Bill Text: IA SF63 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: A bill for an act establishing a public offense for intimidation by desecration of flag or insignia in violation of individual rights, classifying the offense as a hate crime, and including penalties.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Republican 10-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-01-28 - Subcommittee, Horn, Sodders, and Zaun. S.J. 174. [SF63 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2015-SF63-Introduced.html
Senate File 63 - Introduced




                                 SENATE FILE       
                                 BY  CHELGREN, ZAUN,
                                     ROZENBOOM, KAPUCIAN,
                                     BEHN, ANDERSON, McCOY,
                                     COSTELLO, GUTH,
                                     SCHULTZ, and
                                     KRAAYENBRINK

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act establishing a public offense for intimidation by
  2    desecration of flag or insignia in violation of individual
  3    rights, classifying the offense as a hate crime, and
  4    including penalties.
  5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
    TLSB 1421XS (4) 86
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  718A.1B  Intimidation by desecration
  1  2 of flag or insignia in violation of individual rights.
  1  3    For the purposes of this section, "intimidation by
  1  4 desecration of flag or insignia in violation of individual
  1  5 rights" means a violation of section 718A.1A with intent to
  1  6 intimidate a person on the basis of that person's veteran
  1  7 status or on the basis of a person's association with a
  1  8 veteran, and shall be classified as a hate crime as defined
  1  9 in section 729A.2.  A person who commits intimidation by
  1 10 desecration of flag or insignia in violation of individual
  1 11 rights is guilty of a simple misdemeanor.
  1 12    Sec. 2.  Section 729A.1, Code 2015, is amended to read as
  1 13 follows:
  1 14    729A.1  Violations of an individual's rights prohibited.
  1 15    1.  Persons within the state of Iowa have the right to be
  1 16 free from any violence, or intimidation by threat of violence,
  1 17 committed against their persons or property because of their
  1 18 race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, political
  1 19 affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, age, or disability.
  1 20    2.  Persons within the state of Iowa have the right to be
  1 21 free from any violence or intimidation committed against their
  1 22 persons or property because of their veteran status or on the
  1 23 basis of a person's association with a veteran.
  1 24    Sec. 3.  Section 729A.2, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2015,
  1 25 is amended to read as follows:
  1 26 "Hate crime" means one of the following public offenses when
  1 27 committed against a person or a person's property because of
  1 28 the person's race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin,
  1 29 political affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran
  1 30 status, or disability, or the person's association with a
  1 31 person of a certain race, color, religion, ancestry, national
  1 32 origin, political affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, age,
  1 33 veteran status, or disability:
  1 34    Sec. 4.  Section 729A.2, Code 2015, is amended by adding the
  1 35 following new subsection:
  2  1    NEW SUBSECTION.  5.  Intimidation by desecration of flag
  2  2 or insignia in violation of individual rights under section
  2  3 718A.1B.
  2  4                           EXPLANATION
  2  5 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  2  6 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  2  7    This bill establishes a public offense for intimidation by
  2  8 desecration of flag or insignia in violation of individual
  2  9 rights as a simple misdemeanor. A simple misdemeanor is
  2 10 punishable by confinement for no more than 30 days or a fine of
  2 11 at least $65 but not more than $625 or by both.
  2 12    Under current Code section 718A.1A, desecration of a flag
  2 13 or insignia is considered a simple misdemeanor. The bill
  2 14 establishes a separate public offense for the desecration of
  2 15 a flag or insignia with intent to intimidate a person on the
  2 16 basis of the person's veteran status or on the basis of a
  2 17 person's association with a veteran.
  2 18    The bill further provides that intimidation by desecration
  2 19 of flag or insignia in violation of individual rights is a hate
  2 20 crime under Code chapter 729A.  Code section 729A.5 provides
  2 21 certain civil remedies to victims of hate crimes.
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