Bill Text: IA SF481 | 2017-2018 | 87th General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to the enforcement of immigration laws and providing penalties and remedies, including the denial of state funds to certain entities. (Formerly SSB 1172.) Effective 7-1-18.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Passed) 2018-04-10 - Signed by Governor. S.J. 901. [SF481 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2017-SF481-Amended.html

Senate File 481 - Reprinted




                                 SENATE FILE       
                                 BY  COMMITTEE ON LOCAL
                                     GOVERNMENT

                                 (SUCCESSOR TO SSB
                                     1172)
       (As Amended and Passed by the Senate April 12, 2017)

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to the enforcement of immigration laws and
  2    providing penalties and remedies, including the denial of
  3    state funds to certain entities.
  4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
    SF 481 (3) 87
    je/rj/jh

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  825.1  Definitions.
  1  2    1.  "Immigration detainer request" means a federal government
  1  3 request to a local entity to maintain temporary custody of
  1  4 an alien. "Immigration detainer request" includes verbal and
  1  5 written requests, including a United States department of
  1  6 homeland security form I=247 or a similar or successor form.
  1  7    2.  "Immigration law" means a law of this state or a federal
  1  8 law relating to aliens, immigrants, or immigration, including
  1  9 but not limited to the federal Immigration and Nationality Act,
  1 10 8 U.S.C. {1101 et seq.
  1 11    3.  "Lawful detention" means the detention of a person by a
  1 12 local entity for the investigation of a public offense. "Lawful
  1 13 detention" excludes a detention if the sole reason for the
  1 14 detention is that a person is a victim of or witness to a public
  1 15 offense or is reporting a public offense.
  1 16    4.  "Local entity" means the governing body of a city or
  1 17 county. "Local entity" includes an officer or employee of a
  1 18 local entity or a division, department, or other body that is
  1 19 part of a local entity, including but not limited to a sheriff,
  1 20 police department, city attorney, or county attorney.
  1 21    5.  "Policy" includes a formal, written rule, policy,
  1 22 procedure, regulation, order, ordinance, motion, resolution, or
  1 23 amendment and an informal, unwritten policy.
  1 24    6.  "Public offense" excludes a moving traffic violation
  1 25 under chapter 321.
  1 26    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  825.2  Law enforcement agency duties ====
  1 27 immigration detainer requests.
  1 28    A law enforcement agency in this state that has custody of
  1 29 a person subject to an immigration detainer request issued by
  1 30 United States immigration and customs enforcement shall fully
  1 31 comply with any instruction made in the detainer request and in
  1 32 any other legal document provided by a federal agency.
  1 33    Sec. 3.  NEW SECTION.  825.3  Completion of sentence in
  1 34 federal custody.
  1 35    1.  The court, in a criminal proceeding in this state in
  2  1 which the sentence requires a defendant who is the subject
  2  2 of an immigration detainer request to be confined in a
  2  3 correctional facility, shall issue an order at the time of
  2  4 sentencing requiring the correctional facility in which the
  2  5 defendant is to be confined and all appropriate government
  2  6 officers to require the defendant to be transferred to serve in
  2  7 federal custody the final portion of the defendant's sentence,
  2  8 not to exceed a period of seven days, if a facility or officer
  2  9 determines that the change in the place of confinement will
  2 10 facilitate the seamless transfer of the defendant into federal
  2 11 custody.  The court in a criminal proceeding in this state
  2 12 shall retain jurisdiction to issue such an order at a later
  2 13 date if the court receives notice from a federal agency that a
  2 14 defendant was the subject of an immigration detainer request at
  2 15 the time of sentencing. The court shall issue such an order as
  2 16 soon as practicable after receiving such notice.
  2 17    2.  In the absence of an order issued under this section,
  2 18 a facility or officer acting under exigent circumstances may
  2 19 perform such a transfer after making a determination that the
  2 20 change in the place of confinement will facilitate the seamless
  2 21 transfer of the defendant into federal custody.
  2 22    3.  A defendant shall be transferred pursuant to this section
  2 23 only if appropriate officers of the federal government consent
  2 24 to the transfer of a defendant into federal custody under the
  2 25 circumstances described in this section.
  2 26    Sec. 4.  NEW SECTION.  825.4  Restriction on enforcement of
  2 27 immigration law prohibited.
  2 28    1.  A local entity shall not adopt or enforce a policy or
  2 29 take any other action under which the local entity prohibits or
  2 30 discourages the enforcement of immigration laws.
  2 31    2.  A local entity shall not prohibit or discourage a person
  2 32 who is a law enforcement officer, corrections officer, county
  2 33 attorney, city attorney, or other official who is employed by
  2 34 or otherwise under the direction or control of the local entity
  2 35 from doing any of the following:
  3  1    a.  Inquiring about the immigration status of a person under
  3  2 a lawful detention or under arrest.
  3  3    b.  Doing any of the following with respect to information
  3  4 relating to the immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any
  3  5 person under a lawful detention or under arrest, including
  3  6 information regarding the person's place of birth:
  3  7    (1)  Sending the information to or requesting or receiving
  3  8 the information from United States citizenship and immigration
  3  9 services, United States immigration and customs enforcement, or
  3 10 another relevant federal agency.
  3 11    (2)  Maintaining the information.
  3 12    (3)  Exchanging the information with another local entity or
  3 13 a federal or state governmental entity.
  3 14    c.  Assisting or cooperating with a federal immigration
  3 15 officer as reasonable or necessary, including providing
  3 16 enforcement assistance.
  3 17    d.  Permitting a federal immigration officer to enter and
  3 18 conduct enforcement activities at a jail or other detention
  3 19 facility to enforce a federal immigration law.
  3 20    Sec. 5.  NEW SECTION.  825.5  Written policies.
  3 21    No later than January 1, 2018, each state or local law
  3 22 enforcement agency subject to this chapter shall do all of the
  3 23 following:
  3 24    1.  Formalize in writing any unwritten, informal policies
  3 25 relating to the enforcement of immigration laws.
  3 26    2.  Update the agency's policies to be consistent with this
  3 27 chapter, to require each officer or other employee of the law
  3 28 enforcement agency to fully comply with this chapter, and to
  3 29 prohibit an officer or other employee of the law enforcement
  3 30 agency from preventing law enforcement agency personnel from
  3 31 fully complying with this chapter.
  3 32    Sec. 6.  NEW SECTION.  825.6  Discrimination prohibited.
  3 33    A local entity or a person employed by or otherwise under
  3 34 the direction or control of a local entity shall not consider
  3 35 race, skin color, language spoken, or national origin while
  4  1 enforcing immigration laws except to the extent permitted by
  4  2 the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of
  4  3 the State of Iowa.
  4  4    Sec. 7.  NEW SECTION.  825.7  Victim of or witness to a crime
  4  5 ==== limitation on collection of information.
  4  6    A local entity or a person employed by or otherwise under
  4  7 the direction or control of a local entity shall not ask for
  4  8 or collect any information from a victim of or witness to an
  4  9 alleged public offense or from a person reporting an alleged
  4 10 public offense, including the victim's, witness's, or person's
  4 11 national origin, that is not pertinent to the investigation of
  4 12 the alleged public offense.
  4 13    Sec. 8.  NEW SECTION.  825.8  Complaints ==== notification ====
  4 14 civil action.
  4 15    1.  Any person, including a federal agency, may file a
  4 16 complaint with the attorney general or a county attorney
  4 17 alleging that a local entity has violated or is violating
  4 18 this chapter if the person offers evidence to support such an
  4 19 allegation. The person shall include with the complaint any
  4 20 evidence the person has in support of the complaint.
  4 21    2.  A local entity for which the attorney general or county
  4 22 attorney has received a complaint pursuant to this section
  4 23 shall comply with any document requests, including a request
  4 24 for supporting documents, from the attorney general or county
  4 25 attorney relating to the complaint.
  4 26    3.  A complaint filed pursuant to subsection 1 shall not
  4 27 be valid unless the attorney general or county attorney
  4 28 determines that a violation of this chapter by a local entity
  4 29 was intentional.
  4 30    4.  If the attorney general or county attorney determines
  4 31 that a complaint filed pursuant to this section against a local
  4 32 entity is valid, the attorney general or county attorney, not
  4 33 later than ten days after the date of such a determination,
  4 34 shall provide written notification to the local entity by
  4 35 certified mail, with return receipt requested, stating all of
  5  1 the following:
  5  2    a.  A complaint pursuant to this section has been filed and
  5  3 the grounds for the complaint.
  5  4    b.  The attorney general or county attorney has determined
  5  5 that the complaint is valid.
  5  6    c.  The attorney general or county attorney is authorized to
  5  7 file a civil action in district court pursuant to subsection
  5  8 6 to enjoin a violation of this chapter no later than forty
  5  9 days after the date on which the notification is received
  5 10 if the local entity does not come into compliance with the
  5 11 requirements of this chapter.
  5 12    d.  The local entity and any entity that is under the
  5 13 jurisdiction of the local entity will be denied state funds
  5 14 pursuant to section 825.9 for the state fiscal year following
  5 15 the year in which a final judicial determination in a civil
  5 16 action brought under this section is made.
  5 17    5.  No later than thirty days after the date on which a
  5 18 local entity receives written notification under subsection 4,
  5 19 the local entity shall provide the attorney general or county
  5 20 attorney with all of the following:
  5 21    a.  Copies of all of the local entity's written policies
  5 22 relating to immigration enforcement actions.
  5 23    b.  A copy of each immigration detainer request received by
  5 24 the local entity from a federal agency.
  5 25    c.  A copy of each response sent by the local entity to an
  5 26 immigration detainer request described by paragraph "b".
  5 27    d.  A description of all actions the local entity has taken
  5 28 or will take to correct any violations of this chapter.
  5 29    e.  If applicable, any evidence that would refute the
  5 30 allegations made in the complaint.
  5 31    6.  No later than forty days after the date on which the
  5 32 notification pursuant to subsection 4 is received, the attorney
  5 33 general or county attorney shall file a civil action in
  5 34 district court to enjoin any ongoing violation of this chapter
  5 35 by a local entity.
  6  1    Sec. 9.  NEW SECTION.  825.9  Denial of state funds.
  6  2    1.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
  6  3 contrary, a local entity, including any entity under the
  6  4 jurisdiction of the local entity, shall be ineligible to
  6  5 receive any state funds if the local entity intentionally
  6  6 violates this chapter.
  6  7    2.  State funds shall be denied to a local entity pursuant
  6  8 to subsection 1 by all state agencies for each state fiscal
  6  9 year that begins after the date on which a final judicial
  6 10 determination that the local entity has intentionally violated
  6 11 this chapter is made in a civil action brought pursuant to
  6 12 section 825.8, subsection 6. State funds shall continue
  6 13 to be denied until eligibility to receive state funds is
  6 14 reinstated under section 825.10. However, any state funds for
  6 15 the provision of wearable body protective gear used for law
  6 16 enforcement purposes shall not be denied under this section.
  6 17    3.  The department of management shall adopt rules pursuant
  6 18 to chapter 17A to implement this section and section 825.10
  6 19 uniformly across state agencies from which state funds are
  6 20 distributed to local entities.
  6 21    Sec. 10.  NEW SECTION.  825.10  Reinstatement of eligibility
  6 22 to receive state funds.
  6 23    1.  Except as provided by subsection 5, no earlier than
  6 24 twelve months after the date of a final judicial determination
  6 25 that a local entity has intentionally violated the provisions
  6 26 of this chapter, the local entity may petition the district
  6 27 court that heard the civil action brought pursuant to section
  6 28 825.8, subsection 6, to seek a declaratory judgment that the
  6 29 local entity is in full compliance with this chapter.
  6 30    2.  A local entity that petitions the court as described by
  6 31 subsection 1 shall comply with any document requests, including
  6 32 a request for supporting documents, from the attorney general
  6 33 or county attorney relating to the action.
  6 34    3.  If the court issues a declaratory judgment declaring that
  6 35 the local entity is in full compliance with this chapter, the
  7  1 local entity's eligibility to receive state funds is reinstated
  7  2 beginning on the first day of the month following the date on
  7  3 which the declaratory judgment is issued.
  7  4    4.  A local entity shall not petition the court as described
  7  5 in subsection 1 more than twice in one twelve=month period.
  7  6    5.  A local entity may petition the court as described in
  7  7 subsection 1 before the date provided in subsection 1 if the
  7  8 person who was the director or other chief officer of the
  7  9 local entity at the time of the violation of this chapter is
  7 10 subsequently removed from or otherwise leaves office.
  7 11    6.  A party shall not be entitled to recover any attorney
  7 12 fees in a civil action described by subsection 1.
  7 13    Sec. 11.  NEW SECTION.  825.11  Attorney general database.
  7 14    The attorney general shall develop and maintain a searchable
  7 15 database listing each local entity for which a final judicial
  7 16 determination described in section 825.9, subsection 2, has
  7 17 been made. The attorney general shall post the database on the
  7 18 attorney general's internet site.
  7 19    Sec. 12.  APPLICABILITY.  This Act applies to the release of
  7 20 a person from custody in this state on or after the effective
  7 21 date of this Act.
  7 22    Sec. 13.  IMPLEMENTATION OF ACT.  Section 25B.2, subsection
  7 23 3, shall not apply to this Act.
       SF 481 (3) 87
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