SF 7 – Peace officers carrying firearms on school grounds
SSB 1002 – OWI and habitual offenders
SSB 1011 – Speeding as vehicular homicide
SSB 1017 – Carry firearms while dropping off or picking up at school
COMMITTEE ACTION:
SF 7 – Peace officers carrying firearms on school grounds
SF 7 specifies that peace officers or reserve peace officers, including those that have not been certified and federal officers when the officers’ employment requires going armed, may carry a firearm on school grounds, regardless of whether they are on duty. This is a fix for a previous firearms bill that left out several groups of law enforcement officers authorized to carry on school property.
[1/23: short form (Zaun absent)]
SSB 1002 – OWI and habitual offenders
SSB 1002 provides that a person convicted of a third or subsequent Operating While Intoxicated (OWI -a class “D” felony”) can also be charged as a habitual offender if they previously have been convicted of at least two felonies. The maximum sentence for a habitual offender is 15 years with a three-year mandatory minimum. This bill is in response to the 2018 Iowa Supreme Court decision in Noll v. Iowa Dist. Court for Muscatine County, which said a person with two previously felonies who then had a third OWI could not be charged as an habitual offender. Everyone at the subcommittee meeting seemed to think this already was law.
[1/23: short form (Absent: Zaun)]
SSB 1003 – Certifying a trust
SSB 1003 is a Bar Association proposal that would allow any current trustee or an attorney for a current trustee to sign off on and execute certification of trust documents in lieu of the requirement that all trustees sign off on the certification of trust documents. A certification generally is a summary or quotation of selected parts of the trust. It allows a person or entity to know the correct name of the trust and to be sure that the trust has power over its assets. A certification usually does not identify the beneficiaries or the assets, so that information is kept confidential. This legislation will streamline legal processes and facilitate transactions while maintaining privacy.
[1/23: short form (Absent: Zaun)]
SSB 1011 – Speeding as vehicular homicide
SSB 1011 adds a potential new criminal charge of “homicide by vehicle” when an individual exceeds a posted speed limit by 25 miles per hour or more and unintentionally kills another person, if the death is directly or indirectly attributable to the excessive speed. A conviction or guilty plea is punished as a Class “C” felony – up to ten years in prison and a fine of between $1,000 and $10,000. Also under the bill, it will be a Class “D” felony if a person exceeds the speed limit by 25 miles per hour or more and, as a result, causes a serious injury. A “D” felony is punished by up to five years in prison and a fine of between $750 and $7,500. The bill excludes public safety officers if the death or injury occurs while performing official duties.
[1/23: short form (No: Taylor; Absent: Zaun)]
SSB 1017 – Carry firearms while dropping off or picking up at school
SSB 1017 allows those who have a valid non-professional permit to carry to carry while on school grounds when transporting a person to or from school. However, the person carrying must remain in a parking area or driveway designed for vehicles.
[1/23: 12-2 (No: Hogg, Petersen; Absent: Zaun)]