Iowa Senate OKs trespass protections

By Rod Boshart, Gazette Des Moines Bureau

DES MOINES - Iowa landowners would have expanded protections from being sued by trespassers y under legislation that cleared the Iowa Senate on Monday by a 48-1 vote.

Sen. Julian Garrett, R-Indianola, said Senate File 260 would 'codify” Iowa's current common law standard and protect property owners against any future granting of expanded liability via court decisions.

He said 22 other state's have similar legal provisions.

'We want to put these provisions into the code to avoid the possibility down the road that a court might change their mind and decide to expand the liabilities,” Garrett told his Senate colleagues.

Landowners still would have a duty to refrain from 'willfully or wantonly” injuring a trespasser and to use reasonable care to avoid injuring a trespasser once 'the trespasser's presence becomes known.”

The liability provision would not remove responsibility for property owners to protect children from having dangerous conditions or from having items on the property that might attract children to come on the land.

The bill, which was opposed by Sen. Tony Bisignano, D-Des Moines, now goes to the Iowa House for consideration.

FARM ELECTRICAL WORK

In other action Monday:

In other business Monday, senators voted 36-14 to approve legislation that would allow a farm operation to have electrical work completed by an electrician not licensed by the state of Iowa - including electrical work on any commercial or industrial installation on the farm.

Under Senate File 357, the person completing the work must have a business interest in the farm, must be related to the farm owner or be an operator or manager of the farm. Currently, the owner of a farm operation could complete electrical work on the farm without having an electrical license but the owner must apply for an electrical permit and schedule an electrical inspection.

Sen. Dan Zumbach, R-Ryan, said the bill merely codified existing procedures that were the subject of a 2012 executive order issued by Gov. Terry Branstad and a district court decision that creates an exception for farms that are not considered to be commercial businesses.

'The vast majority of electrical work that's done on farm is done by licensed electricians,” Zumbach said. 'It's simply not about the safety. It's about the procedure of having to have those same farms inspected.

I'm not uncomfortable with this language.”

However, Sen. Bill Dotzler, D-Waterloo, said the bill both says farmers don't have to have a professional complete electrical work on their property, and they don't have to have the work inspected.

'I'm OK with not having a professional, I want it inspected,” said Dotzler. 'Think about the risks down the road. This bill isn't ready for prime time. It should never been brought to this chamber and I urge people to vote against it.”

Sen. Liz Mathis, D-Robins, cited insurance and fire statistics about farm fires that annually result in property loss and deaths in raising concern that the exception was creating two different standards in urban and rural areas in opposing the bill.

In the end, 29 Republicans, one independent and six Democrats voted yes and 14 Democrats opposed S.F. 357, which now goes to the House for further action.

l Comments: (515) 243-7220; rod.boshart@thegazette.com