House File 1036 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 1036 BY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS (SUCCESSOR TO HF 908) (SUCCESSOR TO HF 452) A BILL FOR An Act relating to human trafficking, including screening 1 children, civil statutes of limitations, an annual 2 stakeholder meeting and report, depositions of victims, 3 restitution, restorative facilities and protective services, 4 and investigation and prosecution, and including effective 5 date provisions. 6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 7 TLSB 1992HZ (2) 91 as/js

H.F. 1036 Section 1. Section 80.45, subsection 3, Code 2025, is 1 amended by adding the following new paragraph: 2 NEW PARAGRAPH . i. Hold an annual meeting of stakeholders to 3 develop legislative proposals to combat human trafficking, and 4 submit a report, by December 15, 2025, and annually thereafter 5 for a period of five years ending with the submission of 6 the report in 2030, to the governor and general assembly. 7 Participants shall include the following: 8 (1) A representative of the department of public safety. 9 (2) A representative of the office to combat human 10 trafficking. 11 (3) A representative of the attorney general’s office. 12 (4) A representative of the department of health and human 13 services. 14 (5) A representative of juvenile court services. 15 (6) A chief of police or head law enforcement official of a 16 city in this state. 17 (7) A county sheriff. 18 (8) A county attorney who serves on a child protection 19 assistance team under section 915.35, subsection 4, paragraph 20 “ a” . 21 (9) A public defender or criminal law attorney with 22 experience working on human trafficking cases. 23 (10) A member of the public, or the person’s legal 24 representative, who is a former human trafficking victim. 25 (11) A representative from the Iowa network against human 26 trafficking. 27 (12) A representative from a nonprofit organization whose 28 primary focus is services for human trafficking survivors. 29 (13) A representative from state court administration with 30 expertise in child welfare law. 31 Sec. 2. Section 232.2, Code 2025, is amended by adding the 32 following new subsection: 33 NEW SUBSECTION . 7A. “Commercial sexual exploitation” refers 34 to a range of crimes and activities involving the sexual abuse 35 -1- LSB 1992HZ (2) 91 as/js 1/ 7

H.F. 1036 or exploitation of a child for the financial benefit of any 1 person or in exchange for anything of value including monetary 2 and nonmonetary benefits given or received by any person. 3 Sec. 3. Section 232.28, subsection 2, Code 2025, is amended 4 to read as follows: 5 2. a. The court or its designee shall refer the complaint 6 to an intake officer who shall consult with law enforcement 7 authorities having knowledge of the facts and conduct a 8 preliminary inquiry to determine what action should be taken. 9 b. The court or its designee shall order every complaint to 10 be reviewed using a standardized human trafficking indicator 11 list. The court or its designee may order the child subject to 12 the complaint with the presence of an indicator to be screened 13 for commercial sexual exploitation using a standardized, 14 evidence-based, trauma-informed screening tool. 15 Sec. 4. Section 232.71B, subsection 1, paragraph a, 16 unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2025, is amended to read as 17 follows: 18 If the department determines a report constitutes a child 19 abuse allegation, the department shall promptly have the child 20 subject to the child abuse allegation screened for commercial 21 sexual exploitation using a standardized, evidence-based, 22 trauma-informed screening tool, and shall commence either a 23 child abuse assessment within twenty-four hours of receiving 24 the report or a family assessment within seventy-two hours of 25 receiving the report. 26 Sec. 5. Section 614.8, subsection 2, Code 2025, is amended 27 to read as follows: 28 2. Except as provided in section 614.1, subsection 9 , or 29 section 614.8A, the times limited for actions in this chapter , 30 or chapter 216 , 659A , 669 , or 670 , except those brought for 31 penalties and forfeitures, are extended in favor of minors, 32 so that they shall have one year five years from and after 33 attainment of majority within which to file a complaint 34 pursuant to chapter 216 , to make a claim pursuant to chapter 35 -2- LSB 1992HZ (2) 91 as/js 2/ 7

H.F. 1036 669 , or to otherwise commence an action. 1 Sec. 6. Section 614.8A, Code 2025, is amended to read as 2 follows: 3 614.8A Damages Commencement of action for child or minor 4 sexual abuse or human trafficking —— time limitation. 5 1. Notwithstanding section 614.8, subsection 2, and the 6 times limited for actions in this chapter, the time to file 7 an action related to sexual abuse or human trafficking that 8 occurred when the injured person was a minor is extended to 9 five years beyond the minor’s attainment of eighteen years of 10 age. 11 2. An In addition to the extension of the time provided in 12 subsection 1, an action for damages for injury suffered as a 13 result of sexual abuse which or human trafficking that occurred 14 when the injured person was a child, but not discovered until 15 after the injured person is of the age of majority, shall 16 be brought within four five years from the time of discovery 17 by the injured party of both the injury and the causal 18 relationship between the injury and the sexual abuse or human 19 trafficking . 20 Sec. 7. Section 710A.1, subsection 4, paragraph a, 21 unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2025, is amended to read as 22 follows: 23 “Human trafficking” means participating in a venture to 24 recruit, harbor, transport, supply provisions, or obtain 25 recruiting, harboring, transporting, supplying provisions to, 26 obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting a person for any of the 27 following purposes: 28 Sec. 8. Section 710A.1, subsection 10, Code 2025, is amended 29 to read as follows: 30 10. “Services” means an ongoing relationship between a 31 person and the actor in which the person performs performing 32 activities under the supervision of or for the benefit of the 33 an actor, including commercial sexual activity and sexually 34 explicit performances. 35 -3- LSB 1992HZ (2) 91 as/js 3/ 7

H.F. 1036 Sec. 9. Section 725.1, subsection 1, paragraph b, Code 2025, 1 is amended to read as follows: 2 b. If the person who sells or offers for sale the person’s 3 services as a partner in a sex act is under the age of eighteen, 4 the county attorney may elect, in lieu of filing a petition 5 alleging that the person has committed a delinquent act, to 6 refer that person that the person shall not be arrested, 7 charged, or prosecuted for an offense under this section, but 8 instead may be taken into temporary custody under section 9 232.78 or 232.79 or shall be referred to the department of 10 health and human services for the possible filing of a petition 11 alleging that the person is a child in need of assistance. 12 Sec. 10. Section 910.1, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2025, are 13 amended to read as follows: 14 1. “Category “A” restitution” means fines, penalties, the 15 payment of crime victim compensation program reimbursements, 16 and surcharges. 17 2. “Category “B” restitution” means the contribution of 18 funds to a local anticrime organization which that provided 19 assistance to law enforcement in an offender’s case, the 20 payment of crime victim compensation program reimbursements, 21 payment of restitution to public agencies pursuant to 22 section 321J.2, subsection 13 , paragraph “b” , court costs, 23 court-appointed attorney fees ordered pursuant to section 24 815.9 , including the expense of a public defender, and payment 25 to the medical assistance program pursuant to chapter 249A for 26 expenditures paid on behalf of the victim resulting from the 27 offender’s criminal activities including investigative costs 28 incurred by the Medicaid fraud control unit pursuant to section 29 249A.50 . 30 Sec. 11. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES —— 31 RESTORATION FACILITIES. The department of health and human 32 services shall develop a plan in consultation with nonprofit 33 service providers who provide restoration services to 34 victims of human trafficking to increase the availability of 35 -4- LSB 1992HZ (2) 91 as/js 4/ 7

H.F. 1036 restoration facilities and protective services available to 1 juvenile victims of human trafficking, including juvenile 2 victims who are not, at the time of victimization, either 3 a child in need of assistance or otherwise involved in 4 the juvenile court system. The department shall consider 5 developing a network with other states to provide housing 6 outside of the state for victims at risk of returning to the 7 person involved in the victim’s trafficking. The department of 8 health and human services shall present a report detailing the 9 plan to the governor and the general assembly by December 15, 10 2025. 11 Sec. 12. EFFECTIVE DATE. The following takes effect July 12 1, 2026: 13 The section of this Act amending section 910.1. 14 EXPLANATION 15 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 16 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 17 This bill relates to human trafficking, including civil 18 statutes of limitations, an annual stakeholder meeting and 19 report, depositions of victims, restitution, restorative 20 facilities and protective services, and investigation and 21 prosecution. 22 The bill directs the office to combat human trafficking 23 within the department of public safety to hold an annual 24 meeting of stakeholders to develop legislative proposals to 25 combat human trafficking, and submit a report to the governor 26 and general assembly by December 15, 2025, and annually 27 thereafter for five years until the submission of the report in 28 2030. The bill specifies the participants in the meeting. 29 The bill increases the statute of limitations for commencing 30 an action for sexual abuse or human trafficking of a minor or 31 child to five years after the victim has attained 18 years of 32 age. 33 The bill provides that “commercial sexual exploitation” 34 refers to a range of crimes and activities involving the sexual 35 -5- LSB 1992HZ (2) 91 as/js 5/ 7

H.F. 1036 abuse or exploitation of a child for the financial benefit 1 of any person or in exchange for anything of value including 2 monetary and nonmonetary benefits given or received by any 3 person. 4 The bill provides that the court or the court’s designee may 5 order a child screened for commercial sexual exploitation using 6 a standardized, evidence-based, trauma-informed screening tool 7 when the court reviews a complaint using a standardized human 8 trafficking indicator list. 9 The bill requires the department of health and human 10 services (HHS) to screen a child for exploitation using a 11 standardized, evidence-based, trauma-informed screening tool 12 if HHS determines a report it receives alleging child abuse 13 constitutes a child abuse allegation. 14 The bill provides that the time limitations for actions are 15 extended in favor of minors so that they have five years from 16 reaching the age of majority to make a claim. 17 The bill provides that if a person who sells or offers 18 for sale the person’s services as a partner in a sex act is 19 under the age of 18, the county attorney may elect, in lieu 20 of filing a petition alleging that the person has committed a 21 delinquent act, that the person shall not be arrested, charged, 22 or prosecuted for the offense, but instead may be taken into 23 temporary custody under Code section 232.78 or 232.79 or shall 24 be referred to HHS for the possible filing of a petition 25 alleging that the person is a child in need of assistance. 26 Current law provides that “category “A” restitution” 27 means fines, penalties, and surcharges, and “category “B” 28 restitution” means the contribution of funds to a local 29 anticrime organization which provided assistance to law 30 enforcement in an offender’s case, the payment of crime 31 victim compensation program reimbursements, payment of 32 restitution to public agencies pursuant to Code section 33 321J.2(13)(b) (operating while under the influence), court 34 costs, court-appointed attorney fees, and payment to the 35 -6- LSB 1992HZ (2) 91 as/js 6/ 7

H.F. 1036 medical assistance program. 1 The bill provides that the payment of crime victim 2 compensation program reimbursements is category “A” 3 restitution. 4 The bill directs HHS to develop a plan in consultation with 5 nonprofit service providers who provide restoration services 6 to victims of human trafficking to increase the availability 7 of restoration facilities and protective services available 8 to juvenile victims of human trafficking, including juvenile 9 victims who are not, at the time of victimization, either 10 a child in need of assistance or otherwise involved in the 11 juvenile court system. HHS shall consider developing a network 12 with other states to provide housing outside of the state for 13 victims at risk of returning to the person involved in the 14 victim’s trafficking. A report detailing the plan shall be 15 presented to the governor and the general assembly by December 16 15, 2025. 17 The bill takes effect on January 1, 2026. 18 -7- LSB 1992HZ (2) 91 as/js 7/ 7