Relating to assaults on persons engaged in certain occupations including a health care provider, and making penalties applicable

Description

House File 310 modifies the definition of “health care provider” under Iowa Code section 708.3A(5) (assaults on persons engaged in certain occupations). Under the Bill, a health care provider would include anyone who is working, volunteering, or participating in an educational course of instruction at a hospital or rural emergency hospital as defined in Iowa Code chapter 135B or at a nursing facility as defined in Iowa Code chapter 135C.

Background

Iowa Code chapter 708 establishes the penalties for assault, and assault is defined under Iowa Code section 708.1. Under Iowa Code section 708.3A(5), a health care provider means an emergency medical provider as defined in Iowa Code chapter 147A or a person licensed or registered under Iowa Code chapter 148 (medicine, surgery, and osteopathic medicine and surgery), 148C (physician assistants), 148D (resident physicians), or 152 (nursing) who is providing emergency medical services or who is providing or attempting to provide health services as defined in Iowa Code section 10A.711 in a hospital.

A Class D felony is punishable by confinement for up to five years and a fine of at least $1,025 but no more than $10,245. An aggravated misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for up to two years and a fine of at least $865 but no more than $8,540. A serious misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for up to one year and a fine of $430 but no more than $2,560.

Assumptions

• 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 delay 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.

Correctional Impact

House File 310 modifies the definition of “health care provider” in regard to the assault of persons engaged in certain occupations. It is not known how many additional convictions of assault under Iowa Code section 708.3A would result from the expanded definition. Therefore, the correctional impact cannot be estimated.

Figure 1 shows estimates for sentencing to State prison, parole, probation, or Community-Based Corrections (CBC) residential facilities; LOS in months under those supervisions; and supervision marginal costs per day for Class D felonies. Refer to the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) memo addressed to the General Assembly, Cost Estimates Used for Correctional Impact Statements, dated January 13, 2025, for information related to the correctional system.

Figure 1 — Sentencing Estimate and Length of Stay (LOS) in Months

Minority Impact

House File 310 modifies the definition of an offense. The minority impact cannot be determined since it is not known how many additional convictions would result from the changes to the definition. Refer to the LSA memo addressed to the General Assembly, Minority Impact Statements, dated January 13, 2025, for information related to minorities in the criminal justice system.

Fiscal Impact

House File 310 may increase the number of offenders admitted to prison under Iowa Code section 708.3A. However, the extent of the increase in costs to the Department of Corrections (DOC) is unknown. Figure 2 shows the average State cost per offense for a Class D felony, an aggravated misdemeanor, and a serious misdemeanor. The estimated impact to the General Fund includes operating costs incurred by the Judicial Branch, the Indigent Defense Fund, and the DOC. The cost would be incurred across multiple fiscal years for prison and parole supervision.

Figure 2 — Average State Cost Per Offense

Sources

• Department of Corrections
• Department of Management (DOM) Criminal Justice Planning