Iowa Senate votes to expand trespass law

DES MOINES – Iowa's trespassing law would be expanded to allow authorities to prosecute 'peeping Toms” accused of violating others' privacy rights under a proposal unanimously approved Wednesday by the state Senate.

Backers said Senate File 2185 would close loopholes in situations during which a victim is being spied on contrary to a reasonable expectation of privacy, or where someone has planted a camera or viewing device without the knowledge or consent of the person being viewed.

'This bill properly addresses the issue,” said Ruth Lapointe, a House clerk who was the victim of a 'peeping Tom” incident in Iowa City where she said a landlord 'planted holes in his apartments to spy on his tenants” but she and 11 other victims found it 'painfully hard” to convict him of a crime under current law.

'It helps clarify the language and make it very clear when your privacy's been invaded and gives you the right to convict someone of that,” she added. 'We can't have people continually getting off the hook, and I think this bill would at least lock up a few more guilty people.”

The bill, which passed the Senate 50-0 and goes to the House for consideration, amends the law to say that criminal trespass is committed if a person 'intentionally views, photographs, or films another person through the window or any other aperture of a dwelling, without legitimate purpose, while present on the real property upon which the dwelling is located.”

Another provision covers situations in which a person is viewed, photographed or filmed in a situation where the victim had a reasonable expectation of privacy and did not or could not consent to being viewed, photographed or filmed. Violation would be a serious misdemeanor punishable by up to one year of confinement and a fine of at least $315 but not more than $1,875.

'This is a fairly comprehensive bill that will hit that loophole and really help people protect themselves in situations like this,” said Sen. Amy Sinclair, R-Allerton, who proposed legislation after the Marion County attorney expressed concern the current trespassing law did not go far enough in protecting privacy rights.

The Iowa House passed a similar bill last year that died in the Senate. Rep. Chip Baltimore, R-Boone, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said he was puzzled as to why the proposal stalled last year and was refashioned into a Senate file this session, but he said he expects representatives would 'smile upon it” again this year.

'I would imagine if we passed it last year and thought it was good public policy then, we'll probably think it's good public policy now. We will probably react favorably to it,” he said.

Also Wednesday, senators voted 38-12 to approve a bill seeking to prohibit drivers from steering a vehicle unreasonably close to or toward a bicyclist riding in a designated bicycle lane.

Violation of the provision would be punishable by a scheduled fine of $250.

The proposal triggered a lengthy floor debate. Backers called the measure 'a step in the right direction,” and opponents argued against attempting to 'legislate common sense.” The proposal goes to the House.