Iowa House adds more restrictions on sex offenders in nursing homes

Legislation that provoked a partisan shouting match over who was doing more to protect Iowans from sex offenders sailed through the Iowa House 97-0.

The Republican-controlled House took language added by Senate Democrats that would bar violent sexual predators from being transferred into nursing homes, but insisted on keeping their original language that requires notification whenever anyone on the sex offender registry moves into a nursing home.

“We sent a very strong bill over to the Senate,” said Rep. Joel Fry, R-Osceola, but the Senate sent back a bill that dealt only with people released from the state Civil Commitment Unit for Sexual Offenders at Cherokee. “I want to send back to the Senate stronger language.”

The bill is a response to a case of an 83-year-old man transferred by a judge from the sex offender unit to a Pomeroy nursing home. He assaulted a 95-year-old female resident.

Senate Democrats moved to ban the worst of the worst sexual predators from being placed in nursing homes. Republicans senators argued that wasn't enough protection.

“You let rapists next to grandmothers,” charged Sen. Shawn Hammerlinck, R-Dixon, when House File 2422 came to the Senate floor.

“You convinced Senate Republicans that allowing sexually violent predators into nursing homes was a good idea,” said Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs.

There was none of that in the House. Rep. Bruce Hunter, D-Des Moines, encouraged his party to support Fry's amendment.

HF 2422 “requires a fine tight-rope walking act to make sure we take care of some of our most vulnerable citizens and yet make sure we don't trample over the rights of innocent people,” Hunter said. “I think our original bill did that. It struck that good balance between protections of individual rights and safety protections.”

The House amendment, which now goes back to the Senate, added back the House's version that allows the administrator of a nursing home, residential care facility or assisted living program to deny admittance of a person who is sent to the care facility under a court order. The House language also requires care facilities to notify residents, family, employees and visitors if a sex offender is a resident.

The bill also directs the Departments of Inspections and Appeals and Human Services to conduct a study to find a long-term solution to the housing and care needs of sex offenders.