HF 251 (LSB 1628HV (2) 90)

HOUSE FILE 251

BY  COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

(SUCCESSOR TO HSB 58)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to requirements for and restrictions on special minor’s driver’s licenses, and making penalties applicable.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 321.194, subsection 2, paragraph a,

subparagraph (3), Code 2023, is amended by striking the subparagraph and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
   (3)  If the licensee is fifteen years old or older and employed, the licensee may operate a motor vehicle during the hours of 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. over the most direct and accessible route between the licensee’s residence or school of enrollment and the licensee’s place of employment, provided the driving distance between the licensee’s place of employment and the nearest point on the route on which the licensee is authorized to travel under subparagraph (1), subparagraph division (a), or subparagraph (2), subparagraph division (a), is no more than fifty miles.
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 person holding a special minor’s driver’s license is allowed to operate a motor vehicle during the hours of 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. between the licensee’s residence, schools of enrollment, bus stops, and sites, facilities, or schools designated by the licensee’s district or school of enrollment for the accommodation of the school’s extracurricular activities, with certain limitations. Additionally, if the licensee resides on a farm or is employed for compensation on a farm in this state, the licensee is authorized to operate a motor vehicle for the purpose of assisting the licensee’s parents, guardians, or employers with farm work or in connection with any farm job, employment, or other farm-related work, including traveling to or from the location of the farm work, provided the licensee operates the vehicle over the most direct and accessible route between the point of origin and the destination and the driving distance between the point of origin and the destination is no more than 50 miles. A licensee may also operate a motor vehicle to a service station along the associated routes.
   This bill strikes the farm work authorization and instead authorizes a licensee who is 15 years old or older and employed to operate a motor vehicle during the hours of 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. over the most direct and accessible route between the licensee’s residence or school of enrollment and the licensee’s place of employment, provided the driving distance between the licensee’s place of employment and the nearest point on the route on which the licensee is otherwise authorized to travel is no more than 50 miles.
   Under current law, a special minor’s driver’s license application must be accompanied by a statement from the applicant’s school of enrollment certifying that a need exists for the license. The fact that an applicant resides at a distance less than one mile from the applicant’s school of enrollment is prima facie evidence of the nonexistence of necessity for the issuance of the license. However, if an applicant resides or is employed for compensation on a farm, the distance between the applicant’s residence and school cannot be considered. The bill does not amend these provisions.
   A violation of Code section 321.194 is punishable by a scheduled fine of $70.