Capitol Notebook: Bill would increase penalties for going more than 100 mph in Iowa

Iowa drivers caught driving 100 mph or more could have their driver's license revoked for 30 days under a proposed bill in the Iowa Senate.

Senate File 2030, which advanced unanimously out of an Iowa Senate Public Safety subcommittee Tuesday, would also allow law enforcement officers to serve an immediate notice of the Department of Transportation’s intention to revoke a license to drivers exceeding that limit. The driver would then be issued a temporary 10-day license.

Republican Sen. Mark Lofgren, of Muscatine, said he heard from a Dubuque family whose teenage daughter and her friend were killed when they were hit by a car going nearly 150 mph.

The bill also would determine that a person going more than 20 mph over the speed limit is guilty of reckless driving, which is a simple misdemeanor. The base fine for exceeding the speed limit by 20 mph would increase from $135 to $285. There would be an additional fine of $5 for every mile per hour over 20 mph over the limit.

If a person causes serious injury or death while failing to reduce speed while approaching pedestrians on the traveled portion of the highway; approaching or passing an emergency vehicle displaying emergency lights; or in several other situations, they are subject to a fine of $500 and/or a 90-day license suspension.

Luke Hoffman, executive director of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition, said building on the success of the hands-free driving law passed last year will save more lives.

“Safety very frequently tops the list of things that are considerations for families when moving to a new place, especially a new state,” Hoffman said. “So getting Iowa to be a leader in public safety, I think this gets us leaps and bounds in the right direction.”

Bill would prohibit state fire sprinkler system requirement for townhouses

Local ordinances and a provision of the state building code requiring fire sprinkler systems to be installed in townhouses or residences consisting of six or fewer units would be prohibited under legislation being considered by Iowa Senate lawmakers.

On Tuesday, an Iowa Senate Local Government subcommittee advanced Senate File 310, sponsored by state Sen. Scott Webster, R-Bettendorf. Webster argued that removing the sprinkler requirement will make housing more affordable.

The bill was amended from last year’s version, which would’ve prohibited requirements for residences with seven or fewer units.

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“I realize that we have to watch safety and I understand that there's a reason why there's a cutoff in this particular bill,” Webster said. “It's a big thing for me this year to find out how we're going to get to affordability.”

Multiple firefighter advocacy groups opposed the legislation, saying the current requirements in place reduce the risk of fires spreading in townhouses.

“The trade-off for life safety would be, you can argue sprinklers save lives,” said David Schipper, vice president of the Iowa Fire Chiefs Association. “You can argue sprinklers allow contractors to use different, cheaper materials or different-rated materials to save homeowners and builders money.”

Webster and Republican state Sen. Mark Lofgren, of Muscatine, signed on to advance the legislation. Democratic state Sen. Janice Weiner, of Iowa City, declined to join in advancing the bill.

Sheriff salaries would be based on comparable law enforcement salaries

The salaries of Iowa sheriffs would be determined by requiring county compensation boards to use the statistical mean of comparable law enforcement positions when setting pay, under legislation being considered by state lawmakers.

Senate File 2029 would require the salaries of county sheriffs to be based on the mean of the salaries of police chiefs in cities with populations within 1,000 people above or below the population of the county.

The legislation was advanced by Republican Sens. Mark Lofgren of Muscatine and Dave Sires of Cedar Falls. Democratic Sen. Herman Quirmbach, of Ames, did not sign on to advance the legislation.