SSB 3141

This bill relates to discrimination and disparate treatment in law enforcement. DISPARATE TREATMENT BY LAW ENFORCEMENT. The bill creates a new Code chapter concerning disparate treatment by law enforcement. The bill provides that it is the purpose of the Code chapter to prohibit disparate treatment by law enforcement, including racial and ethnic profiling, to foster trust and cooperation with law enforcement in Iowa communities and to create a safer state for all Iowans. “Disparate treatment” is defined as the differential treatment of a person on the basis of race, skin color, or national origin. _____ bill also defines “law enforcement agency”, “law enforcement officer”, and “motor vehicle stop”. The bill provides that a state or local law enforcement officer shall not engage in the disparate treatment of an individual who has been detained or whose motor vehicle has been stopped by a law enforcement officer. The bill directs each state and local law enforcement agency to collect and compile data on every motor vehicle stop conducted by a law enforcement officer of the agency during a calendar year, and to submit an annual report to the division of criminal and juvenile justice planning of the department of human rights. The following information shall be collected, compiled, and reported when a law enforcement officer makes a motor vehicle stop: the time, date, and location of the motor vehicle stop; the nature of the alleged law violation that resulted in the motor vehicle stop; whether an arrest was made at the time of the motor vehicle stop; whether a search was conducted as a result of the motor vehicle stop; whether an oral or written warning was given or a citation issued; the offense the person was arrested for, if applicable; the race and ethnicity of the person stopped; and any other information which the officer or law enforcement agency considers appropriate. The justice and community policing board established in the bill, in consultation with law enforcement agencies, the department of public safety, and the division of criminal and juvenile justice planning of the department of human rights shall develop a uniform manner for each law enforcement agency to report the information. The division of criminal and juvenile justice planning of the department of human rights shall compile all data reported, analyze the data in a timely manner, and provide an analysis of the data along with the compiled data to the board by December of each year. The report shall be accessible to the public from a prominent place on the board’s website.4 (local entity discrimination complaints). JUSTICE AND COMMUNITY POLICING ADVISORY BOARD.132 to the justice and community policing advisory board, and increases board membership from to members. The bill provides for the appointment of members of the advisory board by the governor as well as other ex officio, nonvoting members. The bill adds the following duties to the justice and community policing advisory board: providing the general assembly with an analysis and recommendations of current criminal code provisions and proposed legislation regarding potential disparity in law enforcement activities and the delivery of law enforcement services; studying and making recommendations for eliminating disparity in law enforcement activities and the delivery of law enforcement services; and recommending to the department of human services the adoption of rules pursuant to Code chapter 17A for the collection, compilation, and reporting of motor vehicle stop data. The board is directed to include in its three-year criminal and juvenile justice plan an assessment and analysis of the collection, compilation, and reporting of motor vehicle stop data including an analysis of disparate treatment based on race and ethnicity. DRIVER’S LICENSE AND NONOPERATOR IDENTIFICATION CARD APPLICATIONS —— RACE AND ETHNICITY. The bill provides that a person applying for a driver’s license or a nonoperator’s identification card will be requested by the department of transportation to specify the person’s race and ethnicity. _____ The bill requires the department to make an annual report to the general assembly regarding the number of persons who have disclosed and specified a race and ethnicity. Race and ethnicity information shall only be released to a law enforcement officer, an employee of a law enforcement agency, the justice and community policing advisory board, the state court administrator, and the division of criminal and juvenile justice planning of the department of human rights.