Hands-free mobile use while driving picking up speed among Iowa lawmakers

DES MOINES — A ban on hand-held use of mobile devices while driving appears to have more support among state lawmakers than previous years, two key legislators said Tuesday.

The proposed ban, which has been around the Iowa Capitol for years and would require drivers to use mobile devices only through hands-free technology, last week passed out of the Iowa Senate for the first time.

And now the proposal is also moving in the Iowa House, where two key legislators say it has strong support in the chamber.

Rep. Brian Best, a Republican from Glidden who chairs the House transportation committee, and Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, a Republican from Wilton who chairs the House committee on tax policy, both said Tuesday that they expect the proposal to advance out of their committees.

That would leave only a vote by the full Iowa House to get the proposal to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ desk for her consideration.

That represents significant legislative movement for a proposal that has been around essentially since shortly after the state’s current ban on texting while driving passed into law in 2017.

Ever since, Iowa law enforcement officers have said the texting-while-driving ban is extremely difficult to enforce, because drivers can say they were making a call or using the device’s GPS, which still is allowed under current law.

During a subcommittee hearing on Senate File 547 on Tuesday in the House, speakers called on lawmakers to pass the bill, some of them relaying stories of loved ones, friends or co-workers who died in automobile crashes that included a distracted driver.

“I do not want to see any family, friends, or any of you people go through what we had to go through,” said Kristi Castenson, an Iowa woman from Webster County whose husband and his mother were killed in a 2015 crash that was the result of a distracted driver. “We have to do something about this.”

No lobbying organization is registered in opposition to the bill, according to state lobbying records. Best said any opposition among lawmakers typically comes from those who want to protect drivers’ individual rights.

Reynolds signs bills

Gov. Kim Reynolds signed two bills into law: one designed to help struggling rural hospitals and another creating consumer data rights.

Senate File 75 establishes licensing and regulations for Iowa hospitals to be certified as a Rural Emergency Hospital, part of a federal program that went into effect last year. The designation allows rural hospitals to discontinue inpatient care and provide outpatient and emergency medical care. The hospitals will receive higher Medicare reimbursement rates and extra monthly payments under the program.

“This is part of our unwavering commitment to ensuring all Iowans, no matter where they live, receive the quality medical care they need and deserve,” Reynolds said in a news release. “This bill is an impactful step in that direction.”

Reynolds also signed Senate File 262, intended to give Iowans more control over their personal data online.

Under the new law, companies controlling the personal data of a certain number of Iowans will have to notify consumers of their data collection practices and provide them with that data upon request. The requirements in the law will take effect in 2025.

Both bills passed the House and Senate unanimously.

Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau