Fiscal Note
Fiscal Services Division
HF 2463 – Minor Driving Permits (LSB5885HV)
Staff Contact: Garry Martin (515.281.4611) garry.martin@legis.iowa.gov
Fiscal Note Version – New
Description
House File 2463 replaces the current special minor’s license with a new special minor’s
restricted license. The special minor’s restricted license entitles a person under the age of 16
(licensee) to drive up to 25 miles from the licensee’s residence to the licensee’s school,
extracurricular activities, or work shift in the hour before or after the licensee’s scheduled work
shift, school day, or extracurricular activity. A licensee may drive more than 25 miles if the
licensee attends a public school and resides within the public school district. Under the Bill, an
applicant for a special minor’s restricted license must hold an instruction permit or a comparable
permit issued by another state.
A licensee’s parent or guardian must provide the Department of Transportation (DOT) with
written consent for the licensee to drive to work. Eligible work activities include farm work and
work activities under Iowa Code chapter 92. The Bill prohibits a licensee to drive as a part of
the licensee’s employment if the employment is nonfarm.
The Bill decreases the distance a licensee may travel with a farm-work authorization from 50 to
25 miles and retains other existing privileges.
The Bill removes the current requirement for schools to certify that a special need exists for the
DOT to issue a special minor’s license, and instead requires an applicant’s school to certify that
the applicant is enrolled as a student. The Bill authorizes a licensee to drive to school
regardless of whether the school is public or accredited nonpublic.
The Bill contains various provisions for a licensee who violates the license restrictions or is
convicted of violating a traffic law. The Bill establishes that a violation of a license restriction
becomes a moving violation.
The Bill does not require a person who holds a special minor’s license that was issued before
the effective date of the Bill to apply for a new license. However, a person who was issued a
special minor’s license prior to the effective date of the Bill is prohibited from driving
unaccompanied to the person’s place of employment until after the person’s parent or guardian
provides written consent to the DOT in accordance with the Bill.
Background
Under current law, the DOT is authorized to issue special permits and licenses to persons under
the age of 18, including a special minor’s license, which authorizes unsupervised driving and
can be issued to a person 14 and a half years of age. A special minor’s license entitles a
person between the ages of 14 and a half to 18 (student driver) to operate a motor vehicle
without adult supervision up to 50 miles from the student driver’s residence to the student
driver’s school or school bus stop or public transportation service. The student driver can
operate a vehicle without supervision for more than 50 miles if the student driver drives to a
school within the school district of enrollment or within a school district contiguous to the school
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district of enrollment. Current law also distinguishes between a public school and accredited
nonpublic school in regard to where a student driver is authorized to drive unsupervised,
requires schools to certify that a special need exists for the DOT to issue a special minor’s
license, and authorizes a student driver to drive to approved locations between the hours of
5:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.
Under current law, a student driver who resides on a farm or is employed for compensation on a
farm may drive up to 50 miles for the purpose of assisting the person’s parents, guardians, or
employers with farm work or in connection with any farm job, employment, or other farm-related
work, including traveling to or from the location of the farm work.
Assumptions
• The DOT will incur a one-time vendor cost of $80,000 to redesign the existing minor’s school
license to a special minor’s restricted license.
• The DOT will incur one-time information technology (IT) programming costs of $68,000 for
the DOT database to update the card design and create a new license, restriction, and
sanction for the new special minor’s restricted license. A new form and a new program for
the receipt/recording of the form will need to be created.
• The DOT estimates that approximately 21,000 students may be eligible for special restricted
driver’s licenses. It is assumed that 10,600 students would apply for this type of license per
year.
• The DOT may incur additional staff overtime costs to help process employment consent
forms.
Fiscal Impact
The estimated fiscal impact to the DOT for HF 2463 is approximately $209,000 in FY 2025, and
approximately $61,000 in FY 2026.
Figure 1 — Estimated Fiscal Impact for HF 2463
DOT Costs FY 2025 FY 2026
Card Redesign $ 80,000 $ 0
IT Programming 68,000 0
Employment Consent Form Processing Time 61,000 61,000
Total $ 209,000 $ 61,000
Numbers may not total due to rounding.
Sources
Department of Transportation
Legislative Services Agency
/s/ Jennifer Acton
February 29, 2024
Doc ID 1446686
The fiscal note for this Bill was prepared pursuant to Joint Rule 17 and the Iowa Code. Data used in developing this
fiscal note is available from the Fiscal Services Division of the Legislative Services Agency upon request.
www.legis.iowa.gov
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Statutes affected:
Introduced: 232.52, 321.1, 321.178, 299.2, 321.194, 321.180B, 299.1B