House File 324 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 324 BY BROWN-POWERS , CROKEN , LEVIN , KRESSIG , AMOS JR. , GOSA , BAETH , WILBURN , KURTH , BAGNIEWSKI , MATSON , EHLERT , WICHTENDAHL , JAMES , and R. JOHNSON A BILL FOR An Act relating to domestic abuse threat evaluation and 1 deterrence. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 1931YH (5) 91 dg/ko
H.F. 324 Section 1. Section 236.12, subsection 3, Code 2025, 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 described in section 704.3 , are not subject to mandatory 9 arrest. In identifying the primary physical aggressor, a peace 10 officer shall consider the need to protect victims of domestic 11 abuse, the relative degree of injury or fear inflicted on the 12 persons involved, and any history of domestic abuse between 13 the persons involved. A peace officers identification of the 14 primary physical aggressor shall not be based on the consent of 15 the victim to any subsequent prosecution or on the relationship 16 of 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 20 2, paragraph a , the peace officer shall perform a threat 21 evaluation of the person the peace officer believes to be 22 the primary physical aggressor based on rules adopted by the 23 department in accordance with section 236.16, subsection 1, 24 paragraph f . The peace officer shall provide informational 25 materials prepared by the department pursuant to section 26 236.16, subsection 1, paragraph h , to the primary physical 27 aggressor. 28 Sec. 2. Section 236.12, Code 2025, 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 threat evaluation of the person based on rules adopted by 34 the department in accordance with section 236.16, subsection 35 -1- LSB 1931YH (5) 91 dg/ko 1/ 7
H.F. 324 1, paragraph f . Upon completion of the threat evaluation, 1 the police department or sheriffs office shall transmit the 2 threat evaluation to the appropriate judicial department of 3 correctional services. 4 Sec. 3. Section 236.16, subsection 1, Code 2025, is amended 5 by adding the following new paragraphs: 6 NEW PARAGRAPH . f. (1) Adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A 7 to create a threat evaluation classification system to evaluate 8 the potential threat a primary physical aggressor identified 9 pursuant to section 236.12, subsection 3, poses to an abused 10 person. Evaluations of threat shall be established based on 11 the 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 threat evaluation. 31 (3) The factors listed in subparagraph (1), subparagraph 32 divisions (a) through (e), shall be considered a checklist. If 33 a peace officer finds a primary physical aggressor is described 34 by two or more of the factors, the peace officer shall 35 -2- LSB 1931YH (5) 91 dg/ko 2/ 7
H.F. 324 disseminate to the primary physical aggressor informational 1 materials prepared by the department pursuant to section 2 236.16, subsection 1, paragraph h . 3 NEW PARAGRAPH . g. (1) Prepare, for the purpose of 4 dissemination to a victim of domestic abuse, informational 5 materials intended to address root causes of domestic abuse, 6 deter further domestic abuse, and offer support. Information 7 contained in the materials shall include but not be limited to 8 all of the following: 9 (a) Financial assistance that may be available to a victim 10 and general application information. 11 (b) Mental health services that may be available to a victim 12 and contact information for those services. 13 (c) Victim abuse and rehabilitation services and contact 14 information for those services. 15 (d) Information pertaining to Iowa legal aid and contact 16 information for Iowa legal aid. 17 (e) General information regarding services and benefits 18 that may be available to a victim through the department of 19 health and human services. 20 (2) Rules adopted pursuant to this paragraph shall include 21 but not be limited to a determination of when a victim shall 22 receive materials created pursuant to this paragraph. 23 NEW PARAGRAPH . h. (1) Prepare, for the purpose of 24 dissemination to a primary physical aggressor identified 25 pursuant to section 236.12, subsection 3, paragraph a , 26 informational materials intended to address root causes of 27 domestic abuse and deter further domestic abuse. Information 28 contained in the materials shall include but not be limited to 29 all of the following: 30 (a) Financial assistance that may be available to a primary 31 physical aggressor and general application information. 32 (b) Employment services and work programs that may 33 be available to a primary physical aggressor and contact 34 information for those services and programs. 35 -3- LSB 1931YH (5) 91 dg/ko 3/ 7
H.F. 324 (c) Mental health and substance abuse services that may 1 be available to a primary physical aggressor and a general 2 explanation of how to request those services. 3 (d) Housing assistance that may be available to a primary 4 physical aggressor and general application information. 5 (e) Family counseling services that may be available to a 6 primary physical aggressor and contact information for those 7 services. 8 (f) Community mentoring services that may be available to a 9 primary physical aggressor and contact information for those 10 services. 11 (g) A summary of the consequences a primary physical 12 aggressor may face for violating any temporary, emergency, or 13 protective order issued pursuant to this chapter. 14 (2) Rules adopted pursuant to this paragraph shall include 15 but not be limited to a determination of when a primary 16 physical aggressor shall receive materials created pursuant to 17 this paragraph. 18 Sec. 4. Section 708.2B, Code 2025, is amended by adding the 19 following new subsection: 20 NEW SUBSECTION . 2A. A person who was arrested pursuant to 21 section 236.12, subsection 3, paragraph a , shall report to a 22 district department upon the persons release, at which time 23 the district department shall provide materials prepared by the 24 department of justice pursuant to section 236.16, subsection 1, 25 paragraph h , to the person. 26 EXPLANATION 27 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 28 the explanations substance by the members of the general assembly. 29 This bill relates to domestic abuse threat evaluation and 30 deterrence. 31 The bill requires that, when a peace officer has reason to 32 believe that domestic abuse has occurred but no arrest has 33 been made, a peace officer shall perform a threat evaluation 34 of the person the peace officer has determined to be the 35 -4- LSB 1931YH (5) 91 dg/ko 4/ 7
H.F. 324 primary physical aggressor, based on a checklist adopted by 1 the department of justice, to evaluate the potential threat a 2 primary physical aggressor poses to an abused person. Once 3 a threat evaluation has been completed, if the peace officer 4 finds the primary physical aggressor is described by two or 5 more factors from the checklist, the peace officer must provide 6 to the primary physical aggressor informational materials 7 created by the department of justice for the purpose of 8 addressing root causes of domestic abuse the peace officer 9 believes may be relevant to the situation. 10 The bill requires that if a person has been arrested for 11 committing domestic abuse assault, prior to the release of the 12 person, the police department or sheriffs office responsible 13 for the persons arrest shall perform a threat evaluation of 14 the person based on a checklist adopted by the department 15 of justice. Upon completion of the threat evaluation, the 16 police department or sheriffs office shall transmit the threat 17 evaluation to the appropriate judicial district department of 18 correctional services. Under current law, judicial district 19 departments of correctional services provide mandatory 20 treatment and training to a person convicted of, or receiving a 21 deferred judgment for, domestic abuse assault. 22 The bill requires the department of justice to adopt rules, 23 that will be considered a checklist, to create a threat 24 evaluation classification system in order to evaluate the 25 potential threat a primary physical aggressor identified by 26 a peace officer poses to an abused person. Evaluations of 27 threat shall be established based on the number of the primary 28 physical aggressors previous and current domestic abuse 29 assault convictions; the number of times the primary physical 30 aggressor has violated a temporary, emergency, or protective 31 order issued pursuant to Code chapter 236 (domestic abuse); 32 whether the primary physical aggressor has been convicted 33 of a felony; whether the primary physical aggressor has 34 been convicted of illegally using, carrying, or possessing a 35 -5- LSB 1931YH (5) 91 dg/ko 5/ 7
H.F. 324 dangerous weapon; and the number of offenses committed by the 1 primary physical aggressor in other jurisdictions that are 2 substantially similar to the offenses listed in the bill. The 3 bill also requires rules adopted by the department of justice 4 to require that a peace officer or law enforcement agency make 5 reasonable efforts to obtain information from other state 6 jurisdictions that may be pertinent in performing a threat 7 evaluation. 8 The bill directs the department of justice to prepare, 9 for the purpose of dissemination to a domestic abuse victim, 10 informational materials intended to address root causes 11 of domestic abuse, deter further domestic abuse, and offer 12 support. Information contained in the materials shall 13 include but not be limited to financial assistance that may 14 be available to a victim and general application information; 15 mental health services that may be available to a victim and 16 contact information for those services; victim abuse and 17 rehabilitation services and contact information for those 18 services; information pertaining to Iowa legal aid and contact 19 information for Iowa legal aid; and general information 20 regarding services and benefits that may be available to a 21 victim through the department of health and human services. 22 The bill also requires the department of justice to adopt 23 rules that determine when a victim shall receive informational 24 materials. 25 The bill directs the department of justice to prepare, 26 for the purpose of dissemination to a domestic abuse 27 primary physical aggressor identified by a peace officer, 28 informational materials intended to address root causes of 29 domestic abuse and deter further domestic abuse. Information 30 contained in the materials shall include but not be limited 31 to financial assistance that may be available to a primary 32 physical aggressor and general application information; 33 employment services and work programs that may be available 34 to a primary physical aggressor and contact information for 35 -6- LSB 1931YH (5) 91 dg/ko 6/ 7
H.F. 324 those services and programs; mental health and substance 1 abuse services that may be available to a primary physical 2 aggressor and a general explanation of how to request those 3 services; housing assistance that may be available to a primary 4 physical aggressor and general application information; family 5 counseling services that may be available to a primary physical 6 aggressor and contact information for those services; community 7 mentoring services that may be available to a primary physical 8 aggressor and contact information for those services; and a 9 summary of the consequences a primary physical aggressor may 10 face for violating any temporary, emergency, or protective 11 order. The bill also requires the department of justice to 12 adopt rules that determine when a primary physical aggressor 13 shall receive informational materials. The bill also requires, 14 if a primary physical aggressor was arrested by a peace officer 15 based on the peace officers belief that the primary physical 16 aggressor committed domestic abuse assault, that the primary 17 physical aggressor report to a judicial district department of 18 correctional services after release to receive informational 19 materials. 20 The bill requires the department of justice to establish a 21 system of best practices for enhanced precautions based on a 22 primary physical aggressors threat evaluation. 23 The bill directs the department of justice to consult and 24 cooperate with all public and private agencies to provide 25 training, education, and guidance to a primary physical 26 aggressor for the purpose of identifying and resolving possible 27 causes of domestic abuse and deterring further abuse. 28 -7- LSB 1931YH (5) 91 dg/ko 7/ 7