House File 829 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 829 BY R. JOHNSON A BILL FOR An Act relating to court debt resulting from a violation of a 1 law regulating the operation of a motor vehicle. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 2552YH (4) 91 th/ns
H.F. 829 Section 1. Section 321.12, subsection 3, paragraph a, Code 1 2025, is amended to read as follows: 2 a. Records concerning suspensions authorized under section 3 321.210, subsection 1 , paragraph “a” , subparagraph (7), 4 and section 321.210A may be destroyed six months after the 5 suspension is terminated and the requirements of section 6 321.191 have been satisfied. 7 Sec. 2. Section 321.210B, subsections 1 and 11, Code 2025, 8 are amended to read as follows: 9 1. a. If a person’s fine, penalty, surcharge, or court 10 cost , resulting from a violation under this chapter or chapter 11 321J relating to the operation of a motor vehicle, is deemed 12 delinquent as provided in section 602.8107, subsection 2 , and 13 the person’s driver’s license has been suspended pursuant 14 to section 321.210A , or the clerk of the district court has 15 reported the delinquency to the department as required by 16 section 321.210A , the person may execute do any combination of 17 the following: 18 (1) Execute an installment agreement as defined in section 19 602.8107 with the county attorney, the county attorney’s 20 designee, or the department of revenue, to pay the delinquent 21 amount and the civil penalty assessed in subsection 7 in 22 installments based on the person’s income and ability to pay . 23 Prior to execution of the installment agreement, the person 24 shall provide the county attorney, the county attorney’s 25 designee, or the department of revenue with a financial 26 statement in order for the parties to the agreement to 27 determine the amount of the installment payments. 28 (2) Perform community service work of an equivalent value 29 to the delinquent amount and the civil penalty assessed in 30 subsection 7. The rate at which community service shall 31 be calculated shall be the federal or state minimum wage, 32 whichever is higher. 33 b. Cases involving court debt assigned to a county attorney, 34 a county attorney’s designee, or the department of revenue 35 -1- LSB 2552YH (4) 91 th/ns 1/ 7
H.F. 829 shall remain so assigned. 1 11. If a new fine, penalty, surcharge, or court cost , 2 resulting from a violation under this chapter or chapter 321J 3 relating to the operation of a motor vehicle, is imposed on a 4 person after the person has executed an installment agreement 5 with the county attorney, the county attorney’s designee, 6 or the department of revenue, and the new fine, penalty, 7 surcharge, or court cost is deemed delinquent as provided in 8 section 602.8107, subsection 2 , and the person’s driver’s 9 license has been suspended pursuant to section 321.210A , the 10 person may enter into a second installment agreement with the 11 county attorney, county attorney’s designee, or the department 12 of revenue to pay the delinquent amount and the civil penalty, 13 if assessed, in subsection 7 in installments. 14 Sec. 3. Section 321.210B, subsections 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, and 15 12, Code 2025, are amended by striking the subsections. 16 Sec. 4. Section 321.210B, subsection 8, paragraph b, Code 17 2025, is amended to read as follows: 18 b. (1) If the person is in default and the person 19 provides a new financial statement within fifteen days of 20 the determination made pursuant to paragraph “a” indicating 21 that the person’s financial condition has changed to such an 22 extent that lower installment payments would have been required 23 prior to the execution of the initial installment agreement 24 under subsection 1 , the county attorney, the county attorney’s 25 designee, or the department of revenue shall not notify the 26 clerk of the district court, and the person shall not be 27 considered in default. The new installment payments shall be 28 based upon the new financial statement filed in compliance with 29 this subparagraph paragraph . 30 (2) A person making new installment payments after 31 complying with the provisions of subparagraph (1) shall not be 32 considered executing a new installment agreement for purposes 33 of calculating the number of installment agreements a person 34 may execute in a person’s lifetime under subsection 12 . 35 -2- LSB 2552YH (4) 91 th/ns 2/ 7
H.F. 829 Sec. 5. Section 321.212, subsection 1, paragraph a, 1 subparagraph (1), Code 2025, is amended to read as follows: 2 (1) Except as provided in section 321.210A or 321.513 , 3 the department shall not suspend a license for a period of 4 more than one year, except that a license suspended because of 5 incompetency to drive a motor vehicle shall be suspended until 6 the department receives satisfactory evidence that the former 7 holder is competent to operate a motor vehicle and a refusal 8 to reinstate constitutes a denial of license within section 9 321.215 ; upon . Upon revoking a license the department shall 10 not grant an application for a new license until the expiration 11 of one year after the revocation, unless another period is 12 specified by law. 13 Sec. 6. Section 321.215, subsection 2, Code 2025, is amended 14 to read as follows: 15 2. Upon conviction and the suspension or revocation of 16 a person’s noncommercial driver’s license under section 17 321.209, subsection 5, 6, or 7, or section 321.210 , 321.210A , 18 or 321.513 ; or upon the denial of issuance of a noncommercial 19 driver’s license under section 321.560 , based solely on 20 offenses enumerated in section 321.555, subsection 1 , paragraph 21 “c” , or section 321.555, subsection 2 ; or upon suspension 22 or revocation of a juvenile’s driver’s license pursuant 23 to a dispositional order under section 232.52, subsection 24 2 , paragraph “a” , for a violation of chapter 124 or 453B , 25 or section 126.3 ; or upon suspension of a driver’s license 26 pursuant to a court order under section 714.7D , the person may 27 apply to the department for a temporary restricted license to 28 operate a motor vehicle for the limited purpose or purposes 29 specified in subsection 1 . The application may be granted only 30 if all of the following criteria are satisfied: 31 a. The temporary restricted license is requested only for a 32 case of hardship or circumstances where alternative means of 33 transportation do not exist. 34 b. The temporary restricted license is restricted to the 35 -3- LSB 2552YH (4) 91 th/ns 3/ 7
H.F. 829 limited purpose or purposes specified in subsection 1 at times 1 specified in the license. 2 c. Proof of financial responsibility is established as 3 defined in chapter 321A . However, such proof is not required 4 if the driver’s license was suspended under section 321.210A 5 or 321.513 . 6 Sec. 7. Section 321.218, subsection 3, paragraph a, Code 7 2025, is amended to read as follows: 8 a. The department, upon receiving the record of the 9 conviction of a person under this section upon a charge of 10 operating a motor vehicle while the license of the person is 11 suspended or revoked, shall, except for licenses suspended 12 under section 252J.8 , section 321.210, subsection 1 , paragraph 13 “a” , subparagraph (3), or section 321.210A or 321.513 , extend 14 the period of suspension or revocation for an additional like 15 period or for one year, whichever period is shorter. 16 Sec. 8. Section 321A.17, subsection 4, Code 2025, is amended 17 to read as follows: 18 4. An individual applying for a driver’s license following a 19 period of suspension or revocation pursuant to a dispositional 20 order issued under section 232.52, subsection 2 , paragraph 21 “a” , or under section 321.180B , section 321.210, subsection 22 1 , paragraph “a” , subparagraph (4), or section 321.210A, 23 321.213A , 321.213B , 321.216B , or 321.513 , following a period 24 of suspension or revocation under section 321.178 or 321.194 , 25 or following a period of revocation pursuant to a court order 26 issued under section 321J.2A , is not required to maintain proof 27 of financial responsibility under this section . 28 Sec. 9. Section 321J.17, subsection 1, Code 2025, is amended 29 to read as follows: 30 1. If the department revokes a person’s driver’s license 31 or nonresident operating privilege under this chapter , the 32 department shall assess the person a civil penalty of two 33 hundred dollars. The money collected by the department under 34 this section shall be transmitted to the treasurer of state 35 -4- LSB 2552YH (4) 91 th/ns 4/ 7
H.F. 829 who shall deposit one-half of the money in the separate fund 1 established in section 915.94 and one-half of the money in the 2 general fund of the state. A temporary restricted license 3 shall not be issued unless an ignition interlock device has 4 been installed pursuant to section 321J.4 . Except as provided 5 in section 321.210B , a A temporary restricted license shall 6 not be issued or a driver’s license or nonresident operating 7 privilege reinstated until the civil penalty has been paid or 8 until the person enters into an installment agreement under 9 section 321.210B . A person assessed a penalty under this 10 section may remit the civil penalty along with a processing 11 fee of five dollars to a county treasurer authorized to issue 12 driver’s licenses under chapter 321M , or the civil penalty may 13 be paid directly to the department. 14 Sec. 10. Section 331.756, subsection 5, paragraph d, Code 15 2025, is amended to read as follows: 16 d. All fines, penalties, court costs, fees, and restitution 17 for court-appointed attorney fees ordered pursuant to section 18 815.9 , including the expenses of a public defender which are 19 delinquent as defined in section 602.8107 may be collected by 20 the county attorney or the county attorney’s designee. The 21 county attorney or the county attorney’s designee may collect 22 delinquent obligations under an installment agreement pursuant 23 to section 321.210B . 24 Sec. 11. Section 602.8102, subsection 50A, Code 2025, is 25 amended by striking the subsection. 26 Sec. 12. REPEAL. Section 321.210A, Code 2025, is repealed. 27 Sec. 13. SUSPENDED DRIVER’S LICENSES REINSTATED. On the 28 effective date of this Act, the department of transportation 29 shall reinstate all driver’s licenses that have been suspended 30 by the department pursuant to section 321.210A, Code 2025. 31 On and after the effective date of this Act, a person whose 32 license has been reinstated pursuant to this section may apply 33 for a replacement driver’s license pursuant to section 321.189. 34 Sec. 14. ONE-TIME CHARGE OFF. 35 -5- LSB 2552YH (4) 91 th/ns 5/ 7
H.F. 829 1. Notwithstanding section 602.8107, subsection 5, 1 paragraph “b” or “c”, or any other provision of law to the 2 contrary, the clerk of the district court shall, on the 3 effective date of this Act, charge off the remaining balance of 4 any delinquent criminal fine or penalty, surcharge, or court 5 costs owed by a person resulting from a violation of a law 6 regulating the operation of a motor vehicle. The state shall 7 not seek any contempt or civil action related to the delinquent 8 amount charged off. Upon charging off the delinquent amount, 9 the criminal fine or penalty, surcharge, and court costs shall 10 be considered paid in full. 11 2. This section applies to any delinquent criminal fine or 12 penalty, surcharge, or court costs resulting from a violation 13 of a law regulating the operation of a motor vehicle and deemed 14 delinquent on or before the effective date of this Act. 15 EXPLANATION 16 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 17 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 18 Under current law, the department of transportation (DOT) 19 is required to suspend the driver’s license of a person who, 20 upon conviction of violating a law regulating the operation of 21 a motor vehicle, has failed to timely pay the criminal fine, 22 penalty, surcharge, or court costs. The clerk of the district 23 court must mail notice to a person who has failed to pay the 24 required court debts and provide 60 days for the person to make 25 the payment. If payment is not received, the clerk of the 26 district court must notify the DOT to initiate the suspension. 27 If after suspension, the person enters into an installment 28 agreement to pay the court debts, the person’s license must be 29 reinstated by the DOT. However, the person’s license may be 30 suspended again if the person is convicted of an additional 31 violation of a law regulating the operation of a motor vehicle, 32 or if the person defaults on the installment agreement. 33 This bill repeals Code section 321.210A which provides for 34 the suspension of a driver’s license for failure to pay a fine, 35 -6- LSB 2552YH (4) 91 th/ns 6/ 7
H.F. 829 penalty, surcharge, or court costs. 1 The bill narrows Code section 321.210B (installment 2 agreements) to only court debt resulting from a violation under 3 Code chapter 321 or 321J relating to the operation of a motor 4 vehicle and requires an installment agreement to be based on 5 the person’s income and ability to pay. In addition, the bill 6 authorizes a person to perform community service work of an 7 equivalent value to the delinquent amount in lieu of paying the 8 delinquent amount. 9 The bill requires the DOT to reinstate all driver’s licenses 10 that have been suspended by the DOT pursuant to Code section 11 321.210A, and a person whose license has been reinstated 12 pursuant to the bill may apply for a replacement driver’s 13 license pursuant to Code section 321.189. 14 The bill requires the clerk of the district court to charge 15 off the remaining balance of any delinquent criminal fine or 16 penalty, surcharge, or court costs owed by a person resulting 17 from a violation of a law regulating the operation of a motor 18 vehicle. Upon charging off the delinquent amount, the criminal 19 fine or penalty, surcharge, and court costs will be considered 20 paid in full. The charge-off provision applies only to such 21 a criminal fine or penalty, surcharge, or court costs deemed 22 delinquent on or before the effective date of the bill. 23 The bill does not affect the DOT’s ability to act against a 24 person’s driver’s license for reasons other than nonpayment of 25 court debt. 26 -7- LSB 2552YH (4) 91 th/ns 7/ 7