Technology

in committee · Iowa · Senate Mar 4, 2025

SF 409: A bill for an act relating to the recording and redistribution of board of parole interview proceedings, and providing penalties.

SF 409 prohibits recording or redistributing electronic board of parole interview proceedings in Iowa. It directly affects parole boards, the Department of Corrections, and individuals participating in parole interviews, requiring the Department to make inmates available for interviews and banning any recording or online sharing of electronic interviews. Violating this prohibition is a serious misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $430-$2,560 fine. The bill does not alter interview scheduling or in-person interview rules, focusing solely on electronic interview recording and distribution.

Topics ✗ TechnologyOpposes TechnologyProhibits recording of electronic parole interviews, restricting technology use in proceedings80% confidence

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in committee · Iowa · House Mar 5, 2025

HF 47: A bill for an act relating to confidential records including booking photographs.

HF 47 defines "booking photograph" as a law enforcement image taken for identification after arrest or during custody. It classifies these photos as confidential records but allows release under four specific conditions: if the person is a fugitive (to aid capture), if they pose an imminent safety threat, if a judge orders release for a legitimate interest, or if the person was convicted or pled guilty to the offense. The bill directly affects law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, courts, and individuals whose photos are captured during arrests. This amendment to Iowa Code Section 22.7 clarifies when such images may be shared publicly without requiring additional court orders in limited circumstances.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeClassifies booking photos as confidential with limited exceptions, protecting individual privacy rights in criminal justice processing.90% confidence ✓ TechnologySupports TechnologyBill classifies booking photographs as confidential records, protecting data privacy (a core aspect of technology policy) through explicit confidentiality requirements.90% confidence

Sub-Topics Judges

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in committee · Iowa · House Mar 5, 2025

HF 744: A bill for an act concerning local government processes and forms.

HF 744 requires counties and cities to make required forms (like licenses or filings) available on a public online portal. The portal must accept digital submissions while protecting personal information and cannot use Social Security numbers as identifiers. This applies directly to county officers (e.g., auditors, sheriffs) and city clerks handling public service requests. The bill does not mandate electronic signatures for all agencies but specifically updates county and city requirements for digital form access.

Topics ✓ TechnologySupports TechnologyRequires secure digital portals with personal data protection, advancing privacy in government tech adoption while enabling online services.85% confidence

Sub-Topics Data Privacy Digital Government Tags Local Government

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in committee · Iowa · House Mar 6, 2025

HF 819: A bill for an act relating to an absentee ballot marking pilot program for voters with disabilities.

HF 819 establishes a pilot program allowing voters with disabilities that prevent them from marking ballots by hand to independently and privately mark absentee ballots using assistive technology (like nonvisual or low-vision tools) or electronic devices that produce paper records. The program requires the state commissioner of elections to create rules for requesting absentee ballots by mail and to test the program in enough counties to determine statewide feasibility if not implemented statewide. The commissioner must submit annual reports to the legislature on the program’s progress by December 31 each year. The pilot program will end on July 1, 2028, unless extended.

Topics ✓ TechnologySupports TechnologyEnables assistive technology for voting accessibility, promoting digital equity for disabled voters through tech-enabled ballot marking.90% confidence

Tags Elections

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in committee · Iowa · House Mar 12, 2025

HSB 248: A bill for an act relating to public assistance programs, work requirements for the Iowa health and wellness plan, an information technology fund, the public assistance modernization fund, and the Medicaid for employed people with disabilities program and program review and report.

This bill establishes work requirements for Iowa's Health and Wellness Plan (IHAWP), requiring participants to work at least 80 hours monthly to maintain eligibility, unless exempt for reasons like age (under 19 or over 65), disability, caregiving, pregnancy, or substance use treatment. It creates an Information Technology Fund to modernize public assistance systems and transfers unspent funds from a related program into this new fund. The bill also amends Medicaid rules to expand eligibility for employed people with disabilities and mandates a state review of similar programs in other states by December 2025, with recommendations for improving employment opportunities. These changes apply directly to low-income Iowans enrolled in the IHAWP and Medicaid programs, subject to federal approval.

Topics ✗ HealthcareOpposes HealthcareImposes work requirements on Medicaid participants (80 hours/month), restricting access to health coverage unless exempt, aligning with 'oppose' indicators.85% confidence ✓ TechnologySupports TechnologyBill creates an Information Technology Fund to modernize public assistance systems, explicitly funding technology infrastructure for government services.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Medicaid

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passed · Iowa · Senate Mar 26, 2026

SF 259: A bill for an act limiting the release of personal information for traffic violations observed by an out-of-state traffic camera, making penalties applicable, and including effective date provisions.

This bill prevents Iowa state agencies and law enforcement from sharing drivers' personal information (like license or registration details) when trying to collect fines for traffic violations recorded by cameras located outside Iowa. It specifically blocks the use of such data to issue or collect fines for out-of-state camera violations, such as speeding or running red lights captured by cameras in other states. Exceptions apply only if the request involves investigating criminal or civil violations unrelated to traffic law. The law takes effect January 1, 2026.

Topics ✓ TechnologySupports TechnologyRestricts disclosure of personal driver data from out-of-state traffic cameras, strengthening data privacy protections by preventing unauthorized sharing of license/registration details.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Data Privacy

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in committee · Iowa · House May 12, 2025

HSB 339: A bill for an act relating to and making appropriations to the justice system, providing for properly related matters including indigent defense and representation, certain administrative procedures involving law enforcement officers, the corrections capital reinvestment fund, and a corrections federal receipts fund, and including effective date provisions.

HSB 339 is a bill that appropriates funds to various parts of the state's justice system for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2026. It allocates money to the Department of Justice for general operations, victim assistance grants (including for human trafficking victims), legal services for persons in poverty, and cybersecurity improvements. The bill also provides funding for the Office of Consumer Advocate and for the operation of correctional facilities, such as Fort Madison and Anamosa. Additionally, it requires the Department of Justice to report on its funding sources and to reimburse the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy for an instructor position focused on human trafficking training.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesBill explicitly appropriates funds to justice system programs including indigent defense, victim assistance, and corrections, strengthening public service funding within state budget allocation.95% confidence ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeFunds indigent defense, victim services, legal aid for poor, and corrections reinvestment - directly advances criminal justice system enhancements.95% confidence ✓ TechnologySupports TechnologyFunds cybersecurity improvements within justice system appropriations, directly advancing tech security measures.90% confidence

Sub-Topics Human Trafficking Cybersecurity

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in committee · Iowa · House Feb 26, 2025

HF 229: A bill for an act relating to the unauthorized placement of a global positioning device and providing penalties.

HF 229 prohibits placing a GPS tracker on someone else's vehicle without their consent or accessing location data from such a device. It directly affects individuals who install or use trackers on vehicles they don't own or lease. The law includes key exceptions for vehicle manufacturers, insurance companies (with owner permission), law enforcement, parents tracking minors, and employers monitoring company vehicles. Violating the bill is a serious misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,560 fine.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeProhibits unauthorized GPS tracking on vehicles, protecting individual privacy rights - a civil rights aspect of criminal justice reform - while allowing lawful law enforcement use.85% confidence ✓ TechnologySupports TechnologyProhibits unauthorized GPS tracking and access to location data, directly protecting data privacy under technology policy framework.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Corrections Law Enforcement

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in committee · Iowa · House May 15, 2025

HF 849: A bill for an act relating to harassment by the dissemination, publication, distribution, or posting of personal information, and making penalties applicable.

HF 849 expands the definition of harassment to include the unauthorized sharing of personal information. The bill makes it an offense to purposefully disseminate, publish, distribute, or post another person's personal information without their consent, with the intent to threaten, intimidate, annoy, or alarm them or encourage others to do so. "Personal information" is defined to include contact details like home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, social media profiles, places of employment, and photographic or film depictions. A violation of this provision is classified as harassment in the first degree, an aggravated misdemeanor, carrying potential penalties of confinement and fines.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeBill criminalizes unauthorized sharing of personal information for harassment, strengthening protections against digital harassment and enhancing civil rights within criminal justice framework.95% confidence ✓ TechnologySupports TechnologyBill criminalizes unauthorized sharing of personal data (addresses, emails, social media) to prevent harassment, directly strengthening data privacy protections per topic description.90% confidence

Sub-Topics Data Privacy Social Media

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signed · Iowa · Senate Jun 6, 2025

SF 146: A bill for an act relating to the use or creation of bots to purchase event tickets on the internet, and providing civil penalties.

This bill makes it illegal to use automated software (bots) to purchase event tickets online. It directly affects consumers who use such bots to buy tickets and ticket sellers who enable or facilitate automated purchases. Violators face civil penalties, meaning they could be fined for breaking the law. The bill passed the Senate unanimously and was signed into law by the Governor in June 2025.

Topics ✗ TechnologyOpposes TechnologyRestricts use of bots (technology) for ticket purchasing, limiting a technology application per bill's explicit ban on automated software.85% confidence