Culver signs bill to curb nuisance bars, Internet predators

DES MOINES -- Legislation intended to help law enforcement deal with nuisance bars has been signed into law by Gov. Chet Culver.

Provisions of House File 788 make bar and tavern owners responsible for reporting illegal drug dealing, prostitution, brawls or other lawbreaking activities on parking lots or other areas that are adjacent to their licensed premises and under their jurisdiction.

Backers said the bill's language attempts to get at a small number of drinking establishments where law officers are repeatedly called to investigate reports of underage drinking or criminal activity -- prostitution, drug dealing, brawls, stabbings, or shootings -- on adjacent property under the control of the bar or tavern.

Critics worried the bill sought to make changes dealing with crimes and violations involving underage drinkers that had not gone through the traditional legislative process, and created language that would create gray areas regarding what outside activities might be deemed the responsibility of an establishment that held a state liquor license.

Along with the nuisance bar provision, House File 788 would provide age clarification for underage drinking in public and violations of the open container law by underage persons.

The bill, which takes effect July 1, will require a peace officer who makes a reasonable effort to identify an underage drinker to refer the person to juvenile court. Once that occurs, a juvenile court officer must notify the person's custodial parent or legal guardian.

House File 788 also adds that a person under the age of 21 who is in a motor vehicle and has an open container of alcohol is guilty of possession. 

In other action, Culver signed into law a bill intended to close a loophole in state law in prosecuting sexual predators who attempt to entice a minor via the Internet, by telephone or some other method. House File 2438 would enable law officers to charge someone with an aggravated misdemeanor for enticement of a minor, even if the person on the other end of the communication was an adult police officer.

The legislation attempts to address a situation brought to light when the Iowa Supreme Court determined in June 2008 it was not enticement of a minor when the sexual perpetrator attempted to entice a child but instead was speaking with an undercover police officer.

Also, Culver used an auditorium full of students at Des Moines' Moulton Elementary on Tuesday as the backdrop for signing legislation aimed at increasing diversity among Iowa's teachers.  

“As a former teacher and coach, I believe the values of diversity, respect, and cultural awareness and acceptance should be honored every day, especially among our young people,” Culver said. “To help strengthen this ethic of acceptance, and to help educate our young people, it is my privilege to sign House File 2432, a bill whose goal is train and recruit more individuals from minority backgrounds into the teaching profession.”

The legislation requires representatives of the state Department of Education, area education agencies, and public and private colleges and universities to study opportunities for recruiting and retaining racial and ethnic minority teachers.

The representatives are given three specific issues to examine: strategies to encourage racial and ethnic minority students to enter the teaching profession, methods to recruit these racial and ethnic minority students into attending an Iowa college or university teacher preparatory program, and strategies to recruit racial and ethnic minority teachers to continue their careers as school administrators in Iowa. They are to report their findings to the General Assembly by Jan. 10, 2011.

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