Bill Text: IA SF95 | 2025-2026 | 91st General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to common carriers and including effective date and applicability provisions.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 11-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-23 - Subcommittee: Webster, Knox, and Sweeney. S.J. 137. [SF95 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2025-SF95-Introduced.html
Senate
File
95
-
Introduced
SENATE
FILE
95
BY
TAYLOR
,
EVANS
,
SALMON
,
LOFGREN
,
GREEN
,
CAMPBELL
,
ALONS
,
GUTH
,
ROWLEY
,
WESTRICH
,
and
DE
WITT
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
relating
to
common
carriers
and
including
effective
date
1
and
applicability
provisions.
2
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
3
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Section
1.
Section
6A.21,
subsection
1,
Code
2025,
is
1
amended
to
read
as
follows:
2
1.
Except
as
otherwise
provided,
for
purposes
of
this
3
chapter
and
chapter
6B
:
4
a.
“Aboveground
merchant
line”
means
“merchant
line”
as
5
defined
in
section
478.6A,
subsection
1
,
excluding
those
6
merchant
lines
that
are
underground.
7
b.
“Agricultural
land”
means
real
property
owned
by
a
person
8
in
tracts
of
ten
acres
or
more
and
not
laid
off
into
lots
of
9
less
than
ten
acres
or
divided
by
streets
and
alleys
into
10
parcels
of
less
than
ten
acres,
and
that
has
been
used
for
11
the
production
of
agricultural
commodities
during
three
out
12
of
the
past
five
years.
Such
use
of
property
includes,
but
13
is
not
limited
to,
the
raising,
harvesting,
handling,
drying,
14
or
storage
of
crops
used
for
feed,
food,
seed,
or
fiber;
the
15
care
or
feeding
of
livestock;
the
handling
or
transportation
16
of
crops
or
livestock;
the
storage,
treatment,
or
disposal
17
of
livestock
manure;
and
the
application
of
fertilizers,
18
soil
conditioners,
pesticides,
and
herbicides
on
crops.
19
Agricultural
land
includes
land
on
which
is
located
farm
20
residences
or
outbuildings
used
for
agricultural
purposes
and
21
land
on
which
is
located
facilities,
structures,
or
equipment
22
for
agricultural
purposes.
Agricultural
land
includes
23
land
taken
out
of
agricultural
production
for
purposes
of
24
environmental
protection
or
preservation.
25
c.
“Common
carrier”
means
a
commercial
enterprise
that
holds
26
itself
out
as
ready
to
engage
in
the
transportation
of
goods
27
or
passengers
for
hire,
as
a
public
employment,
and
not
as
a
28
casual
occupation,
and
that
undertakes
to
carry
for
all
persons
29
indifferently,
within
the
limits
of
the
enterprise’s
capacity
30
and
the
sphere
of
business
required
of
it.
For
a
carrier
31
engaged
in
the
transportation
of
a
hazardous
liquid
to
qualify
32
as
a
common
carrier,
the
carrier
must
establish
by
clear
and
33
convincing
evidence
that
it
will
transport
a
commodity
for
34
one
or
more
shippers
not
affiliated
with
the
carrier
who
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will
either
retain
ownership
of
the
commodity
or
sell
the
1
commodity
to
a
party
other
than
the
carrier.
A
common
carrier
2
determination
by
the
federal
energy
regulatory
commission
shall
3
be
controlling
for
purposes
of
this
paragraph.
4
c.
d.
“Private
development
purposes”
means
the
5
construction
of,
or
improvement
related
to,
recreational
6
trails,
recreational
development
paid
for
primarily
with
7
private
funds,
aboveground
merchant
lines,
housing
and
8
residential
development,
or
commercial
or
industrial
enterprise
9
development.
10
d.
e.
“Public
use”
or
“public
purpose”
or
“public
11
improvement”
does
not
include
the
authority
to
condemn
12
agricultural
land
for
private
development
purposes
unless
the
13
owner
of
the
agricultural
land
consents
to
the
condemnation.
14
Sec.
2.
Section
6A.24,
Code
2025,
is
amended
by
adding
the
15
following
new
subsection:
16
NEW
SUBSECTION
.
4.
Notwithstanding
subsection
3,
an
17
acquiring
agency
proposing
to
acquire
property
by
eminent
18
domain
pursuant
to
a
grant
under
chapter
479B
shall
have
the
19
burden
of
establishing
by
clear
and
convincing
evidence
that
20
the
proposed
use
meets
the
definition
of
a
public
use,
public
21
purpose,
or
public
improvement.
22
Sec.
3.
EFFECTIVE
DATE.
This
Act,
being
deemed
of
immediate
23
importance,
takes
effect
upon
enactment.
24
Sec.
4.
APPLICABILITY.
This
Act
applies
to
condemnation
25
proceedings
for
which
the
application
filed
under
section
6B.3
26
is
filed
on
or
after
the
effective
date
of
this
Act.
27
EXPLANATION
28
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
29
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
30
This
bill
defines
a
common
carrier
for
purposes
of
Code
31
chapters
6A
(eminent
domain
law)
and
6B
(procedure
under
32
eminent
domain)
as
a
commercial
enterprise
that
transports
33
goods
or
passengers
for
hire
as
a
public
employment.
A
carrier
34
that
transports
hazardous
liquid
only
qualifies
as
a
common
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carrier
if
the
carrier
transports
for
one
or
more
shippers
1
that
are
unaffiliated
with
the
carrier
and
will
not
sell
the
2
hazardous
liquid
to
the
carrier.
The
federal
energy
regulatory
3
commission’s
determination
on
whether
a
carrier
qualifies
as
a
4
common
carrier
is
controlling.
5
Under
current
law,
when
a
property
owner
or
an
acquiring
6
agency
seeks
judicial
review
of
an
exercise
of
eminent
domain,
7
an
acquiring
agency
must
prove
by
a
preponderance
of
the
8
evidence
that
the
definition
of
public
use,
public
purpose,
or
9
public
improvement
is
met.
The
bill
provides
that
an
acquiring
10
agency
seeking
to
use
eminent
domain
pursuant
to
a
grant
under
11
Code
chapter
479B
(hazardous
liquid
pipelines
and
storage
12
facilities)
must
prove
by
clear
and
convincing
evidence
that
13
the
exercise
of
eminent
domain
meets
the
definition
of
a
public
14
use,
public
purpose,
or
public
improvement.
15
The
bill
takes
effect
upon
enactment
and
applies
to
16
condemnation
proceedings
for
which
the
application
is
filed
on
17
or
after
the
effective
date
of
the
bill.
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