SF 2146 (LSB 2119SV (2) 91)

SENATE FILE 2146

BY  COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT

(SUCCESSOR TO SSB 1118)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the responsibility and liability of property owners for public places in cities, prohibiting fines, and including effective date and retroactive applicability provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 364.12, subsection 2, paragraphs b, c, and e, Code 2026, are amended to read as follows:
   b.  The abutting property owner is responsible for the removal of the natural accumulations of snow and ice from the sidewalks within a reasonable amount of time and may be liable for damages caused by the failure of the abutting property owner to use reasonable care in the removal of the snow or ice. If damages are to be awarded under this section against the abutting property owner, the claimant has the burden of proving the amount of the damages. To authorize recovery of more than a nominal amount, facts must exist and be shown by the evidence which that afford a reasonable basis for measuring the amount of the claimant’s actual damages, and the amount of actual damages shall not be determined by speculation, conjecture, or surmise. All legal or equitable defenses are available to the abutting property owner in an action brought pursuant to this paragraph. The city’s general duty under this subsection does not include a duty to remove natural accumulations of snow or ice from the sidewalks. However, when the city is the abutting property owner it has the specific duty of the abutting property owner set forth in this paragraph.  A city shall not assess a fine against an abutting property owner for failure to comply with this paragraph.
   c.  The abutting property owner may be required by ordinance to maintain all property outside the lot and property lines and inside the curb lines upon the public streets, except that the property owner shall not be required to remove diseased trees or dead wood on the publicly owned property or right-of-way. The abutting property owner may be liable for damages caused by the failure to use reasonable care in maintaining such property if required by ordinance. A city shall not assess a fine against an abutting property owner for failure to comply with this paragraph.
   e.  If the abutting property owner does not perform an action required under this subsection within a reasonable time, a city may perform the required action and assess only the material and direct labor costs associated with a violation of paragraph “b” or “c” against the abutting property for collection in the same manner as a property tax.  The city shall not assess additional fines when assessing the costs against the abutting property owner. This power does not relieve the abutting property owner of liability imposed under paragraph “b”.
    Sec. 2.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
    Sec. 3.  RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY.  This Act applies retroactively to June 13, 2024.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to the responsibility and liability of an abutting property owner for public places in a city such as sidewalks. Under current law, an abutting property owner may be required by a city ordinance to remove natural accumulations of snow and ice within a reasonable time and maintain public sidewalks or other property between the property line and the curb line. The bill adds that an abutting property owner may be liable if the property owner fails to use reasonable care in maintaining sidewalks or other property between the property line and the curb line if required by a city ordinance. The bill prohibits a city from assessing a fine against an abutting property owner for failure to remove snow and ice from the sidewalks within a reasonable amount of time and for failure to maintain all property from the property line to the curb. 
   Under current law, if the abutting property owner does not perform an action required under Code section 364.12(2), within a reasonable time, a city may perform the required action and assess the costs against the abutting property for collection in the same manner as a property tax. The bill provides that a city may assess only material and direct labor costs against the abutting property owner if the city performs an action required under Code section 364.12(2)(b) or (c).
   The bill takes effect upon enactment and applies retroactively to June 13, 2024.