Senate File 337 - Introduced SENATE FILE 337 BY PETERSEN A BILL FOR An Act relating to a hope card program for plaintiffs granted 1 certain orders in a domestic abuse proceeding, and providing 2 penalties. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 1570XS (3) 91 dg/ko

S.F. 337 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 236.21 Hope card program. 1 1. For purposes of this section, “order” means either of the 2 following: 3 a. A temporary order entered pursuant to section 236.4 to 4 protect a plaintiff from domestic abuse prior to a hearing. 5 b. A protective order entered pursuant to section 236.5 that 6 requires a defendant to cease domestic abuse of a plaintiff. 7 2. The attorney general, in consultation with district 8 clerks of court, shall develop and implement a hope card 9 program to provide for the issuance of a hope card to each 10 person who has been granted an order. 11 3. A plaintiff who is granted an order may request a 12 hope card from the clerk of court of the county in which the 13 order is granted. The plaintiff may request a hope card in 14 an application requesting an order under section 236.4, at a 15 hearing to prove an allegation of domestic abuse, or at any 16 other time before the order granted to the plaintiff expires. 17 4. Within three business days of the date an order is 18 entered, or the date a plaintiff requests a hope card, 19 whichever is earlier, the clerk of court shall provide a hope 20 card to the plaintiff. 21 5. The clerk of court shall not assess a fee for the 22 issuance of a hope card. 23 6. A plaintiff’s hope card shall be valid until any of the 24 following occur: 25 a. Two years from the date an order is entered for the 26 plaintiff. 27 b. The date the order for which the hope card was created 28 expires. 29 7. A hope card may be digital, or a durable wallet-sized 30 card, and shall contain all of the following information: 31 a. The defendant’s name and date of birth. 32 b. The plaintiff’s name and date of birth. 33 c. Information relating to the order granted to the 34 plaintiff including but not limited to all of the following: 35 -1- LSB 1570XS (3) 91 dg/ko 1/ 3

S.F. 337 (1) The case number of the proceeding. 1 (2) The date the order was issued. 2 (3) The expiration date of the order, if any. 3 (4) The date of issuance and the expiration date of the hope 4 card. 5 8. A person who presents a hope card, or other document 6 purporting to be a hope card, as a valid hope card when the 7 person knows or should have known the hope card or other 8 document is not a valid hope card commits a simple misdemeanor. 9 Sec. 2. Section 903.1, subsection 3, Code 2025, is amended 10 to read as follows: 11 3. A person under eighteen years of age convicted of a 12 simple misdemeanor under chapter 236, 321 , 321G , 321I , 453A , 13 461A , 461B , 462A , 481A , 481B , 483A , 484A , or 484B , or a 14 violation of a county or municipal curfew or traffic ordinance, 15 except for an offense subject to section 805.8 , may be required 16 to pay a fine, not to exceed one hundred dollars, as fixed by 17 the court, or may be required to perform community service as 18 ordered by the court. 19 EXPLANATION 20 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 21 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 22 This bill relates to a hope card program for plaintiffs 23 granted certain orders in a domestic abuse proceeding. 24 The bill requires the attorney general, in consultation with 25 the district clerks of court, to develop and implement a hope 26 card program to provide for the issuance of a hope card to 27 each person who has been granted an order in a domestic abuse 28 proceeding that is meant to protect a plaintiff from domestic 29 abuse prior to a hearing or requires a defendant to cease 30 domestic abuse of a plaintiff (order). 31 The bill allows a plaintiff who is granted an order to 32 request a hope card from the clerk of court of the county in 33 which the order is granted. The plaintiff may request a hope 34 card in an application requesting an order to protect the 35 -2- LSB 1570XS (3) 91 dg/ko 2/ 3

S.F. 337 plaintiff from domestic abuse prior to a hearing, at a hearing 1 to prove an allegation of domestic abuse, or at any other time 2 before the order granted to the plaintiff expires. A clerk 3 of court must create and provide a hope card to the plaintiff 4 within three business days of the date an order is entered 5 or the date a plaintiff requests a hope card, whichever is 6 earlier. 7 The bill prohibits the clerk of court from assessing a fee 8 for the issuance of a hope card. 9 The bill makes a petitioner’s hope card valid until the 10 plaintiff’s order expires, or two years from the date the order 11 was entered for the plaintiff, whichever is earlier. A hope 12 card may be digital, or a durable wallet-sized card. The bill 13 details the information that must be contained on a hope card. 14 The bill makes it a simple misdemeanor for a person to 15 present a hope card, or other document purporting to be a hope 16 card, as a valid hope card when the person knows or should have 17 known the hope card or other document is not a valid hope card. 18 A simple misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more 19 than 30 days and a fine of at least $105 but not more than $855. 20 The bill makes a conforming change to Code section 903.1 21 (maximum sentence for misdemeanants). 22 -3- LSB 1570XS (3) 91 dg/ko 3/ 3