Judiciary Bills Headed to the Governor

March 21, 2024 - Even though session is almost a month from being finished, several bills have already passed both the House and Senate and will be on the Governor’s desk soon. Below are Judiciary bills headed for the Governor’s approval:

HF 2318/ HSB 533 Bestiality

HF 2318 raises penalties for sexual abuse of animals and ensures that those who abuse animals in this way can’t use any loopholes in the law to avoid prosecution.

SF 144- Lasers

SF 144 makes it an assault to shine a laser at an aircraft. Penalties range from simple misdemeanor to class “C” felony.

SF 295- Guardian and Conservatorship

SF 295 makes changes to the guardian and conservatorship bills passed since 2018. The changes simplify some of the process for guardians while still ensuring appropriate records are kept.

SF 2095/HF 2454/ HSB 614- Religious Freedom Restoration Act

Religious Freedom Restoration Act- prohibits the government from substantially burdening a person’s free exercise of religion. Religious conduct cannot be treated more restrictively than secular conduct in reasonable cases. The court must apply the compelling government interest test when determining if a person’s religious freedom has been unnecessarily burdened.

SF 2171- Amicus Brief

Allows the Majority leader of the Senate, the Minority leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the House, or the Minority leader of the house to file an amicus brief in any appellate proceeding when the constitutionality of an act of the legislature is in question. Each leader may file their own brief and they are not required to seek the leave of the court or consent of the parties. Legislators may only sign one brief in proceedings.

SF 2243/HF 2241/ HF 2049- Sexual Exploitation of a Minor- Altered Images

Taking the image of a minor and altering it into a pornographic image is a class “D” felony for a first offense and a class “C” felony for additional offenses.

SF 2262 /HF 2238- Probation Officer Access to Information

Gives federal probation officers access to information on Iowa courts. Allows access to court information and binds federal probation officers to confidentiality agreements all others who have access are bound to.

SF 2340/HF 2567/ HSB 703- Illegal Entry into Iowa

Allows law enforcement to arrest a person who has twice entered the country illegally, if they are in the state of Iowa. This bill is similar to Texas SB4 and allows the state of Iowa to remove illegal aliens with or without the assistance of the federal government.