 18 information under the authority of the local official. 19 2. Within fifteen days of receiving the request, the local 20 official shall ensure that the information identified under 21 subsection 1 does not appear in search results on an internet 22 site maintained by the local official. 23 3. A local official who knowingly releases or publicizes the 24 name, residential address, or telephone number of a person who 25 has had information removed from an internet site maintained 26 by the local official pursuant to this section is guilty of an 27 aggravated misdemeanor. 28 4. a. A person identified in subsection 1 who is injured 29 as a result of a violation of this section may bring a civil 30 action in the district court of the county in which the 31 violation occurred for any of the following remedies: 32 (1) A declaratory judgment. 33 (2) Injunctive relief. 34 (3) Actual, incidental, and consequential damages. 35 -1- LSB 2051YC (2) 89 as/ns 1/ 3

H.F. _____ (4) Other equitable relief which the court deems 1 appropriate. 2 b. The prevailing party in an action brought under this 3 subsection shall be awarded all costs of such litigation 4 including reasonable attorney fees. 5 5. For purposes of this section, “local official” means a 6 county auditor, county treasurer, county recorder, or local 7 assessor. 8 Sec. 2. IMPLEMENTATION OF ACT. Section 25B.2, subsection 9 3, shall not apply to this Act. 10 Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of immediate 11 importance, takes effect upon enactment. 12 EXPLANATION 13 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 14 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 15 This bill relates to judicial officer, prosecuting attorney, 16 and peace officer personal information under the control of 17 local officials, including a county auditor, county treasurer, 18 county recorder, or local assessor. 19 The bill provides that a currently active or retired state 20 or local judicial officer, a currently active or retired state 21 or local prosecuting attorney or peace officer, or a spouse or 22 child of such a person, may file a written request with a local 23 official to prohibit the general public from accessing, on an 24 internet site maintained by the local official, the judicial 25 officer’s, prosecuting attorney’s, or peace officer’s name, 26 including the name of a spouse or child, residential address, 27 and telephone number, contained in instruments, books, records, 28 indexes, and other information under the authority of the local 29 official. Within 15 days of receiving the request, the local 30 official shall ensure that the information does not appear in 31 search results on an internet site maintained by the local 32 official. 33 The bill provides a local official who knowingly releases 34 or publicizes the name, residential address, or telephone 35 -2- LSB 2051YC (2) 89 as/ns 2/ 3

H.F. _____ number of a person who has had information removed from an 1 internet site maintained by the local official is guilty of 2 an aggravated misdemeanor. An aggravated misdemeanor is 3 punishable by confinement for no more than two years and a 4 fine of at least $855 but not more than $8,540. A person who 5 is injured as a result of a violation of the bill may bring 6 a civil action seeking a declaratory judgment; injunctive 7 relief; actual, incidental, and consequential damages; and 8 other equitable relief which the court deems appropriate. The 9 prevailing party in the action shall be awarded all costs of 10 such litigation including reasonable attorney fees. 11 The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code 12 section 25B.3. The bill makes inapplicable Code section 25B.2, 13 subsection 3, which would relieve a political subdivision from 14 complying with a state mandate if funding for the cost of 15 the state mandate is not provided or specified. Therefore, 16 political subdivisions are required to comply with any state 17 mandate included in the bill. 18 The bill takes effect upon enactment. 19 -3- LSB 2051YC (2) 89 as/ns 3/ 3