House File 120 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 120 BY BROWN-POWERS A BILL FOR An Act relating to domestic abuse risk assessment and 1 deterrence. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 1765YH (2) 90 dg/rh
H.F. 120 Section 1. Section 236.12, subsection 3, Code 2023, is 1 amended to read as follows: 2 3. a. As described in subsection 2 , paragraph b , c , 3 d , e , or f , the peace officer shall arrest the person 4 whom the peace officer believes to be the primary physical 5 aggressor. The duty of the officer to arrest extends only 6 to those persons involved who are believed to have committed 7 an assault. Persons acting with justification, as defined 8 in section 704.3 , are not subject to mandatory arrest. In 9 identifying the primary physical aggressor, a peace officer 10 shall consider the need to protect victims of domestic abuse, 11 the relative degree of injury or fear inflicted on the persons 12 involved, and any history of domestic abuse between the persons 13 involved. A peace officers identification of the primary 14 physical aggressor shall not be based on the consent of the 15 victim to any subsequent prosecution or on the relationship of 16 the persons involved in the incident, and shall not be based 17 solely upon the absence of visible indications of injury or 18 impairment. 19 b. If no arrest has been made pursuant to subsection 2, 20 paragraph a , the peace officer shall perform a risk assessment 21 of the person the peace officer believes to be the primary 22 physical aggressor based on rules adopted by the department 23 in accordance with section 236.16, subsection 1, paragraph 24 f . Once a risk assessment has been completed, the peace 25 officer shall provide informational materials prepared by the 26 department pursuant to section 236.16, subsection 1, paragraph 27 h , to the primary physical aggressor. 28 Sec. 2. Section 236.12, Code 2023, is amended by adding the 29 following new subsection: 30 NEW SUBSECTION . 3A. Prior to the release of a person 31 arrested under subsection 2, the police department or sheriffs 32 office responsible for the persons arrest shall perform a 33 risk assessment of the person based on rules adopted by the 34 department in accordance with section 236.16, subsection 1, 35 -1- LSB 1765YH (2) 90 dg/rh 1/ 7
H.F. 120 paragraph f . Upon completion of the risk assessment, the 1 police department or sheriffs office shall transmit the 2 risk assessment to the appropriate judicial department of 3 correctional services. 4 Sec. 3. Section 236.16, subsection 1, Code 2023, is amended 5 by adding the following new paragraphs: 6 NEW PARAGRAPH . f. (1) Adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A 7 to create a risk assessment classification system to categorize 8 the potential threat a primary physical aggressor identified 9 pursuant to section 236.12, subsection 3, poses to an abused 10 person. Categories of risk shall be established based on the 11 following: 12 (a) The number of previous and current domestic abuse 13 assault convictions of the primary physical aggressor. 14 (b) The number of times the primary physical aggressor has 15 violated a temporary, emergency, or protective order issued 16 pursuant to this chapter. 17 (c) Whether the primary physical aggressor has been 18 convicted of a felony. 19 (d) Whether the primary physical aggressor has been 20 convicted of illegally using, carrying, or possessing a 21 dangerous weapon as defined in section 702.7. 22 (e) The number of offenses committed by the primary physical 23 aggressor that occurred in other jurisdictions that are 24 substantially similar to the offenses listed in subparagraph 25 divisions (a) through (d). 26 (2) Rules adopted pursuant to this paragraph shall include 27 but not be limited to a requirement that a peace officer 28 or law enforcement agency shall make reasonable efforts to 29 obtain information from other state jurisdictions that may be 30 pertinent in performing a risk assessment. 31 NEW PARAGRAPH . g. (1) Prepare, for the purpose of 32 dissemination to a victim of domestic abuse, informational 33 materials intended to address root causes of domestic abuse, 34 deter further domestic abuse, and offer support. Information 35 -2- LSB 1765YH (2) 90 dg/rh 2/ 7
H.F. 120 contained in the materials shall include but not be limited to 1 all of the following: 2 (a) Financial assistance that may be available to a victim 3 and general application information. 4 (b) Mental health services that may be available to a victim 5 and contact information for those services. 6 (c) Victim abuse and rehabilitation services and contact 7 information for those services. 8 (d) Information pertaining to Iowa legal aid and contact 9 information for Iowa legal aid. 10 (e) General information regarding services and benefits 11 that may be available to a victim through the department of 12 health and human services. 13 (2) Rules adopted pursuant to this paragraph shall include 14 but not be limited to a determination of when a victim shall 15 receive materials created pursuant to this paragraph. 16 NEW PARAGRAPH . h. (1) Prepare, for the purpose of 17 dissemination to a primary physical aggressor identified 18 pursuant to section 236.12, subsection 3, paragraph a , 19 informational materials intended to address root causes of 20 domestic abuse and deter further domestic abuse. Information 21 contained in the materials shall include but not be limited to 22 all of the following: 23 (a) Financial assistance that may be available to a primary 24 physical aggressor and general application information. 25 (b) Employment services and work programs that may 26 be available to a primary physical aggressor and contact 27 information for those services and programs. 28 (c) Mental health and substance abuse services that may 29 be available to a primary physical aggressor and a general 30 explanation of how to request those services. 31 (d) Housing assistance that may be available to a primary 32 physical aggressor and general application information. 33 (e) Family counseling services that may be available to a 34 primary physical aggressor and contact information for those 35 -3- LSB 1765YH (2) 90 dg/rh 3/ 7
H.F. 120 services. 1 (f) Community mentoring services that may be available to a 2 primary physical aggressor and contact information for those 3 services. 4 (g) A summary of the consequences a primary physical 5 aggressor may face for violating any temporary, emergency, or 6 protective order issued pursuant to this chapter. 7 (2) Rules adopted pursuant to this paragraph shall include 8 but not be limited to a determination of when a primary 9 physical aggressor shall receive materials created pursuant to 10 this paragraph. 11 NEW PARAGRAPH . i. Establish a system of best practices for 12 enhanced precautions based on a primary physical aggressors 13 risk assessment performed pursuant to section 236.12, 14 subsection 3, paragraph b , or section 236.12, subsection 3A. 15 Such enhanced precautions shall include but not be limited 16 to follow-up visits with a victim and follow-up visits with 17 the primary physical aggressor based on the risk the primary 18 physical aggressor poses to the victim. 19 Sec. 4. Section 236.16, Code 2023, is amended by adding the 20 following new subsection: 21 NEW SUBSECTION . 2A. The department shall consult and 22 cooperate with all law enforcement agencies and public and 23 private agencies to provide training, education, and guidance 24 to a primary physical aggressor identified pursuant to section 25 236.12, subsection 3, for the purpose of identifying and 26 resolving possible causes of domestic abuse and deterring 27 further abuse. 28 Sec. 5. Section 708.2B, Code 2023, is amended by adding the 29 following new subsection: 30 NEW SUBSECTION . 2A. A person who was arrested pursuant to 31 section 236.12, subsection 3, paragraph a , shall report to a 32 district department upon the persons release, at which time 33 the district department shall provide materials prepared by the 34 department of justice pursuant to section 236.16, subsection 1, 35 -4- LSB 1765YH (2) 90 dg/rh 4/ 7
H.F. 120 paragraph h , to the person. 1 EXPLANATION 2 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 3 the explanations substance by the members of the general assembly. 4 This bill relates to domestic abuse risk assessment and 5 deterrence. 6 The bill requires that, when a peace officer has reason to 7 believe that domestic abuse has occurred but no arrest has 8 been made, a peace officer shall perform a risk assessment 9 of the person the peace officer has determined to be the 10 primary physical aggressor, based on rules adopted by the 11 department of justice, in order to categorize the potential 12 threat a primary physical aggressor poses to an abused person. 13 Once a risk assessment has been completed, the peace officer 14 shall provide to the primary physical aggressor informational 15 materials created by the department of justice for the purpose 16 of addressing root causes of domestic abuse the peace officer 17 believes may be relevant to the situation. 18 The bill requires that if a person has been arrested for 19 committing domestic abuse assault, prior to the release of the 20 person, the police department or sheriffs office responsible 21 for the persons arrest shall perform a risk assessment of the 22 person based on rules adopted by the department of justice. 23 Upon completion of the risk assessment, the police department 24 or sheriffs office shall transmit the risk assessment to 25 the appropriate judicial district department of correctional 26 services. Under current law, judicial district departments of 27 correctional services provide mandatory treatment and training 28 to a person convicted of, or receiving a deferred judgment for, 29 domestic abuse assault. 30 The bill requires the department of justice to adopt rules 31 to create a risk classification system in order to categorize 32 the potential threat a primary physical aggressor identified 33 by the peace officer poses to an abused person. Categories of 34 risk shall be established based on the number of the primary 35 -5- LSB 1765YH (2) 90 dg/rh 5/ 7
H.F. 120 physical aggressors previous and current domestic abuse 1 assault convictions; the number of times the primary physical 2 aggressor has violated a temporary, emergency, or protective 3 order issued pursuant to Code chapter 236 (domestic abuse); 4 whether the primary physical aggressor has been convicted 5 of a felony; whether the primary physical aggressor has 6 been convicted of illegally using, carrying, or possessing a 7 dangerous weapon; and the number of offenses committed by the 8 primary physical aggressor in other jurisdictions that are 9 substantially similar to the offenses listed in the bill. The 10 bill also requires rules adopted by the department to require 11 that a peace officer or law enforcement agency make reasonable 12 efforts to obtain information from other state jurisdictions 13 that may be pertinent in performing a risk assessment. 14 The bill directs the department of justice to prepare, 15 for the purpose of dissemination to a domestic abuse victim, 16 informational materials intended to address root causes 17 of domestic abuse, deter further domestic abuse, and offer 18 support. Information contained in the materials shall 19 include but not be limited to financial assistance that may 20 be available to a victim and general application information; 21 mental health services that may be available to a victim and 22 contact information for those services; victim abuse and 23 rehabilitation services and contact information for those 24 services; information pertaining to Iowa legal aid and contact 25 information for Iowa legal aid; and general information 26 regarding services and benefits that may be available to a 27 victim through the department of health and human services. 28 The bill also requires the department to adopt rules that 29 determine when a victim shall receive informational materials. 30 The bill directs the department of justice to prepare, 31 for the purpose of dissemination to a domestic abuse 32 primary physical aggressor identified by a peace officer, 33 informational materials intended to address root causes of 34 domestic abuse and deter further domestic abuse. Information 35 -6- LSB 1765YH (2) 90 dg/rh 6/ 7
H.F. 120 contained in the materials shall include but not be limited 1 to financial assistance that may be available to a primary 2 physical aggressor and general application information; 3 employment services and work programs that may be available 4 to a primary physical aggressor and contact information for 5 those services and programs; mental health and substance 6 abuse services that may be available to a primary physical 7 aggressor and a general explanation of how to request those 8 services; housing assistance that may be available to a primary 9 physical aggressor and general application information; family 10 counseling services that may be available to a primary physical 11 aggressor and contact information for those services; community 12 mentoring services that may be available to a primary physical 13 aggressor and contact information for those services; and a 14 summary of the consequences a primary physical aggressor may 15 face for violating any temporary, emergency, or protective 16 order. The bill also requires the department to adopt rules 17 that determine when a primary physical aggressor shall receive 18 informational materials. The bill also requires, if a primary 19 physical aggressor was arrested by a peace officer based on 20 the peace officers belief that the primary physical aggressor 21 committed domestic abuse assault, for a primary physical 22 aggressor to report to a judicial district department of 23 correctional services after release to receive informational 24 materials. 25 The bill requires the department of justice to establish a 26 system of best practices for enhanced precautions based on a 27 primary physical aggressors risk assessment. 28 The bill directs the department of justice to consult and 29 cooperate with all public and private agencies to provide 30 training, education, and guidance to a primary physical 31 aggressor for the purpose of identifying and resolving possible 32 causes of domestic abuse and deterring further abuse. 33 -7- LSB 1765YH (2) 90 dg/rh 7/ 7