Criminal Justice

passed · Iowa · House Mar 12, 2026

HF 2584: A bill for an act establishing drug-free homeless service zones, and providing penalties.

HF 2584 establishes "drug-free homeless service zones" around facilities that provide shelter or housing for homeless individuals and receive government funding. It prohibits selling, transferring, or possessing drugs within 300 feet of these facilities and requires operators to display bilingual signs identifying the zone. Violations carry increased prison sentences (up to one year longer), mandatory fines of at least $2,000, and disqualify operators from state homelessness grants for three years if they allow drug use on premises. The bill directly affects homeless service providers, individuals using these services, and law enforcement operating within designated zones.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeIncreases prison sentences and fines for drug offenses near homeless shelters, expanding criminalization without rehabilitation focus.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✗ Opposes Criminal Justice

Track

passed · Iowa · House Mar 10, 2026

HF 2719: A bill for an act relating to the collection and publication of judicial officer performance information.

HF 2719 requires Iowa’s state commissioner of elections to collect and publish specific, data-driven performance metrics for district court judges, including bond-setting patterns, release decisions for violent vs. nonviolent offenses, sentencing comparisons, reversal rates, case processing times, and case disposal rates. The bill directly affects all district court judges, associate juvenile judges, and associate probate judges in Iowa by mandating public disclosure of these metrics in an online, searchable format with machine-readable data. Key provisions include adding reliability warnings for metrics based on small case volumes, requiring a methodology report explaining how data is adjusted, and including a mandatory disclaimer noting that statistics reflect case complexity more than judicial correctness. The information is intended to inform voters during judicial retention elections, with judges also allowed to add brief personal statements about their philosophy.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeRequires public disclosure of judicial metrics including sentencing patterns and release decisions, enhancing court transparency and accountability in criminal justice.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Criminal Justice

Track

passed · Iowa · House Mar 3, 2026

HF 2565: A bill for an act establishing a human trafficking investigative task force.

HF 2565 establishes the Iowa Human Trafficking Task Force within the Department of Public Safety to coordinate statewide efforts against human trafficking. The task force will operate across four geographic quadrants (divided by I-35 and I-80) with specialized staff including investigators, victim advocates, cybercrime specialists, and a deputy director. It will serve as the primary contact for trafficking reports, develop data-sharing strategies, oversee statewide training, and submit annual reports to the legislature. The bill also creates a dedicated special prosecution team within the Attorney General’s office to handle trafficking-related cases. This law directly affects law enforcement agencies (required to assist the task force), human trafficking victims (through specialized support), and prosecutors handling trafficking cases.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeEstablishes dedicated human trafficking task force to enhance law enforcement coordination, victim protection, and data-sharing within criminal justice framework.90% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Criminal Justice

Track

signed · Iowa · Senate Jun 27, 2025

SF 648: A bill for an act relating to and making appropriations to the judicial branch including judicial officer salaries and interpreter or translator fees, and including effective date provisions.

SF 648 allocates state funds to cover judicial officer salaries and interpreter/translator fees within the court system. It directly affects court employees, judges, and individuals requiring language assistance during legal proceedings. The bill provides the necessary budgetary resources to pay these staff members and cover translation costs, ensuring courts can operate effectively. It includes specific timing details for when the funding becomes effective. This is a funding measure, not a policy change, and it became law after the Governor signed it on June 11, 2025.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeFunds judicial branch operations (courts, salaries, interpreters), ensuring effective criminal justice system functioning per subject list and summary.90% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Criminal Justice

signed · Iowa · Senate Jun 27, 2025

SF 644: A bill for an act relating to and making appropriations to the justice system, providing for properly related matters including indigent defense and representation, the corrections capital reinvestment fund, and a corrections federal receipts fund, and including effective date and retroactive applicability provisions.

SF 644 is a funding bill that allocates state money to key parts of the justice system. It directly provides resources for legal representation for people who cannot afford an attorney (indigent defense), funds for rebuilding or improving correctional facilities (corrections capital reinvestment), and manages federal funds received by the corrections system (corrections federal receipts fund). The bill specifies how these funds are to be used and when the funding takes effect. It was signed into law by the Governor on June 11, 2025.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesBill allocates state funds to justice system programs including indigent defense and corrections capital reinvestment, directly advancing essential public service funding within budget appropriations.95% confidence ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeFunds indigent defense, corrections infrastructure, and federal fund management - directly allocates state resources to strengthen justice system components per bill summary.90% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Criminal Justice

signed · Iowa · Senate Jun 11, 2025

SF 462: A bill for an act relating to weapons, including mandatory minimum sentences relating to the control, possession, receipt, or transportation of a firearm or offensive weapon by a felon, and the sharing of identifying information of persons prohibited from acquiring a pistol or revolver by court order, and providing penalties.

SF 462 strengthens firearm restrictions for convicted felons by mandating minimum prison sentences for possessing, receiving, or transporting firearms or offensive weapons. It directly affects individuals convicted of felonies who are prohibited from owning guns under state law. The bill requires courts to share identifying information about these prohibited individuals with law enforcement to prevent gun sales. Additionally, it establishes penalties for violations, focusing on reducing firearm access by high-risk individuals.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeMandates minimum sentences for felon firearm possession, expanding criminalization and reducing judicial discretion per 'oppose' indicators.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✗ Opposes Criminal Justice

signed · Iowa · House Jun 6, 2025

HF 879: A bill for an act relating to critical infrastructure sabotage, and making penalties applicable.

HF 879 strengthens penalties for intentionally damaging critical infrastructure, such as power grids, water systems, or transportation networks. It increases criminal penalties for sabotage acts that threaten public safety or disrupt essential services. The law directly affects individuals who commit such acts by imposing stricter fines and potential prison sentences. This bill, signed into law by the Governor on May 1, 2025, modifies existing statutes to apply enhanced penalties to these specific offenses.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeIncreases penalties for infrastructure sabotage, aligning with oppose indicators of harsher sentencing.90% confidence ✓ EnergySupports EnergyBill protects energy infrastructure (power grids) via enhanced sabotage penalties, directly supporting energy infrastructure security as per topic description.95% confidence ✓ TransportationSupports TransportationBill explicitly protects transportation networks from sabotage by increasing penalties, aligning with 'protect' indicator for support.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✗ Opposes Criminal Justice

signed · Iowa · Senate May 19, 2025

SF 474: A bill for an act relating to services and support for youth, including treatment, physical assessments, and behavioral health evaluations for youth involved in juvenile delinquency and child in need of assistance proceedings; the licensing and certification of certain residential facilities; the provision of home and community-based services and habilitation services to certain youth by residential programs; administration and supervision of juvenile court services; and the suspension of Hawki eligibility for inmates of public institutions.

This bill updates laws concerning services and support for youth under 21, especially those involved in involuntary commitment, juvenile delinquency, or child and family in need of assistance proceedings. It revises regulations for psychiatric medical institutions for children (PMICs), updating definitions and requiring them to provide comprehensive care that includes physical assessments and behavioral health evaluations. The bill also addresses the licensing and certification of other residential facilities, the provision of home and community-based services to youth, and the administration of juvenile court services. Finally, it modifies Hawki eligibility for inmates of public institutions.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeBill improves rehabilitation services for youth in juvenile delinquency, enhancing treatment and behavioral health evaluations to support criminal justice reform and reduce recidivism.85% confidence ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareBill expands behavioral health services, requires physical assessments, and strengthens care for youth in juvenile proceedings, improving access to mental health support.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Criminal Justice

signed · Iowa · House May 19, 2025

HF 643: A bill for an act requiring the department of health and human services to reimburse a county for the temporary holding of, or confinement of, a sexually violent predator who commits a public offense while subject to an order of civil commitment.

House File 643 requires the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to reimburse counties for the costs of temporarily holding or confining sexually violent predators (SVPs). This applies when an SVP, already under a civil commitment order, commits a new public offense and is subsequently transferred to or sentenced to a county jail. HHS must pay the county $50 per day for the duration the SVP is held or confined in the county jail. The bill specifies that these reimbursements will be paid from funds appropriated for the treatment and commitment of sexually violent predators or from other designated transferred funds.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeBill ensures state reimbursement for county costs when SVPs are held, supporting financial stability for criminal justice facilities and reducing burden on local governments.75% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Criminal Justice

signed · Iowa · House May 19, 2025

HF 549: A bill for an act relating to the review of an officer-involved shooting case by a county attorney.

This bill establishes new requirements for county attorneys regarding the review of officer-involved shooting cases resulting in death or serious bodily injury. It mandates that county attorneys review evidence and then either issue a written opinion and charging decision, convene a grand jury, or refer the case to the attorney general. A written report detailing the review's results must be provided to the officer involved and their employing agency within 180 days of the county attorney receiving evidence. Furthermore, if a conflict of interest arises, the review must be referred to an independent prosecutor.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeBill enhances police accountability by requiring county attorney review of officer-involved shootings, strengthening criminal justice oversight and due process.90% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Criminal Justice