Bill Text: IA HF2234 | 2023-2024 | 90th General Assembly | Introduced

Iowa House Bill 2234

Introduced

Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to special minor's driver's licenses of students who receive competent private instruction or independent private instruction, and making penalties applicable.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-31 - Introduced, referred to Transportation. H.J. 167. [HF2234 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2023-HF2234-Introduced.html

House File 2234 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2234 BY GUSTOFF A BILL FOR An Act relating to special minor’s driver’s licenses of 1 students who receive competent private instruction or 2 independent private instruction, and making penalties 3 applicable. 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 5 TLSB 6081YH (2) 90 th/ns

H.F. 2234 Section 1. Section 321.194, subsection 1, paragraph c, Code 1 2024, is amended to read as follows: 2 c. The person’s school or primary instructor, as applicable, 3 has certified to the department that the person has a special 4 need for the license pursuant to subsection 3 . 5 Sec. 2. Section 321.194, subsection 2, paragraph a, Code 6 2024, is amended by adding the following new subparagraph: 7 NEW SUBPARAGRAPH . (03) If the licensee receives competent 8 private instruction or independent private instruction, as 9 those terms are defined in section 299A.1, the licensee may 10 operate a motor vehicle during the hours of 5:00 a.m. to 11 10:00 p.m. over the most direct and accessible route between 12 the licensee’s residence and the location where the licensee 13 receives instruction pursuant to chapter 299A, and to a public 14 school or accredited nonpublic school for the purpose of 15 attending classes or extracurricular activities, regardless 16 of whether the licensee is enrolled at the school, provided 17 the driving distance between the point of origin and the 18 destination is no more than fifty miles. 19 Sec. 3. Section 321.194, subsection 2, paragraph a, 20 subparagraph (4), Code 2024, is amended to read as follows: 21 (4) To a service station for the purpose of refueling, so 22 long as the service station is the station closest to the route 23 on which the licensee is traveling under subparagraph (1), (2), 24 or (3) this paragraph . 25 Sec. 4. Section 321.194, subsection 3, paragraph a, Code 26 2024, is amended by adding the following new subparagraph: 27 NEW SUBPARAGRAPH . (3) If the applicant receives competent 28 private instruction or independent private instruction, as 29 those terms are defined in section 299A.1, the certification 30 must be made by the applicant’s primary instructor. 31 Sec. 5. Section 321.194, subsection 3, paragraph b, Code 32 2024, is amended to read as follows: 33 b. Upon receipt of a statement of necessity, the department 34 shall issue the driver’s license provided the applicant is 35 -1- LSB 6081YH (2) 90 th/ns 1/ 3

H.F. 2234 otherwise eligible for issuance of the license. The fact that 1 the applicant resides at a distance less than one mile from the 2 applicant’s school of enrollment is prima facie evidence of 3 the nonexistence of necessity for the issuance of a license. 4 However, the distance between the applicant’s residence and 5 school of enrollment shall not be considered if the applicant 6 receives competent private instruction or independent private 7 instruction, as those terms are defined in section 299A.1, 8 resides on a farm , or is employed for compensation on a farm. 9 EXPLANATION 10 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 11 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 12 Under current law, an application for a special minor’s 13 driver’s license must be accompanied by a statement from the 14 applicant’s school of enrollment. The statement must certify 15 that a need exists for the license and that the person signing 16 the statement is not responsible for actions of the applicant 17 which pertain to the applicant’s use of the license. If the 18 applicant attends a public school, the certification must be 19 made by the school board, superintendent of the applicant’s 20 school, or principal, if authorized by the superintendent. 21 If the applicant attends an accredited nonpublic school, the 22 certification must be made by the authorities in charge of the 23 accredited nonpublic school or a duly authorized representative 24 of the authorities. 25 The school must develop and adopt a policy establishing the 26 criteria that the school uses to approve or deny certification 27 that a need exists for a license. If the school is a public 28 school, the policy must be developed and adopted by the school 29 board. If the school is an accredited nonpublic school, the 30 policy must be developed and adopted according to procedures 31 determined by the authorities in charge of the accredited 32 nonpublic school. 33 The fact that an applicant resides at a distance less 34 than one mile from the applicant’s school of enrollment is 35 -2- LSB 6081YH (2) 90 th/ns 2/ 3

H.F. 2234 prima facie evidence of the nonexistence of necessity for 1 the issuance of the license. However, the distance between 2 the applicant’s residence and school of enrollment cannot be 3 considered if the applicant resides on a farm or is employed 4 for compensation on a farm. 5 This bill allows a person holding a special minor’s 6 driver’s license who receives competent private instruction 7 or independent private instruction in accordance with Code 8 chapter 299A to operate a motor vehicle during the hours of 9 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. over the most direct and accessible 10 route between the licensee’s residence and the location where 11 the licensee receives instruction, and to a public school 12 or accredited nonpublic school for the purpose of attending 13 classes or extracurricular activities, regardless of whether 14 the licensee is enrolled at the school, provided the driving 15 distance between the point of origin and the destination is no 16 more than 50 miles. 17 The bill requires the primary instructor of a person who 18 receives competent private instruction or independent private 19 instruction in accordance with Code chapter 299A, rather 20 than the person’s school, to submit the certification to the 21 DOT. The presumption of the nonexistence of necessity for the 22 issuance of a license does not apply to such a student under 23 the bill. 24 A violation of Code section 321.194 is punishable by a 25 scheduled fine of $70. 26 -3- LSB 6081YH (2) 90 th/ns 3/ 3