HF 2302 (LSB 5850YH (4) 91)

HOUSE FILE 2302

BY  JONES

A BILL FOR

An Act establishing a domestic abuse offender registry, and providing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  692D.1  Domestic abuse offender registry.
   1.  As used in this section:
   a.  “Convicted” means found guilty of, pleaded guilty to, or has been sentenced or adjudicated delinquent for an act that is an indictable offense in this state or in another jurisdiction including in a federal, military, tribal, or foreign court, including but not limited to a juvenile who has been adjudicated delinquent, but whose juvenile court records have been sealed under section 232.150, and a person who has received a deferred sentence or a deferred judgment or has been acquitted by reason of insanity. “Convicted” includes the conviction of a juvenile prosecuted as an adult. “Convicted” also includes a conviction for an attempt or conspiracy to commit an offense. “Convicted” does not mean a plea, sentence, adjudication, deferred sentence, or deferred judgment that has been reversed or otherwise set aside.
   b.  “Department” means the department of public safety.
   c.  “Domestic abuse assault” means an assault, as defined in section 708.1, that is domestic abuse as defined in section 236.2, subsection 2.
   d.  “Persistent domestic abuse assault offender” means a person who has been convicted of a violation of section 708.2A who has at least one prior conviction under section 708.2A.
   2.  There is created within the department a registry of persistent domestic abuse assault offenders.
   3.  The department shall maintain this registry based upon information supplied to the department by the court clerks pursuant to subsections 4 and 5 and information available to the department from the department of corrections and local law enforcement agencies. The department shall make the registry available for public inquiry on the department’s internet site.
   4.  The registry shall include all of the following information about a persistent domestic abuse assault offender:
   a.  The persistent domestic abuse assault offender’s name, date of birth, conviction date, and county or counties of convictions.
   b.  A photograph of the persistent domestic abuse assault offender.
   5.  a.  If available, the court clerk shall provide the department with a copy of the persistent domestic abuse assault offender’s driver’s license, or other state or federal identification, and such other identifying data as the department determines is necessary to properly identify the persistent domestic abuse assault offender and exclude innocent persons.
   b.  The registry available for public inquiry must not include the persistent domestic abuse assault offender’s address, social security number, driver’s license number, or any other state or federal identification number.
   6.  If a person is convicted under section 708.2A and the person convicted has at least one prior conviction under section 708.2A, then the court shall, upon proof of any prior convictions under section 708.2A, order the defendant to register as a persistent domestic abuse assault offender under this section.
   7.  If a court orders a defendant to register under this section, then the court clerk shall forward to the department a certified copy of the qualifying conviction and the date of birth of the defendant. The court clerk shall forward the information to the department within seven days of the date of the conviction.
   8.  A defendant required to register under this section shall be assessed a registration fee in the amount of one hundred fifty dollars, which must be paid to the clerk of the court imposing the sentence, who shall do all of the following:
   a.  Retain fifty dollars of the fee as appropriated receipts, as defined in section 8.2, to be used for the administration of this section.
   b.  Remit one hundred dollars of the fee to the department to be retained as appropriated receipts, as defined in section 8.2, to be used for the administration of this section.
   9.  The department shall remove from the registry the name and other identifying information of a persistent domestic abuse assault offender required to register under this section as follows:
   a.  Two years after the date of the most recent conviction under section 708.2A if the defendant has one prior conviction under section 708.2A.
   b.  Five years after the date of the most recent conviction under section 708.2A if the defendant has two prior convictions under section 708.2A.
   c.  Ten years after the date of the most recent conviction under section 708.2A if the defendant has three or more prior convictions under section 708.2A.
   10.  This section applies only to persons convicted under section 708.2A for offenses that occurred on or after July 1, 2026, provided, however, that a prior conviction is not required to have occurred on or after July 1, 2026, for purposes of determining whether a person qualifies as a persistent domestic abuse assault offender.
    Sec. 2.  Section 708.2A, subsection 1, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  For the purposes of this chapter, “domestic abuse assault” means an assault, as defined in section 708.1, which that is domestic abuse as defined in section 236.2, subsection 2, paragraph “a”, “b”, “c”, or “d”.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill establishes a domestic abuse offender registry.
   The bill provides that there is created within the department of public safety (department) a registry of persistent domestic abuse assault offenders. The bill requires the department to maintain the registry based upon information supplied to the department by the court and information available to the department from the department of corrections and local law enforcement agencies. The department shall make the registry available for public inquiry on the department’s internet site.
   The registry shall include the name, date of birth, conviction date, county or counties of convictions, and a photograph of the persistent domestic abuse assault offender.
   The bill provides that if available, the court clerk shall provide the department with a copy of the persistent domestic abuse assault offender’s driver’s license, or other state or federal identification, and such other identifying data as the department determines is necessary to properly identify the persistent domestic abuse assault offender. The bill provides that the registry available for public inquiry must not include the persistent domestic abuse assault offender’s address, social security number, driver’s license number, or any other state or federal identification number.
   The bill provides that if a person is convicted of domestic abuse assault and the person convicted has at least one prior conviction for domestic abuse assault, then the court shall, upon proof of any prior convictions for domestic abuse assault, order the defendant to register as a persistent domestic abuse assault offender. The court clerk shall forward to the department, within seven days of the date of conviction, a certified copy of the qualifying conviction and the date of birth of the defendant.
   A defendant required to register must pay to the clerk of the court imposing the sentence a registration fee of $150. The clerk will retain $50 of the fee for the administration of the bill. The clerk will remit $100 of the fee to the department for the administration of the bill.
   The bill provides that the department shall remove from the registry the name and other identifying information of a persistent domestic abuse assault offender required to register as follows: 2 years after the date of the most recent conviction for domestic abuse assault if the defendant has one prior conviction for domestic abuse assault; 5 years after the date of the most recent conviction for domestic abuse assault if the defendant has two prior convictions for domestic abuse assault; and 10 years after the date of the most recent conviction for domestic abuse assault if the defendant has three or more prior convictions for domestic abuse assault.
   The bill applies only to persons convicted of domestic abuse assault when the offense occurred on or after July 1, 2026, but a prior conviction is not required to have occurred on or after July 1, 2026, for purposes of determining whether a person qualifies as a persistent domestic abuse assault offender.
   The bill provides definitions of “convicted”, “department”, “domestic abuse assault”, and “persistent domestic abuse assault offender”.
   The bill amends the definition of “domestic abuse assault” in Code section 708.2A to include an assault between persons who are in an intimate relationship or have been in an intimate relationship and have had contact within the past year of the assault.