Bill Text: IA SF468 | 2017-2018 | 87th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to the definition of stalking and making penalties applicable. (Formerly SF 209.)

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2017-03-21 - Read first time, referred to Judiciary. H.J. 707. [SF468 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2017-SF468-Introduced.html

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Senate File 468 - Introduced




                                 SENATE FILE       
                                 BY  COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

                                 (SUCCESSOR TO SF 209)

                                 (COMPANION TO HF 455
                                     BY BENNETT)

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to the definition of stalking and making
  2    penalties applicable.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
    TLSB 2036SV (1) 87
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 708.11, subsection 1, paragraph b, Code
  1  2 2017, is amended to read as follows:
  1  3    b.  "Course of conduct" means repeatedly maintaining a visual
  1  4 or physical proximity to a person without legitimate purpose,
  1  5 repeatedly utilizing a technological device to locate, listen
  1  6 to, or watch a person without legitimate purpose, or repeatedly
  1  7 conveying oral or written threats, threats implied by conduct,
  1  8 or a combination thereof, directed at or toward a person.
  1  9    Sec. 2.  Section 708.11, subsection 2, Code 2017, is amended
  1 10 to read as follows:
  1 11    2.  A person commits stalking when all of the following
  1 12 occur:
  1 13    a.  The person purposefully engages in a course of conduct
  1 14 directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable
  1 15 person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, or
  1 16 threatened or to fear that the person intends to cause bodily
  1 17 injury to, or the death of, that specific person or a member of
  1 18 the specific person's immediate family.
  1 19    b.  The person has knowledge or should have knowledge
  1 20 that the specific person will be placed in reasonable fear
  1 21 of a reasonable person would feel terrorized, frightened,
  1 22 intimidated, or threatened or fear that the person intends to
  1 23 cause bodily injury to, or the death of, that specific person
  1 24 or a member of the specific person's immediate family by the
  1 25 course of conduct.
  1 26    c.  The person's course of conduct induces fear in the
  1 27 specific person of bodily injury to, or the death of, the
  1 28 specific person or a member of the specific person's immediate
  1 29 family.
  1 30                           EXPLANATION
  1 31 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  1 32 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  1 33    This bill relates to the definition of stalking.
  1 34    The bill expands the definition of "course of conduct"
  1 35 for purposes of the definition of the crime of stalking
  2  1 contained in Code section 708.11 to include situations where a
  2  2 technological device is repeatedly used to locate, listen to,
  2  3 or watch a person without a legitimate purpose.
  2  4    The bill modifies the elements of the criminal offense
  2  5 of stalking to provide that a person commits the crime of
  2  6 stalking when the person both purposefully engages in a course
  2  7 of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a
  2  8 reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated,
  2  9 or threatened or to fear that the person intends to cause
  2 10 bodily injury to, or the death of, that specific person or a
  2 11 member of the specific person's immediate family and the person
  2 12 has knowledge or should have knowledge that a reasonable person
  2 13 would feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, or threatened
  2 14 or fear that the person intends to cause bodily injury to, or
  2 15 the death of, that specific person or a member of the specific
  2 16 person's immediate family. The bill eliminates a current
  2 17 element of stalking requiring the person's course of conduct to
  2 18 actually induce fear in the victim of bodily injury to or death
  2 19 of the victim or the victim's family member.
  2 20    A person who commits stalking in violation of Code section
  2 21 708.11 is subject to criminal penalties ranging from an
  2 22 aggravated misdemeanor (confinement for no more than two years
  2 23 and a fine of at least $625 but not more than $6,250) to a class
  2 24 "C" felony (confinement for no more than 10 years and a fine of
  2 25 at least $1,000 but not more than $10,000).
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