Bill > SF397

This bill modifies Iowa's assault laws to expand and enhance penalties for assaults against certain public service and professional workers. Specifically, the bill increases the severity of criminal penalties for assaults against peace officers, correctional staff, healthcare providers, and other government employees by upgrading some offenses from misdemeanors to felonies. The bill adds juvenile detention staff and employees from the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing to the list of protected workers. The legislation also clarifies that intentionally throwing, tossing, spitting, or expelling saliva onto these workers constitutes assault. For inmate-committed assaults, the bill expands the definition to include saliva as a bodily fluid that can trigger felony charges when deliberately cast upon jail or corrections employees. Additionally, the bill mandates that for certain assault offenses against protected workers, convicted individuals must serve a minimum seven-day sentence without eligibility for sentence suspension. These changes aim to provide stronger legal protections for public service workers and impose stricter consequences for those who assault them, with the new provisions set to take effect on July 1, 2025.

Judiciary (Senate)

https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=91&ba=SF397