HF 2415 (LSB 5610YH (4) 90)

HOUSE FILE 2415

BY  THOMSON

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the operation of motor vehicles, including a distracted driving information program and fund, citations issued due to use of automated systems for traffic law enforcement, and enforcement of safety belt and safety harness requirements, providing fees, and making appropriations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

DIVISION I
INFORMATION PROGRAM

    Section 1.  Section 321.145, subsection 1, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  Except for fines, forfeitures, court costs, and the collection fees retained by the county treasurer pursuant to section 321.152, moneys deposited in the information program fund created in section 321.146, and except as provided moneys described in subsection 2, moneys and motor vehicle registration fees collected under this chapter shall be credited by the treasurer of state to the road use tax fund.
    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  321.146  Information program fund.
   1.  An information program fund is created in the state treasury under the control of the department. The fund shall consist of moneys collected under section 388.10, subsection 2, paragraph “e”, and section 476.95C, moneys appropriated by the general assembly to the fund, and any other revenues credited by law to the fund. Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys in the fund that remain unencumbered or unobligated at the close of a fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain available for expenditure for the purposes designated. Notwithstanding section 12C.7, subsection 2, interest or earnings on moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund.
   2.  Moneys in the fund are appropriated to the department to be used for all of the following purposes:
   a.  To produce and distribute a public service advertisement campaign to educate persons about the dangers associated with using an electronic device while driving. Such advertisements shall be aired across the state in each year the department runs the information program in a regular, noticeable, and intrusive manner determined by the department to maximize the individual contacts with persons in this state.
   b.  To provide aftermarket devices, that allow a person to use an electronic device in hands-free mode, to residents of this state for a reduced cost, or free of charge. “Hands-free mode” means an attachment, accessory, application, wireless connection, or built-in feature of an electronic device or motor vehicle that allows a person to use verbal commands or a single touch to activate or deactivate the device or a function or software application of the device. “Hands-free mode” does not include accessing nonnavigation video content, engaging in a video call, accessing or engaging in video streaming, accessing gaming data, or reading an electronic message or notification.
   c.  To provide for an investigation program to employ persons to determine whether the use of an electronic device contributed to certain vehicle collisions.
   (1)  A person who is employed by the state or a political subdivision of the state shall not be hired as an investigation program employee.
   (2)  The investigation program employees shall determine the cause of all collisions where the front of a vehicle collides with the rear of another vehicle. If it is determined the cause for such a collision involved the use of an electronic device, the investigation program shall notify the county attorney of the county in which the collision occurred and recommend the specific criminal charges to be filed against the person involved in the collision. The county attorney shall prosecute the person accordingly, and if convicted, the court shall order the person to not operate a motor vehicle unless the vehicle is equipped with technology or equipment that prevents the person from using an electronic device while operating the motor vehicle.
   d.  To provide for signs to be posted along highways indicating appropriate locations along a highway to stop a vehicle for the purpose of using an electronic device. Signs specifying the mileage and estimated time between appropriate locations shall also be posted along the highway.
   e.  To establish a commission to evaluate the efficacy of the information program. The commission shall submit recommendations to improve the information program to the director and to the general assembly at least once each year. However, such recommendations shall not include proposed legislation.
    Sec. 3.  Section 388.10, subsection 2, Code 2024, is amended by adding the following new paragraph:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  e.  Impose a surcharge not to exceed fifty dollars per month per access line on each access line subscriber for deposit in the information program fund created in section 321.146.
    Sec. 4.  Section 421.9, Code 2024, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  5.  The director shall determine the proportional usage factor as required under section 476.95C.
    Sec. 5.  Section 423.3, Code 2024, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  69B.  The sales price from surcharges paid for the information program fund pursuant to sections 388.10 and 476.95C.
    Sec. 6.  NEW SECTION.  476.95C  Information program surcharge.
   1.  To discourage distracted driving and to provide moneys for the information program fund created in section 321.146, a telecommunications service provider shall impose a surcharge of not more than fifty dollars per month per access line on each access line subscriber. The amount of the surcharge shall be based on a proportional usage factor determined by the director of revenue. The telecommunications service provider shall notify subscribers that collection of the surcharge is to begin within sixty days.
   2.  a.  The surcharge shall be collected as part of the service provider’s periodic billing to a subscriber. In compensation for the costs of billing and collection, the service provider may retain one percent of the gross surcharges collected. If the compensation is insufficient to fully recover a service provider’s costs for billing and collection of the surcharge, the deficiency shall be included in the service provider’s costs for ratemaking purposes to the extent it is reasonable and just under section 476.6. The remaining amount of the surcharges shall be remitted to the treasurer of state for deposit into the information program fund created in section 321.146 monthly by the service provider.
   b.  A service provider is not liable for an uncollected surcharge for which the service provider has billed a subscriber but the subscriber has not paid. The surcharge must appear as a single line item on a subscriber’s periodic billing entitled “information program fund surcharge”.
DIVISION II
AUTOMATED TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT CITATIONS PROHIBITED

    Sec. 7.  NEW SECTION.  321.492C  Automated traffic enforcement citations prohibited.
   1.  The state or a local authority shall not use an automated or remote system for traffic law enforcement to issue, either directly or indirectly, a citation for a traffic violation.
   2.  The state or a local authority may issue a warning memorandum to the owner of a vehicle that was operated in violation of a traffic law if the violation was detected by an automated or remote system for traffic law enforcement.
   3.  Evidence of a traffic violation detected by an automated or remote system for traffic law enforcement shall not be admitted or used in any criminal or civil proceeding.
   4.  For purposes of this section, “automated or remote system for traffic law enforcement” means a camera or other optical device designed to work in conjunction with an official traffic control signal or speed measuring device to detect motor vehicles being operated in violation of traffic laws, the use of which results in the issuance of citations sent through the mail or by electronic means.
DIVISION III
SEAT BELT VIOLATIONS
    Sec. 8.  Section 321.445, Code 2024, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  6.  A peace officer does not have probable cause to stop or detain a person solely for a suspected violation of this section. This section is enforceable by a peace officer only as a secondary action when the driver of a motor vehicle has been stopped or detained for a suspected violation of another provision of this chapter, a local ordinance equivalent to a provision of this chapter, or other law.
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 operation of motor vehicles.
   INFORMATION PROGRAM. The bill establishes the information program fund (fund) under the control of the department of transportation (DOT).
   Moneys in the fund are appropriated to the DOT to be used as provided in the bill, including to produce and distribute a public service advertising campaign against distracted driving, provide hands-free devices to Iowa residents, employ persons within an investigation program to determine the cause of certain traffic collisions, provide for additional signage along highways, and establish a commission to evaluate the efficacy of the program.
   The bill requires telecommunication service providers to impose a surcharge of not more than $50 per month per access line on each access line subscriber. The amount of the surcharge is required to be based on a proportional usage factor determined by the director of revenue. The surcharge is collected in the same manner as other telecommunication services charges, and the moneys are required to be deposited in the fund monthly. Service providers are required to provide notice of the surcharge and describe the surcharge on customers’ billing statements. The surcharge is exempt from sales tax.
   AUTOMATED TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT CITATIONS PROHIBITED. The bill prohibits the state or a local authority from using an automated or remote system for traffic law enforcement (ATE system) to issue a citation for a traffic violation. However, the state or a local authority may issue a warning memorandum.
   Evidence of a traffic violation detected by an ATE system is inadmissible and cannot be used in any criminal or civil proceeding. The bill defines “automated or remote system for traffic law enforcement”.
   SEAT BELT VIOLATIONS. The bill prohibits a peace officer from stopping or detaining a person solely for a suspected violation of Code section 321.445 (safety belts and safety harnesses). A peace officer can only charge a violation of Code section 321.445 as a secondary action when the driver of a motor vehicle has been stopped or detained for a suspected violation of another provision of Code chapter 321 (motor vehicles and laws of the road), a local ordinance equivalent to a provision of Code chapter 321, or other law.
   Under current law, a person who violates Code section 321.445 commits a simple misdemeanor punishable by a $70 scheduled fine.