SF 212 (LSB 2502XS (2) 91)

SENATE FILE 212

BY  SWEENEY

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the speed limit on unpaved roads under county jurisdiction, and making penalties applicable.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 321.285, subsection 4, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   4.  A reasonable and proper speed is required, but not greater than fifty-five forty-five miles per hour at any time between sunrise and sunset, and not greater than fifty miles per hour at any time between sunset and sunrise, on secondary roads unless such roads are surfaced with concrete or asphalt or a combination of both, in which case the speed limits shall be the same as provided in subsection 3. When the board of supervisors of any county shall determine determines upon the basis of an engineering and traffic investigation that the speed limit on any secondary road is greater than is reasonable and proper under the conditions found to exist at any intersection or other place or upon any part of a secondary road, the board shall determine and declare a reasonable and proper speed limit at the intersection or other part of the secondary road. The speed limits as determined by the board of supervisors shall be effective when appropriate signs giving notice of the speed limits are erected by the board of supervisors at the intersection or other place or part of the highway.
    Sec. 2.  IMPLEMENTATION.  Notwithstanding section 321.252, 321.255, 321.285, or any other provision of law to the contrary, when updating speed limit signs as a result of the enactment of this Act, a county may attach nonpermanent overlays or stickers approved by the department of transportation to existing speed limit signs in order to display the new speed limit. The nonpermanent overlays or stickers may be used by the county until the applicable speed limit sign is replaced based on the county’s replacement schedule and any applicable specifications or requirements.
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, the maximum speed limit on roads under county jurisdiction (secondary roads) is 55 miles per hour, unless such roads are not surfaced with concrete or asphalt, in which case the maximum speed limit is 55 miles per hour at any time between sunrise and sunset and 50 miles per hour at any time between sunset and sunrise. This bill reduces the maximum speed limit on secondary roads to 45 miles per hour if such roads are not surfaced with concrete or asphalt, regardless of daylight.
   The bill authorizes a county, when updating speed limit signs as a result of the bill, to attach nonpermanent overlays or stickers approved by the department of transportation to existing speed limit signs in order to display the new speed limit. The nonpermanent overlays or stickers may be used by the county until the applicable speed limit sign is replaced based on the county’s replacement schedule and any applicable specifications or requirements.
   A person who exceeds a speed limit under Code section 321.285 is guilty of a simple misdemeanor punishable by a scheduled fine that varies depending on the excessive speed over the limit. The fine ranges from $30 for a speed in excess of the limit by not more than 5 miles per hour to $135 plus $5 for each mile per hour of excessive speed over 20 miles per hour over the limit, with increased fines in road work zones.