Relating to public records and communications in professional confidence; uniform commercial code filings; qualified immunity; peace officer health plans and workers’ compensation; certain law enforcement matters; criminal laws involving public disorder, assaults, and harassment; civil liability for certain vehicle operators; window tinting; acts on certain highways; and civil service commission examinations; providing penalties, and including effective date and retroactive applicability provisions

Revision on page 2 under Division III, text in 4th bullet

Description

Senate File 342 as amended relates to numerous issues involving law enforcement and public safety, including public records, fraudulent filings, public safety employee benefits and workers’ compensation, eluding law enforcement, makes changes to certain criminal offenses and sheriff salaries, officer rights, and qualified immunity.

A summary table of impacts is provided in Table 7 at the end of this document. Division I: Public Records — Confidentiality — Civil Enforcement This Division expands the definition of persons eligible to participate in the Address Confidentiality Program under Iowa Code chapter 9E to include an Iowa resident, adult, minor, or incapacitated person who is one of the following:

• A victim of domestic abuse, including but not limited to assault, stalking, and human trafficking.
• A currently active or retired State or local judicial officer, or a spouse or child thereof.
• A currently active or retired State or local prosecuting attorney, or a spouse or child thereof.
• A currently active or retired peace officer, or a spouse or child thereof. This Division also describes situations in which individuals are not assessed damages when violating Open Records Law under Iowa Code chapter 22. The Bill also establishes procedures for the county assessor to redact the names of former and current police officers from electronic records available online.

Division II: Uniform Commercial Code — Fraudulent Filings This Division amends procedures for the filing office to refuse to accept a financial statement that is out of compliance with the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). This Division also creates a new simple misdemeanor for UCC records filed with the intent to harass or defraud. Division III: Accrued Sick Leave — Retired Public Safety Employees This Division provides that a retired public safety employee who has applied for retirement benefits under an eligible retirement system shall receive credit for all accumulated and unused sick leave, which shall be converted to current value and credited to the employee’s account for the purpose of paying monthly health insurance premiums. Upon the death of the employee, the surviving spouse shall be entitled to these same benefits. It is current Department of Public Safety practice to allow retiring employees to convert sick leave upon retirement for this purpose. The provision extends the benefit to the surviving spouse.

Division IV: Workers’ Compensation — Actions and Offsets This Division prohibits certain workers’ compensation benefits related to medical expenses, vacation, sick, or unpaid leave from being offset under the Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System and the Police Officers’ Retirement System (IPERS).

Division V: Civil Service Commission Examinations This Division requires Civil Service Commissions to hire persons with expertise to prepare and administer examinations approved by the Commission for entrance and promotional examinations. Under current law, Commissions may choose to hire individuals with expertise. Division VI: Law Enforcement — Eluding Law Enforcement — Carrying Firearms This Division expands eluding law enforcement to include eluding law enforcement in an unmarked vehicle, or an officer who is not in uniform. The Division also requires that a peace officer shall not be prohibited from carrying a firearm while performing official duties. Penalties for eluding law enforcement may be a serious misdemeanor to a Class C felony. Division VII: Assaults Involving Lasers This Division expands the definition of assault to include intentionally pointing a laser emitting a visible light beam at another person with the intent to cause pain or injury to another. The definition does not apply to:

• A law enforcement officer who uses a laser in discharging or attempting to discharge the officer’s official duties.
• A health care professional who uses a laser in providing services or to any other person who is licensed or authorized by law to use a laser or uses it in the performance of official duties.
• A person who uses a laser to play laser tag, paintball, and other similar games using light-emitting diode technology.

Division VIII: Assault — Harassment — Criminal Mischief — Disorderly Conduct This Division makes the following changes to penalties:

• Prohibits operating a bicycle, skateboard or other pedestrian conveyance on a fully controlled-access facility as defined in Iowa Code section 321.366(2) (Acts Prohibited on Fully Controlled-Access Facilities). There is a fine of $135 for fines levied under this Iowa Code section.
• Adds civilian employee of law enforcement agencies or fire departments to the list of persons engaged in certain occupations against whom an assault is subject to an increased criminal penalty. An individual who assaults these individuals with intent to inflict serious injury or involves the use or display of a dangerous weapon is guilty of a Class D felony. An individual who assaults these individuals and causes bodily injury or mental illness is guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor, with a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of one year.
• Expands first degree harassment to include harassment against another person in a place of lawful public accommodation. A person who commits harassment in the first degree is guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor.
• Expands criminal mischief in the second degree to include acts that damage, deface, alter, or destroy any publicly owned property, including monuments and statues. A person who commits criminal mischief in the second degree is guilty of a Class D felony.
• The Bill adds new criteria for a crime under disorderly conduct:
• A person is guilty of a serious misdemeanor when the person, without lawful authority, obstructs any public roadway with the intent to prevent or hinder its lawful use by others.
• A person is guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor when the person:
• Obstructs or attempts to fully obstruct a fully controlled-access facility or public roadway with certain speed restrictions.
• Commits property damage.
• Is present during an unlawful assembly as defined in Iowa Code section 723.2.
• A person is guilty of a Class D felony when the person:
• Is present during a riot as defined in Iowa Code section 723.1.
• Causes bodily injury.
• A person is guilty of a Class C felony when the person causes serious bodily injury or death.

Division IX: Enforcement of Laws This Division prohibits local entities from adopting or enforcing a policy or taking another action that discourages or prohibits the local entity or law enforcement from enforcing State, local, or municipal laws. This Division prohibits local entities or individuals employed by a local entity from considering race, skin color, language, or national origin while enforcing State, local, and municipal laws except to the extent permitted by the Iowa Constitution or United States Constitution. This Division establishes procedures for the filing of complaints concerning discrimination by individuals to the Iowa Attorney General. This Division also establishes provisions for the denial of State funds for violations of the Division. Division X: Qualified Immunity This Division adopts provisions related to liability for monetary damages for employees and liabilities for the State and State agencies.

Division XI: Public Disorder This Division increases the penalty for a riot crime, as defined in Iowa Code section 723.1, from an aggravated misdemeanor to a Class D felony. The Bill increases the penalty for unlawful assembly and for those who joined a lawful assembly but willingly remain after the assembly becomes unlawful, as defined in Iowa Code section 723.2, from a simple to an aggravated misdemeanor.

Division XII: Peace Officer, Public Safety, and Emergency Personnel Bill of Rights This Division modifies the definition of complaint under Iowa Code section 80F.1. This Division amends procedures and rules for interviews, hearings, or other disciplinary or administrative proceedings related to complaints against individuals under Iowa Code chapter 80F (Rights of Peace Officers and Public Safety and Emergency Personnel).

Division XIII: Civil Liability for Certain Vehicle Operators This Division establishes immunity from civil liability for certain vehicle operators. The Bill provides that a driver of a vehicle who is exercising due care and who injures another person who is participating in a protest, demonstration, riot, or unlawful assembly or who is engaging in disorderly conduct and is blocking traffic on a public roadway is immune from civil liability for the caused injury. This provision does not apply if the injured person was participating in a protest or demonstration with a valid permit allowing persons to do so on a public roadway. Division XIV: Window Tinting This Division exempts persons who operate a vehicle owned or leased by a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency from restrictions on window tinting.

Division XV: Sheriff Salaries This Division requires county sheriffs’ salaries to be set so that they are comparable to salaries paid to professional law enforcement administrators and command officers of the State Patrol, the Division of Criminal Investigation of the Department of Public Safety, and city police chiefs employed by cities of similar population to the population of the county. Division XVI: Confidential Communications — Peer Support — Group Counselors This Division amends disclosure prohibitions that apply to peer support group counselors and other individuals present at crisis interventions.

Division XVII: Disability Medical Benefits — Iowa Public Retirement System This Division requires an employer to provide reasonable medical benefit services and supplies to an IPERS special service member who is receiving an in-service disability retirement allowance under certain circumstances.

Division XVIII: Officer Disciplinary Actions This Division restricts circumstances in which an officer may be discharged, disciplined, or threatened with discharge. This Division also establishes an interim Brady-Giglio List Interim Committee.

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Assumptions for Correctional Impact

• The following will not change over the projection period: charge, conviction, and sentencing patterns and trends; prisoner length of stay (LOS); revocation rates; plea bargaining; and other criminal justice system policies and practices.
• A lag effect of six months is assumed from the effective date of this Bill to the date of first entry of affected offenders into the correctional system.
• Marginal costs for county jails cannot be estimated due to a lack of data. For purposes of this analysis, the marginal cost for county jails is assumed to be $50 per day.
• Due to the penalty increases, it is assumed that the prison population will increase and that the associated probation population will subsequently decrease.

Correctional Impact

The Bill is estimated to have a correctional impact as it will likely increase the number of individuals under correctional supervision and the LOS. The impact is detailed by criminal offense below.

Records Filed with the Intent to Harass or Defraud (Division II) This Bill establishes a serious misdemeanor for UCC records filed with the intent to harass or defraud. This is a new penalty and the correctional impact cannot be determined. Eluding (Division VI) The Bill expands eluding law enforcement to include eluding law enforcement in an unmarked vehicle, or an officer who is not in uniform. This change may result in additional convictions for eluding law enforcement. However, the number of additional violations that may occur as a result of this change is unknown. In FY 2020, a total of 284 individuals entered into the correctional system for violations under Iowa Code section 321.279.

Improper Use of Median, Curb, or Access Facility (Division VIII) The Bill establishes a scheduled violation for operating a bicycle, skateboard, or other pedestrian conveyance on a fully controlled-access facility. The number of additional violations that may occur as a result of this change is unknown. This portion of the Bill is not estimated to have a correctional impact.

Assault (Division VIII) The Bill expands the definition of assault and the list of persons engaged in certain occupations against whom an assault is subject to an increased criminal penalty. The correctional impact of this change cannot be estimated. The average State cost for one serious misdemeanor conviction ranges from $410 to $7,500. The average State cost for one aggravated misdemeanor conviction ranges from $3,700 to $7,800. The average State cost for one Class D felony conviction ranges from $7,700 to $13,500.

Harassment in the First Degree (Division VIII) The Bill expands the definition of harassment in the first degree. The correctional impact of this change cannot be estimated due to a lack of existing data. In FY 2020, the cost to supervise one individual convicted of an offense under Iowa Code section 708.7 was $5,500. Criminal Mischief in the Second Degree (Division VIII) The Bill expands the definition of criminal mischief in the second degree, and the correctional impact cannot be estimated due to a lack of existing data. In FY 2020, the cost to supervise one correctional cohort of most serious offenses under Iowa Code chapter 716 was approximately $1.2 million. This includes supervision in prison, probation, parole, and work release.

Disorderly Conduct (Division VIII) The Bill increases the penalty for certain types of disorderly conduct under Iowa Code section 723.4 from a simple misdemeanor to a serious misdemeanor, aggravated misdemeanor, Class D felony, or Class C felony, depending on the circumstances and severity of the crime. The correctional impact of the section of the Bill relating to disorderly conduct cannot be determined. The Bill changes the definition of disorderly conduct in such a way that it is difficult to determine penalty provisions due to the significant variance in individual circumstances and outcomes. In FY 2020, there were 154 admissions to Community-Based Corrections (CBC) facilities for a most serious offense under Iowa Code section 723.4. The Department of Corrections estimates that some crimes that are currently categorized under simple misdemeanors would be categorized into higher penalty classes under the Bill, but the extent of that increase cannot be calculated due to unavailability of existing data.

Riot Crimes (Division XI) The Bill increases the penalty for a riot crime under Iowa Code section 723.1 from an aggravated misdemeanor to a Class D felony. Over the last five fiscal years, FY 2016 through FY 2020, there was one prison admission for the most serious offense under Iowa Code section 723.1. The DOC notes that individuals convicted of this crime are much more likely to be admitted to supervision under CBC rather than prison supervision. In FY 2020, there were 24 individuals who were admitted to CBC on a most serious offense of a riot crime. Increasing the penalty from an aggravated misdemeanor to a Class D felony will result in an increase in admissions to prison supervision. The DOC estimates that the cost of moving one cohort of admissions for a riot crime from an aggravated misdemeanor to a Class D felony will total $40,500.

Unlawful Assembly (Division XI) The Bill increases the penalty for unlawful assembly under Iowa Code section 723.2 from a simple misdemeanor to an aggravated misdemeanor. In FY 2020, there were two admissions to CBC for a most serious offense of unlawful assembly. Due to the minimal counts of admissions under this crime, the DOC estimates that the correctional impact of increasing the penalty for unlawful assembly from a simple to an aggravated misdemeanor will be minimal. Refer to the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) memo addressed to the General Assembly, Cost Estimates Used for Correctional Impact Statements, dated January 22, 2021, for information related to the correctional system.

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Minority Impact

The minority impact of the Bill varies by criminal offense and is detailed by individual section below.

UCC Filings (Division II) The Bill establishes a new crime and the minority impact of this change is unknown. Eluding (Division VI) The Bill expands eluding law enforcement to include eluding law enforcement in an unmarked vehicle, or an officer who is not in uniform. This change may result in additional convictions for eluding law enforcement. Of the 284 individuals who entered the correctional system for a violation of Iowa Code section 321.279 in FY 2020, 211, or 74.2% were Caucasian, and 54, or 19.0% were African American. In FY 2020, Caucasians and African Americans made up 89.9% and 4.1% of the Iowa adult population, respectively. The conviction rate for African Americans exceeds the population proportion of the State, which would lead to a racial impact if trends remain constant.

Improper Use of Median, Curb, or Access Facility (Division VIII) The Bill establishes a scheduled violation for operating a bicycle, skateboard, or other pedestrian conveyance on a fully controlled-access facility. In FY 2020, the racial breakdown of individuals convicted for this violation was 65.0% Caucasian and 11.1% African American. In FY 2020, Caucasians and African Americans made up 89.9% and 4.1% of the Iowa adult population, respectively. The conviction rate for African Americans exceeds the population proportion of the State, which would lead to a racial impact if trends remain constant. Due to low numbers of other minority populations, the impact on those populations cannot be assessed.

Assault (Division VIII) The Bill expands the definition of assault and the list of persons engaged in certain occupations against whom an assault is subject to an increased criminal penalty. In FY 2020, the racial breakdown of the cohort of individuals admitted to correctional supervision for assault offenses was 75.0% Caucasian and 16.0% African American. In FY 2020, Caucasians and African Americans made up 89.9% and 4.1% of the Iowa adult population, respectively. The conviction rate for African Americans exceeds the population proportion of the State, which would lead to a racial impact if trends remain constant. Due to low numbers of other minority populations, the impact on those populations cannot be assessed.

Harassment in the First Degree (Division VIII) The Bill establishes a new crime under the definition of harassment in the first degree. In FY 2020, the racial breakdown of the cohort of individuals admitted to correctional supervision for the offense of harassment in the first degree was 73.0% Caucasian and 19.0% African American. In FY 2020, Caucasians and African Americans made up 89.9% and 4.1% of the Iowa adult population, respectively. The conviction rate for African Americans exceeds the population proportion of the State, which would lead to a racial impact if trends remain constant. Due to low numbers of other minority populations, the impact on those populations cannot be assessed.

Criminal Mischief in the Second Degree (Division VIII) The Bill expands the definition of criminal mischief in the second degree. In FY 2020, the racial breakdown of the cohort of individuals admitted to correctional supervision for criminal mischief in the second degree was 74.0% Caucasian and 21.0% African American. In FY 2020, Caucasians and African Americans made up 89.9% and 4.1% of the Iowa adult population, respectively. The conviction rate for African Americans exceeds the population proportion of the State, which would lead to a racial impact if trends remain constant. Due to low numbers of other minority populations, the impact on those populations cannot be assessed. Disorderly Conduct (Division VIII) The Bill increases the penalty for certain types of disorderly conduct depending on the circumstances and severity of the crime. In FY 2020, the racial breakdown of the cohort of individuals admitted to correctional supervision for disorderly conduct was 56.0% Caucasian