HF 2586 (LSB 6652YH (3) 91)

HOUSE FILE 2586

BY  LARSON

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to temporary restricted licenses issued to persons whose driver’s license is suspended.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 321.215, subsection 1, paragraph a, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   The department, on application, may issue a temporary restricted license to a person whose noncommercial driver’s license is suspended or revoked under this chapter, allowing the person to drive to and from the person’s home and specified places at specified times which can be verified by the department and which are required by any of the following: if the person submits an application for the temporary restricted license with the required fee and provides proof the person successfully completed a remedial driver improvement action. A person holding a temporary restricted license may operate a motor vehicle in any manner allowed for a person issued a valid class C driver’s license.
    Sec. 2.  Section 321.215, subsection 1, paragraph a, subparagraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), and (6), Code 2026, are amended by striking the subparagraphs.
    Sec. 3.  Section 321.215, subsection 2, paragraph b, Code 2026, is amended by striking the paragraph.
    Sec. 4.  Section 321J.20A, subsection 3, Code 2026, is amended by striking the subsection.
    Sec. 5.  PREVIOUSLY ISSUED TEMPORARY RESTRICTED LICENSES.  A person who holds a temporary restricted license that was issued under section 321.215, Code 2026, before the effective date of this Act shall not be required to successfully complete a remedial driver improvement action and may continue to operate a motor vehicle in accordance with section 321.215, Code 2026, on and after the effective date of this Act.
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 whose driver’s license is suspended or revoked under Code chapter 321 (motor vehicles and law of the road) may apply to the department of transportation (DOT) for a temporary restricted license (TRL), and the DOT may issue a TRL that authorizes the person to drive to and from the person’s home and specified places at specified times which can be verified by the DOT and which are required by the person’s full-time or part-time employment, the person’s continuing health care or the continuing health care of another who is dependent upon the person, the person’s continuing education, the person’s substance use disorder treatment, the person’s court-ordered community service responsibilities, or the person’s appointments with the person’s parole or probation officer. A person who is issued a TRL under Code section 321J.20 for an operating while intoxicated violation is allowed to operate a motor vehicle in any manner allowed for a person issued a valid class C driver’s license, unless otherwise provided, but is required to install an ignition interlock device before receiving a TRL.
   This bill authorizes the DOT to issue a TRL to a person whose noncommercial driver’s license is suspended or revoked under Code chapter 321 if the person submits an application for the TRL with the required fee and provides proof the person successfully completed a remedial driver improvement action. The bill strikes the specified place and time restrictions, and instead makes a TRL valid for the person to operate a motor vehicle in any manner allowed for a person issued a valid class C driver’s license.
   The bill does not amend the prohibition on issuing a TRL for certain violations described under Code section 321.215(1)(b) or the eligibility of a person to apply for a TRL for certain violations that would otherwise make the person ineligible for a TRL in cases of hardship.
   The bill makes conforming changes by striking requirements for a person who receives a TRL due to a hardship or without installing an ignition interlock device because the person has a medical waiver to only operate a motor vehicle in accordance with the specific places and specific times that are stricken by the bill.
   In accordance with current law, a TRL must be canceled upon conviction of a moving traffic violation or upon a violation of a term of the license, and a TRL is not valid to operate a commercial motor vehicle if a commercial driver’s license or commercial learner’s permit is required for the person’s operation of the commercial motor vehicle.
   The bill does not require a person holding a TRL that was issued before July 1, 2026, to successfully complete a remedial driver improvement action and authorizes the person to continue to operate a motor vehicle in accordance with the current restrictions on and after July 1, 2026.