Criminal Justice

introduced · Iowa · Legislature

5449XD: Correctional Facilities, Contraband (5449XD) - Corrections, Department of

This bill (5449XD) makes possessing certain items in Iowa correctional facilities a class D felony. It defines "restricted or disruptive contraband" as non-illegal items (like tobacco, cell phones, money, or synthetic drugs) prohibited by facilities for security reasons. Possessing such items carries a penalty of up to 5 years in prison, and any punishment must be served consecutively to the inmate's existing sentence. The bill also creates an aggravated misdemeanor for failing to report contraband to facility staff. It directly affects inmates in Iowa's state correctional facilities.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeBill classifies possession of non-illegal items (tobacco, phones, money) in prisons as class D felony with consecutive sentencing, expanding criminalization and increasing mandatory penalties.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Corrections

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introduced · Iowa · Legislature

5367XD: Theft of Public Funds (5367XD) - Auditor of State

This bill increases penalties for public employees and officials who steal more than $10,000 from government entities. It requires courts to impose mandatory prison time without options for probation, deferred judgment, or suspended sentences in these cases. The law applies broadly to state, school, and local government employees - including contractors - and defines "public employer" to include all government bodies. Courts may only avoid mandatory incarceration if the defendant proves exceptional mitigating circumstances with clear evidence.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeMandates mandatory prison time without alternatives for public fund theft, increasing penalties and restricting defendant rights95% confidence

Sub-Topics Corrections Probation & Parole Sentencing

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introduced · Iowa · Legislature

5450XD: Sexual Misconduct with Offenders and Juveniles, Felony (5450XD) - Corrections, Department of

This bill (5450XD) increases penalties for sexual misconduct by certain correctional and juvenile facility staff. It upgrades the offense from an aggravated misdemeanor to a class "D" felony for peace officers or employees/contractors/volunteers of correctional facilities, juvenile placement facilities, or county jails who engage in sex acts with people in their custody. Specifically, it applies to staff of the Department of Corrections, judicial district correctional services, juvenile placement facilities, and county jails when misconduct occurs with inmates, juveniles in care, or county jail prisoners. A class "D" felony carries up to five years in prison and fines between $1,025 and $10,245.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeBill upgrades sexual misconduct penalties for correctional staff to felony, enhancing accountability in custody facilities, aligning with criminal justice reform goals.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Corrections Juvenile Justice

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in committee · Iowa · House Feb 20, 2025

HSB 167: A bill for an act relating to the sealing of juvenile court records, and including effective date provisions.

HSB 167 modifies Iowa's process for sealing juvenile court records. It requires courts to automatically schedule sealing hearings two years after the last court action or when a person turns 18 (whichever is later) for those involved in delinquency cases, rather than requiring a separate application. The bill also mandates automatic sealing of all records when a petition is dismissed, and creates new pathways for sealing records of individuals adjudicated delinquent for serious offenses (like aggravated misdemeanors or felonies) if the court finds sealing is in the person's and public's best interest. Additionally, it directs courts to identify and seal eligible historical records within one year of the law's effective date. This bill directly affects juveniles in Iowa's court system who have completed their cases without subsequent felony convictions.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeAutomates juvenile record sealing, reducing barriers to rehabilitation and aligning with criminal justice reform goals by limiting long-term consequences for young offenders.85% confidence

Sub-Topics Juvenile Justice

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died · Iowa · House May 14, 2025

HF 452: A bill for an act relating to human trafficking, including screening children, civil statutes of limitations, an annual stakeholder meeting and report, depositions of victims, restitution, restorative facilities and protective services, and investigation and prosecution, and making appropriations.

HF 452 aims to combat human trafficking by implementing several new provisions. The bill requires children subject to certain complaints or abuse allegations to be screened for commercial sexual exploitation and mandates substance use disorder screenings for children prior to their final dispositional hearing. It extends the civil statute of limitations for victims of child sexual abuse and human trafficking, allowing more time to file legal actions. Additionally, the bill permits video depositions for human trafficking victims in criminal prosecutions to potentially ease the burden of in-person testimony. Finally, it establishes an annual meeting of various stakeholders to develop legislative proposals to further combat human trafficking.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeExtends statute of limitations for trafficking victims and mandates child exploitation screenings, strengthening victim protections in criminal justice proceedings.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Human Trafficking Victims' Rights

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passed · Iowa · Senate Apr 18, 2025

SF 625: A bill for an act relating to gambling regulation, including enforcement, license fees, tax rates, and the use of associated revenue, making appropriations, and including effective date provisions.

SF 625 modifies Iowa's gambling tax revenue allocation. It directs $8 million annually from sports wagering receipts to the public safety equipment fund starting July 1, 2026, for enforcement activities like boat and racetrack inspections. The bill also establishes a gaming enforcement revolving fund to cover direct costs for criminal investigation agents, adjusts regulatory fees based on prior-year unspent funds, and creates an Iowa horse racing fund to distribute tax revenue from simulcast horse races to counties and the commission. These changes affect gambling licensees through fee adjustments and ensure specific tax revenues fund public safety and horse racing operations.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesBill directs $8M annually from gambling taxes to public safety equipment fund and creates new funds for enforcement/horse racing, increasing targeted government spending.95% confidence ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeBill allocates $8M annually to public safety equipment fund for enforcement activities (including criminal investigation agents), directly funding law enforcement within criminal justice.90% confidence

Sub-Topics Revenue

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in committee · Iowa · House Mar 7, 2025

HSB 181: A bill for an act relating to theft, forgery, and fraud involving a gift card, and providing penalties.

This bill creates new criminal penalties for gift card theft, forgery, and fraud in Iowa. It directly affects consumers who own gift cards, businesses that sell or issue them, and individuals committing fraud. Key provisions make it illegal to steal gift cards or their redemption information without consent (aggravated misdemeanor), alter gift cards (aggravated misdemeanor), or use stolen cards to obtain goods/services (with penalties ranging from serious misdemeanors to class C felonies based on the stolen value). Penalties are tiered by the amount stolen: under $500 is a serious misdemeanor, $500-$1,000 is an aggravated misdemeanor, $1,000-$5,000 is a class D felony, and over $5,000 is a class C felony. The law also allows aggregating stolen value from multiple transactions within six months for charging purposes.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeCreates new criminal penalties for gift card fraud, expanding criminalization without reform elements or defendant protections.90% confidence

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passed · Iowa · Senate May 15, 2025

SF 35: A bill for an act relating to harassment by the dissemination, publication, distribution, or posting of personal information, and making penalties applicable.

SF 35 expands the definition of harassment to include the unauthorized sharing of personal information. This bill directly affects individuals whose private contact or identity details are shared without their consent, as well as those who engage in such actions. It specifies that a person commits harassment if they purposefully disseminate, publish, distribute, or post another person's personal information without consent, intending to threaten, intimidate, annoy, or alarm them or encourage others to do so. "Personal information" is broadly defined to include contact details like home address, phone numbers, email, social media profiles, place of employment, and photographic depictions. Violations of this provision are classified as harassment in the first degree, an aggravated misdemeanor.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeExpands criminalization by creating new misdemeanor offense for unauthorized sharing of personal information, increasing penalties for harassment.85% confidence ✓ TechnologySupports TechnologyBill prohibits unauthorized sharing of personal information, directly strengthening data privacy protections against harassment.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Data Privacy Social Media

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in committee · Iowa · Senate Mar 4, 2025

SF 362: A bill for an act relating to administrative investigations under the peace officer, public safety, and emergency personnel bill of rights, civil service disciplinary hearings and appeals, and communications in professional confidence, and including effective date provisions.

SF 362 amends Iowa law to clarify procedures for administrative investigations and disciplinary actions involving public safety personnel, including law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical staff. It requires agencies to provide officers with complaint details, witness statements, and complete investigation reports upon request, and establishes new court review processes for officers placed on Brady-Giglio lists (disclosure lists for misconduct records). The bill also adds confidentiality protections for communications during peer support counseling and defines key terms like "formal investigation" and "interview" to limit their scope. These changes directly affect Iowa public safety employees facing disciplinary actions under civil service rules.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeBill enhances police accountability by requiring disclosure of complaint details and establishing court review for officers on Brady-Giglio misconduct lists.85% confidence

Sub-Topics Courts Law Enforcement

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passed · Iowa · House Apr 3, 2025

HF 899: A bill for an act relating to indecent exposure, including the unlawful electronic transmission of sexually explicit visual material, and providing penalties.

HF 899 makes it a serious misdemeanor (punishable by up to 1 year in jail and a $430-$2,560 fine) to knowingly send unsolicited, unwanted explicit images electronically to someone 18 or older. It specifically prohibits sending images showing: (1) a person's genitals or pubic area, (2) someone engaged in a sex act, or (3) a male person's visible genitals in an erection. The law applies to adults who send such material they know or should know the recipient didn't want. This bill directly affects individuals who share unsolicited explicit images via email, text, or other digital means in Iowa.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeExpands criminalization by creating new offense for unsolicited explicit images, increasing penalties for digital communication without consent.90% confidence

Sub-Topics Corrections

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