Capitol Notebook: Iowa lawmakers pass bill increasing penalties for assaults on first responders

A bill increasing penalties for assaults against first responders, law enforcement, correctional officers and health care workers is headed to Gov. Kim Reynolds for her signature.

Senate File 397 passed the House Thursday, 91-2. It unanimously passed the Senate earlier this month. The bill raises the penalties for assaults against these individuals from a Class D felony to a Class C if the assailant intends to cause serious injury or uses a weapon.

A person who, while assaulting a person engaged in one of the listed occupations, causes bodily injury or mental illness would be guilty of a Class D felony, while other assaults, including those involving saliva, would be categorized as aggravated misdemeanors, with a mandatory minimum sentence of seven days.

The bill also addresses assaults committed by inmates against employees of correctional facilities. It specifies that assaults by inmates against correction employees resulting in contact with bodily fluids, including saliva, are classified as Class D felonies.

A Class C felony is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and fine of $1,370 up to $13,660. A Class D felony is punishable by up five years in prison and a fine of $1,025 to $10,245. An aggravated misdemeanor is punishable by up two years confinement and a fine of at least $855 to $8,540.

The bill also adds juvenile detention staff and employees of the Department of Inspection, Appeals and Licensing who conduct investigations or inspections to the list of protected occupations.

House bill would outlaw unsolicited sexually-explicit photos, videos

Sending an unsolicited picture or video of sex acts or one’s genitals would be prohibited under legislation unanimously passed by Iowa House lawmakers Thursday.

House File 899’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Bill Gustoff, of Des Moines, referred to the legislation as an “anti cyber flashing” bill.

Anyone 18 or older who knowingly sends a video or picture of “genitals or pubic area, any person engaging in a sex act,” or “the covered genitals of a male person that are in a discernibly turgid state” that they know is unwanted or unsolicited by the recipient would be committing a serious misdemeanor.

The legislation would add sending unsolicited, sexually explicit materials to the current Iowa indecent exposure statute.

A serious misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than one year and a fine of between $430 and $2,560.

Lawmakers advance bill to legalize psilocybin for PTSD treatment

Lawmakers on the Iowa House Ways and Means Committee unanimously advanced legislation that would legalize the use of psilocybin to treat post-traumatic stress disorder Thursday.

Psilocybin, a naturally occurring hallucinogenic compound found in some species of mushroom, is listed as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act. House File 620 would establish a Psilocybin Production Establishment Licensing Board within the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services and allow the hallucinogen to be produced in the state.

The bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. John Wills, of Spirit Lake, said the legislation would create another treatment option for veterans with PTSD.

Administration of psilocybin would be required to take place at a clinic where the administration session is video-recorded, and a qualified medical psilocybin therapist has a contractual relationship with a licensed physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician and surgeon who remains on call during the course of the session in case a patient needs nonemergency medical intervention.

Democratic Rep. Larry McBurney, of Urbandale, said he believes it will create another path to treat veterans’ PTSD.

“I think it's great to move forward, especially our veteran community, which I think we definitely owe it to do them to help respect their service by providing additional options,” McBurney said during the committee meeting.

Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau