HF 2007 (LSB 5116YH (3) 90)

HOUSE FILE 2007

BY  COLLINS

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to restitution owed by a person who is convicted of homicide by motor vehicle for unintentionally causing the death of a parent of a minor child.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 707.6A, Code 2024, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  8.  In addition to restitution ordered under chapter 910, if a person is convicted of violating subsection 1, 2, or 3, and if the deceased victim was the parent of a minor child, the convicted person shall pay additional restitution in the form of child maintenance. The child maintenance restitution shall be owed from the date of the victim’s death until each child reaches eighteen years of age and has graduated high school or the class of which the child is a member when the child reached eighteen years of age has graduated high school.
   a.  The court shall determine a reasonable amount for child maintenance after considering all of the following factors:
   (1)  The child’s financial needs and resources.
   (2)  The financial needs and resources of the child’s surviving parent or guardian, including the state if the child is in the custody of the department of health and human services.
   (3)  The standard of living to which the child is accustomed.
   (4)  The child’s physical and emotional condition.
   (5)  The child’s educational needs.
   (6)  The reasonable work-related child care expenses of the child’s surviving parent or guardian.
   b.  Payment of the additional restitution ordered under this subsection shall have the same priority as payment of a victim’s pecuniary damages under sections 910.2 and 910.3B in the offender’s plan for restitution.
   c.  Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 910 to the contrary:
   (1)  An order to pay restitution under this subsection shall be offset by an amount equal to a judgment for the surviving parent or guardian for child maintenance entered against the person ordered to pay restitution in a civil proceeding, if applicable.
   (2)  If a person is ordered to pay restitution under this subsection and is incarcerated and unable to pay the required maintenance, the person is not required to pay the restitution or enter a payment plan for up to one year following the person’s release from incarceration.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill requires a person who is convicted of unintentionally causing the death of another by operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, while driving in a reckless manner with willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property (including driving while using a hand-held electronic communication device), while eluding or attempting to elude a pursuing law enforcement vehicle, while exceeding the speed limit by 25 miles per hour or more, or while drag racing to pay additional restitution if the deceased victim was the parent of a minor child.
   Current law requires a person who is convicted of a felony in which the act committed by the offender caused the death of another person, including a violation of Code section 707.6A(1), (2), and (3), to pay $150,000 in restitution to the victim’s estate or heirs at law. Such restitution is paid to the clerk of court who then distributes all moneys received to the victims designated in the plan of restitution.
   The bill sets forth factors a court must use to determine the child maintenance restitution under the bill. Child maintenance restitution is owed from the date of the death of the victim to the date the victim’s child reaches the age of 18 and graduates high school, or the class of which the child is a member when the child reached 18 years of age has graduated high school. The child maintenance restitution may be reduced in an amount equal to an award obtained in a civil proceeding if the award is ordered for a similar purpose.
   If a person is ordered to pay child maintenance restitution under the bill and is incarcerated and unable to pay, the person is not required to pay the restitution or enter a payment plan for up to one year following the person’s release from incarceration.