Iowa child safety seat requirements would increase under proposed bill

DES MOINES — The ages and weights at which children would be required to ride in car safety seats would increase under proposed state legislation.

Recurring campaign donations without the donor’s active consent would be illegal, as would any hand-held use of a mobile device while driving. And pointing a laser at an aircraft would become a crime.

These are among the proposals made by state agencies filed in advance of the 2023 session of the Iowa Legislature, which begins Jan. 9. Each year, the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency collects proposed legislation filed ahead of the upcoming session, and it is posted online at legis.iowa.gov under “pre-filed bills.”

While state lawmakers sometimes also file bills during this period, as of Monday afternoon the roughly two dozen pre-filed bills all were proposed by state departments. The Legislative Services Agency is responsible for drafting a proposed pre-filed bill into final form and then submitting it to both legislative chambers to be considered.

Car seats

Children would be required to ride in a rear-facing car seat until the age of 3 while weighing up to 30 pounds, and would be required to ride in a safety seat until the age of 8 under legislation proposed by the state Public Safety Department.

Under current law, the requirements are lower: up to 1 year while weighing less than 20 pounds in a rear-facing seat, and up to the age of 6 in a safety seat.

The proposal to raise those limits would increase safety and bring Iowa in line with neighboring states’ regulations, the Iowa Department of Public Safety said in a memo accompanying the proposed bill. The state agency said data shows that compared to seat belts alone, car seats reduce the risk of injury in a crash by 71 to 82 percent, and booster seats reduce the risk of injury to children aged 4 to 8 by 45 percent.

“Iowa has one of the most lax child safety seat laws of all surrounding states, and the fatalities and injuries that result are substantial,” the memo says.

Lasers and aircraft

Pointing a laser at an aircraft would become a crime under legislation proposed by the Iowa Public Defense Department, which includes the Iowa National Guard.

“Over the past couple of years, Iowa National Guard aviators, primarily Army (helicopter) aviators, have increasingly become targets of ‘laser’ incidents from personnel on the ground,” Iowa National Guard Adjutant General Ben Corell wrote in a memo accompanying the proposal. “To date, these incidents have not caused injury to crew or aircraft. However, without greater deterrent, I’m concerned laser incidents will continue to rise while at the same time increasing risk to aircraft and crew.”

The legislation would add pointing a laser toward an aircraft to existing state law that prohibits pointing a laser at an individual with intent to cause injury. The crime is an assault and ranges from simple misdemeanor to a Class C felony.

Distracted driving

Only hands-free use of a mobile device would be allowed while driving under legislation proposed by the state Public Safety Department.

This proposal has been around the legislative block: Previous legislatures have considered the ban any hand-held use of mobile devices while driving, but it has not garnered enough support to pass into law.

Current state law prohibits texting while driving, but not other forms of hand-held mobile device use, including using GPS.

“It is difficult to enforce the current law and change driver behavior because it is virtually impossible to discern how the cellphone is being used,” says a memo from the Public Safety Department accompanying the proposed legislation. “Furthermore, the level of distraction is not due to the task being performed, but rather the mere use of a cellphone while driving.”

Campaign donations

Campaign organizations would be prohibited from collecting automatic donations without a donor’s active consent under legislation proposed by the state’s campaign finance watchdog agency.

In recent election cycles, there has been a growing trend of campaigns collecting automatic, repeating donations from donors. Typically, a donor makes one donation without realizing he or she also has signed up for repeated donations, which are withdrawn automatically and do not stop until the donor requests it.

Under legislation proposed by the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, campaigns would be required to get permission from donors to collect repeating, automated donations.

“The Board believes that requiring affirmative consent for recurring contributions will protect contributors (donors) from unscrupulous fundraising tactics,” the state board wrote in a memo accompanying its legislative proposal. “Often, those who make a one-time campaign contribution are unaware they have also opted in to making recurring contributions. These recurring contributions, some of which happen as frequently as every week, can be difficult to cancel once discovered.”

Public records

Upon receiving request for public records, state government agencies would be required to provide to the requester contact information, an approximate date of the request’s fulfillment and an estimate of any reasonable fees associated with the request under legislation proposed by the Iowa Public Information Board.

Government efficiency

The State Auditor’s Office would be required annually to update a list of best practices for government efficiency under legislation proposed by State Auditor Rob Sand.

Sand, who in November was reelected to a second, four-year term, has operated a program he has designated PIE, which stands for public innovations and efficiencies.

His proposed legislation would effectively put the PIE program into state law. It would require the auditor each year to distribute that list of best practices to public entities, request feedback from those entities, and prepare an annual report that analyzes the public entities’ responses.

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com