Criminal Justice

passed · Iowa · House Mar 31, 2026

HF 2629: A bill for an act relating to trespass, and providing penalties.

HF 2629 proposes a new criminal offense for "unlawful squatting" in Iowa, targeting individuals who enter and occupy someone else's property without legal permission. It defines unlawful squatting as entering and residing on a dwelling, commercial building, or vacant property without showing valid documents like a lease, deed, rental receipt, or owner authorization - unless the person is an immediate family member of the owner. Violations are classified as a serious misdemeanor (first offense), aggravated misdemeanor (second), or class D felony (third+), with fines and jail time increasing for repeat offenses. The bill also requires property owners (or their authorized representatives) to report squatting to police and allows victims to sue for damages, while exempting law enforcement acting in good faith. This is a proposed law introduced on February 19, 2026, not yet enacted.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeExpands criminalization by creating new offense for squatting, increasing penalties for non-violent occupancy, aligning with oppose indicators.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✗ Opposes Criminal Justice

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passed · Iowa · House Mar 26, 2026

HF 826: A bill for an act relating to obscene materials involving minors, and providing penalties.

HF 826 creates new offenses related to "obscene material involving a minor." The bill defines this material as any visual depiction of a minor engaging in a prohibited sexual act that meets specific criteria for being obscene. It prohibits individuals from knowingly producing, distributing, receiving, or possessing with intent to distribute such material, or attempting these actions. Violations are an aggravated misdemeanor for a first offense and a class "D" felony for subsequent offenses, requiring sex offender registration. The bill exempts law enforcement, educational materials, and internet service providers.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeBill expands criminalization by creating new offenses for obscene materials involving minors and increases penalties (aggravated misdemeanor to class D felony), aligning with 'oppose' indicators of harsher sentencing and expanded criminalization.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✗ Opposes Criminal Justice

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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 No ✗ Opposes Criminal Justice

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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 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

passed · Iowa · House Apr 22, 2025

HF 946: A bill for an act relating to the enforcement of immigration laws, and providing penalties.

HF 946 establishes a process for addressing law enforcement officers, including elected sheriffs, who knowingly and intentionally fail to comply with state immigration enforcement laws. Under this bill, such officers can be investigated by the Attorney General. If a complaint is found valid and the officer continues to refuse compliance, their case may be referred to the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy Council. The Council could then receive a recommendation to revoke the officer's certification.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeBill creates accountability for law enforcement officers failing to comply with immigration laws, enhancing police accountability within criminal justice law enforcement.85% confidence ✗ ImmigrationOpposes ImmigrationMandates compliance with state immigration enforcement, imposing penalties for non-compliance, increasing state-level enforcement.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✗ Opposes Criminal Justice

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passed · Iowa · House Apr 22, 2025

HF 937: A bill for an act relating to certain administrative procedures involving law enforcement officers, including the revocation or suspension of law enforcement officer certification and communications in professional confidence, and including effective date provisions.

HF 937 modifies administrative procedures for law enforcement officers, primarily impacting their professional certification and confidentiality in peer support. The bill narrows the specific grounds for revoking or suspending an officer's certification, limiting it to instances where an officer was discharged for just cause or resigned during pending disciplinary action warranting discharge. It also applies standard rules of evidence to contested certification cases and ensures officers receive investigative reports. Additionally, the bill expands confidentiality protections for communications made by officers and certain civilian employees to peer support counselors during crisis interventions.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeNarrows certification revocation grounds and requires standard evidence, weakening accountability oversight for law enforcement officers.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✗ Opposes Criminal Justice

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passed · Iowa · House Apr 10, 2025

HF 572: A bill for an act establishing the criminal offense of the smuggling of persons, and providing penalties.

HF 572 establishes a new criminal offense for smuggling persons in Iowa, targeting individuals who knowingly transport people for payment while violating federal immigration laws. It specifically covers actions like using vehicles to evade officers, encouraging entry/remaining in the U.S. by hiding people, or guiding groups onto agricultural land without owner consent. Penalties range from a class C felony (standard) to class B or A felonies if aggravating factors apply, such as involving children, causing serious injury/death, or using firearms. A key exception allows close family members (within second degree of blood or marriage) to avoid prosecution for most offenses.

Topics ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeCreates new criminal offense with enhanced penalties for immigration smuggling, expanding criminalization without reform elements.95% confidence ✗ ImmigrationOpposes ImmigrationBill establishes criminal penalties for smuggling persons violating federal immigration laws, increasing state-level immigration enforcement against smuggling activities.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✗ Opposes Criminal Justice

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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 | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✗ Opposes Criminal Justice

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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