This bill establishes standards for psychiatric medical institutions caring for youth under 21 with significant mental health conditions. It requires facilities to provide comprehensive care through a team of qualified professionals (including those with master's degrees and clinical experience), develop personalized medical care plans based on full evaluations, and meet specific licensing requirements. The bill directly affects psychiatric institutions, their staff, and youth receiving inpatient behavioral health services. Key provisions include defining "serious emotional disturbance," setting staff qualifications, and mandating care plans to reduce inpatient needs. These changes aim to improve safety and treatment quality for youth in residential facilities.
SF 5 expands Iowa's invasion of privacy law to include possessing non-consensual intimate images. It makes it a crime for someone to knowingly possess photos or videos taken without consent for sexual gratification, even if they didn't take the images themselves. This applies when the person being filmed was in partial or full nudity and had a reasonable expectation of privacy. Violating this law is classified as an aggravated misdemeanor and a tier II sex offense, requiring 10 years of sex offender registration. The bill directly affects individuals who possess such non-consensual images, broadening the scope of criminal liability beyond just capturing them.
HF 84 changes Iowa's penalties for drug paraphernalia violations. It sets a fixed $260 fine for manufacturing, delivering, selling, or possessing drug paraphernalia (previously had a $105-$855 range) and clarifies that these violations cannot be used to increase penalties for other drug crimes under Chapter 124. The bill directly affects individuals charged with paraphernalia offenses. These changes make the penalty more consistent and prevent stacking with other drug-related charges.
This bill (HSB 38) allows courts to protect minors testifying in court from trauma by permitting their testimony to be recorded via two-way, closed-circuit video and audio equipment. It directly affects minors (defined in Iowa Code §599.1) in cases where testifying near the defendant would impair their ability to communicate. The court must specifically find that this measure is necessary, and only the judge, attorneys, essential staff, and those aiding the minor’s well-being may be present with the minor during testimony. The defendant views the testimony remotely via video but is not physically present in the testimony room.
SF 174 allows courts to place children accused of breaking laws (in pending delinquency cases) into supervised apartment living arrangements as part of a court-approved agreement, instead of traditional foster care. This applies only if the child has lived continuously for at least six months in a residential treatment program or shelter and lacks family support to transition to independent living. The Iowa Department of Human Services (HHS) must pay for these placements if they meet department rules, making this a state-funded option for youth needing structured support during legal proceedings. The bill updates existing rules to provide this specific transition pathway for eligible youth.
HF 42 requires county attorneys in Iowa to review officer-involved shootings that result in death or serious bodily injury within 180 days. The county attorney must issue a written report detailing their findings, charging decision, or recommendation to convene a grand jury or refer the case to the attorney general. This report must be provided to the involved officer, their legal counsel, and their agency. If a conflict of interest exists, the review must be handled by an independent county attorney, the attorney general, or a special prosecutor instead of the regular county attorney. The bill applies specifically to cases involving law enforcement officers as defined in state law.
This bill allows victims of human trafficking in Iowa to petition courts to remove certain criminal records from public access. It directly affects individuals who committed offenses (like drug possession or prostitution) while being trafficked, enabling them to clear these records through a simplified court process. Key provisions include no filing fees, requiring only a sworn statement (with official victim documentation as evidence), and creating a presumption of trafficking victim status when documentation is provided. Serious crimes like homicide, sexual abuse, or kidnapping are excluded from this expungement. The bill was withdrawn in March 2025 and never became law.
HF 209 establishes a rural attorney recruitment assistance program, managed by the College Student Aid Commission. This program helps eligible rural counties and municipalities with populations under 26,000 recruit attorneys by offering incentive payments. Attorneys who commit to practicing full-time in an eligible rural area for five years receive annual payments, which are partially funded by the participating county or municipality and partly by the state. To qualify, attorneys must also serve as contract public defenders and participate in volunteer legal projects. The program is initially limited to five attorneys, with that limitation set to expire in 2026.
This bill (SF 66) allows courts to permit minors (under 18) and witnesses with mental illness, intellectual disabilities, or developmental disabilities to testify remotely via two-way video equipment instead of in the same courtroom as the defendant. It requires a court to make a specific finding that this is necessary to prevent trauma that would impair the witness's ability to communicate. The testimony is recorded in a separate room and displayed in the courtroom through a video connection, with only essential personnel and those aiding the witness's well-being allowed in the testimony room. The defendant can view the witness during testimony, and the witness can see the defendant, but the defendant is not physically present in the testimony room. This change aims to reduce emotional distress for vulnerable witnesses while maintaining courtroom procedures.
This bill allows Iowa courts to place children facing delinquency petitions (pending court decisions) in supervised apartment living arrangements as part of a court-approved consent decree, provided the court determines it is the least restrictive option. It expands current placement options beyond traditional foster care by explicitly including supervised apartments. The state's Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must fund these placements if the apartment meets HHS-established requirements, aligning payment with existing foster care funding rules. This directly affects juvenile court decisions, children in delinquency cases, and HHS's funding responsibilities.
