Criminal Justice

signed · Iowa · Senate May 13, 2026

SF 2114: A bill for an act relating to intimidation with a dangerous weapon, and making penalties applicable.

SF 2114 amends Iowa law to define intimidation involving a dangerous weapon as a felony, directly affecting anyone who threatens or shoots/throws such a weapon at others to cause fear of serious injury. It creates two felony classifications: Class C (up to 10 years in prison and up to $13,660 fine) for more severe cases, and Class D (up to 5 years and up to $10,245 fine) for less severe cases. The bill removes the previous reference to "assembly of people" but keeps the core offense of threatening with a weapon at individuals or occupied spaces (like buildings or vehicles). Penalties apply when the threat causes reasonable fear of serious injury or is carried out under circumstances that make the threat credible.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeBill elevates intimidation with dangerous weapon to felony with up to 10-year prison term, increasing penalties for this offense.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✗ Opposes Criminal Justice

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 No ✗ 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 311: A bill for an act relating to city civil service employees and related procedures and including effective date provisions.

This bill revises regulations for city civil service employees, primarily impacting police and fire departments, and modifies city civil service commissions. It prohibits cities with civil service commissions from establishing citizen review boards for officer conduct and mandates that larger cities (over 50,000 residents) establish civil service commissions with five to seven members. The legislation also changes the standard for employee discipline, requiring "just cause" and proof by a "preponderance of the evidence" for violations of law, city policies, or department rules, with cities bearing the burden to show punishment is proportionate. Furthermore, it requires the disclosure of exculpatory evidence to employees facing charges and adjusts appeal hearing procedures.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeBill prohibits citizen review boards for officer conduct, reducing police accountability and oversight mechanisms.85% confidence ✗ Labor & EmploymentOpposes Labor & EmploymentBill restricts collective bargaining by prohibiting citizen review boards and changes discipline standards, limiting public employee protections.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✗ Opposes Criminal Justice

passed · Iowa · Senate May 15, 2025

SF 395: A bill for an act relating to illegal gaming, and making penalties applicable.

SF 395 expands the definition of illegal gaming under Iowa law. The bill defines "account sharing" as sharing access to a gambling account to conceal a person's identity, and "proxy betting" as placing a wager on behalf of another to hide their identity. It adds these two activities, along with delivering funds received for a fee outside a gambling structure for wagering, to the list of prohibited acts considered illegal gaming. Individuals found engaging in these activities would be subject to existing criminal penalties for illegal gaming, which range from serious misdemeanors to class "C" felonies based on the amount involved and any prior offenses.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeExpands criminalization of gambling activities by adding new prohibited acts (account sharing, proxy betting) to illegal gaming, increasing penalties under criminal law without reform elements.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✗ Opposes Criminal Justice

Track

signed · Iowa · House Mar 28, 2025

HF 181: A bill for an act prohibiting open containers of beverages containing tetrahydrocannabinol in the passenger area of motor vehicles on highways, and making penalties applicable.

This bill expands Iowa's existing open container laws to include beverages containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), directly affecting drivers and passengers in motor vehicles on public roads. It prohibits the possession of an open or unsealed container of any beverage with THC in the vehicle's passenger area. This restriction applies regardless of whether the THC beverage is otherwise legal, though such containers may be transported in the trunk or behind the last upright seat if the vehicle lacks a trunk. Violations of this prohibition would be considered a simple misdemeanor, punishable by a scheduled fine.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeBill expands criminalization of THC beverages in vehicles, increasing penalties and restricting lawful possession, which opposes criminal justice reform principles.85% confidence ✗ TransportationOpposes TransportationBill restricts transportation by prohibiting open THC containers in passenger areas of vehicles, limiting driver and passenger mobility options.90% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✗ Opposes Criminal Justice

signed · Iowa · House Mar 28, 2025

HF 180: A bill for an act relating to the criminal offense of grooming and the sex offender registry, and making penalties applicable.

This bill enhances penalties for the criminal offense of grooming. It mandates that individuals convicted of grooming, which is a Class D felony, must register as a Tier I sex offender. Additionally, persons convicted of grooming will receive a special sentence, including 10 years in the custody of the Iowa Department of Corrections with parole eligibility, and must register as a sex offender for 10 years upon their release. This bill directly affects individuals convicted of grooming by imposing these specific registration and sentencing requirements.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeBill increases mandatory sentences and expands criminalization by requiring sex offender registration for grooming convictions.90% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✗ Opposes Criminal Justice