Fiscal Note
Fiscal Services Division
HF 2595 – Hands-Free Driving and Automated Traffic Cameras (LSB6321HV)
Staff Contact: Garry Martin (515.281.4611) garry.martin@legis.iowa.gov
Fiscal Note Version – New
House File 2595 expands prohibitions against texting while driving and prohibits the use of
automated traffic enforcement systems.
Division I — Use of Electronic Devices While Driving
Description
House File 2595 prohibits any use of an electronic device while Single Citation — HF 2595
driving except in certain circumstances. The Bill defines Penalty $ 150.00
“electronic device” as a device that is powered by electricity, Surcharge (15.0%) 22.50
including by a battery, that is capable of composing, sending, Court Cost 55.00
receiving, or reading messages and storing, retrieving, or Total $ 227.50
displaying videos, movies, or images. The Bill permits the use
of an electronic device in a voice-activated or hands-free mode, with the speaker phone function
engaged, while holding the phone in close proximity to the person’s ear, or for navigation
purposes. The Bill makes a violation of Iowa Code section 321.276 a moving violation.
The Bill increases the scheduled fine for a violation of Iowa Code section 321.276 from $45 to
$150 and creates new penalties for a second ($250) and a third or subsequent ($500) violation
within two years. In addition, the Bill permits the Department of Transportation (DOT) to
suspend a person’s driver’s license for up to 90 days. The Bill allows a person to attend and
successfully complete, at the person’s own expense, a driver improvement program approved
by the DOT in lieu of the penalties.
The Bill allows use of an electronic device under the following circumstances:
• Use by members of a public safety agency performing official duties.
• Use by health care professionals in the course of emergency situations.
• Use to report an emergency situation, including maintaining communication with emergency
personnel during the emergency situation, or public transit personnel responding to a
transit-specific situation.
• Use by a utility maintenance employee or contractor using an electronic device while in a
utility maintenance vehicle for the purpose of providing utility services.
• A person operating a commercial motor vehicle while using a mobile data terminal that
transmits and receives data.
• A person storing an electronic device in a holster, harness, or article of clothing on the
person’s body.
• When a vehicle is at a complete stop such as a red light, traffic stop sign, or instructed to
stop by proper authorities.
A peace officer is required to issue a warning memorandum in lieu of a citation for violations that
occur from July 1, 2024, the effective date of Division I, until January 1, 2025.
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Background
Current law prohibits the use of hand-held electronic Single Citation — Current Law
communication devices to write, send, or view electronic Penalty $ 45.00
messages while driving a motor vehicle. The fine for this Surcharge (15.0%) 6.75
violation is currently $45. The violation is not considered a Court Cost 55.00
moving violation. Persons under the age of 18 are currently Total $ 106.75
prohibited from using an electronic communication device
while driving a motor vehicle (Iowa Code section 321.178). Convictions under Iowa Code
section 321.276 for using an electronic communication device while driving a motor vehicle
totaled 1,364 in FY 2023 and 1,311 in FY 2022.
Under Iowa Code section 602.8106(4)(b), scheduled fine revenue for a State law violation is
distributed as follows: 91.0% to the State and 9.0% to the general fund of the county in which
the violation occurred. For the State share of citations, 1.3% is distributed to the Emergency
Medical Services (EMS) Fund and 98.7% is distributed to the State General Fund.
In addition to the scheduled fine, a Crime Services Surcharge, equal to 15.0% of the fine, and a
$55 fee for court costs are also imposed. The Crime Services Surcharge is remitted to the
State Court Administrator and is distributed as follows: 46.0% to the Juvenile Detention Home
Fund; 32.0% to the Victim Compensation Fund; 20.0% to the Criminalistics Laboratory Fund;
and 2.0% to the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) Fund. The fee assessed for court
costs is deposited into the State General Fund.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) State Cellphone Use While
Driving Laws dashboard, 29 states currently prohibit all drivers from using hand-held cellphones
while driving.
Assumptions
• The number of Iowa citations under current law for FY 2024 is estimated to total 1,364,
which is similar to the number of citations in FY 2023.
• It is unknown whether this Bill will result in increased citations. For the purpose of this
Fiscal Note, it is assumed that the number of citations in FY 2025 will be half of FY 2024
because of warning memorandums being issued instead of citations. In FY 2026 and future
years citations will be similar to FY 2024.
• The collection rate for scheduled violations is estimated at 59.2%.
Fiscal Impact
Division I of House File 2595 is estimated to increase State General Fund revenue by $76,000
per year beginning in FY 2026. Revenue may increase in future years if fewer warnings are
given in lieu of tickets. The fiscal impact on other funding sources and the counties is shown in
Figure 1.
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 Figure 1 — Estimated Revenue, Current Law vs. HF 2595
Current Law FY 2025 vs FY 2026 vs
Est. FY 2024 FY 2025 FY 2024 FY 2026 FY 2024
General Fund
Penalty Revenue $ 32,637 $ 54,395 $ 21,758 $ 108,789 $ 76,152
Court Fee 44,412 22,206 -22,206 44,412 0
Subtotal $ 77,049 $ 76,601 $ -448 $ 153,201 $ 76,152
Surcharge
Juvenile Detention $ 2,507 $ 4,179 $ 1,672 $ 8,358 $ 5,850
Victim Compensation 1,744 2,907 1,163 5,814 4,070
Crime Lab 1,090 1,817 727 3,634 2,544
DARE 109 182 73 363 254
Subtotal $ 5,451 $ 9,084 $ 3,634 $ 18,168 $ 12,718
Other
County General
Funds $ 3,270 $ 5,451 $ 2,180 $ 10,901 $ 7,631
EMS Fund 430 716 287 1,433 1,003
Total $ 86,199 $ 91,852 $ 5,652 $ 183,704 $ 97,504
Division II — Automatic Traffic Enforcement Prohibited
Description
House File 2595 prohibits the use of automatic or remote systems for traffic law enforcement by
State or local authorities on and after July 1, 2025. However, any citation issued or mailed
pursuant to such an ordinance prior to July 1, 2025, is not invalidated and must be processed
according to the provisions of the law under which the citation was authorized.
The Bill places information-sharing restrictions on the DOT and the Department of Public Safety
(DPS) in relation to information collection by automatic traffic enforcement systems (ATEs).
“Automated or remote system for traffic law enforcement” is defined in the Bill as a camera or
other optical device designed to work in conjunction with an official traffic control signal or
speed-measuring device to identify motor vehicles operating in violation of traffic laws, the use
of which results in the issuance of citations sent through the mail or by electronic means.
Background
As of January 2024, the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) is aware of 25 cities and towns in
Iowa that operate one or more ATEs, including Sioux City, Cedar Rapids, Davenport,
Muscatine, Fort Dodge, Council Bluffs, Des Moines, Waterloo, Fayette, West Union, LeClaire,
Strawberry Point, Hazleton, Hudson, Chester, Buffalo, Bellevue, Miles, Independence, Oelwein,
Prairie City, Webster City, Marshalltown, Marion, and Postville. Data is not available at this time
regarding the use of ATEs in additional cities or towns. As of January 15, 2024, the LSA
obtained data from Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Des Moines, LeClaire, Muscatine,
Waterloo, Buffalo, Fayette, and Marshalltown regarding their current ATEs. Sioux City recently
changed its ATE provider and does not have accurate data for a full year.
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Figure 2 provides data obtained by the LSA related to the number of ATE devices, base cost
per violation, vendors’ share of revenues, and local authorities’ share of revenues for the last full
fiscal year.
Figure 2 — Data Provided for Fiscal Year 2023
Local Number of Total Number of Number of Number of Base Fine Vendor Local Authority
Authority Mobile ATEs Operating ATEs Violations Issued Violations Collected Per Violation Revenue Revenue
Buffalo 1 3 10,006 9,359 $ 75 $ 145,125 $ 362,813
Cedar Rapids 2 19 169,696 94,037 75 1,834,563 7,207,857
Coucil Bluffs 0 15 20,299 12,557 100 489,416 849,453
Davenport 4 18 43,452 20,314 65 440,601 1,420,540
Des Moines 3 13 125,768 84,991 65 1,929,663 3,594,696
Fayette 0 2 5,315 4,074 100 138,878 324,049
LeClaire 1 5 62,229 50,533 50 1,664,130 1,703,438
Marshalltown 0 3 5,966 2,952 100 100,000 195,050
Muscatine 1 9 11,577 8,516 75 215,514 510,840
Waterloo 2 25 53,054 26,117 36 942,296 1,166,746
Lowest violation amount. Actual violation may increase depending on miles over the legal speed limit.
Source: Local authorities
Assumptions
All existing ATE devices will cease operation on or before July 1, 2024. Figure 3 provides the
estimated loss of revenue to cities.
Fiscal Impact
The full fiscal impact of Division II cannot be estimated due to insufficient data as only 10 of the
25 local authorities that have speed cameras reported to the LSA. House File 2595 is estimated
to decrease revenue to the 10 reporting local authorities by an estimated $17.3 million per fiscal
year. Figure 3 includes information reported to the LSA for FY 2023.
Figure 3 — Estimated Annual Local Government
Revenue Reduction Compared to FY 2023
Local Estimated Loss
Authority of Revenue
Buffalo $ -362,813
Cedar Rapids -7,207,857
Coucil Bluffs -849,453
Davenport -1,420,540
Des Moines -3,594,696
Fayette -324,049
LeClaire -1,703,438
Marshalltown -195,050
Muscatine -510,840
Waterloo -1,166,746
Note: This information only reflects 10 of 25 local authorities that have
reported to the LSA.
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 Figure 4 — Local Uses for ATE Revenue
Local Authority Uses
Buffalo Public safety expenses
Cedar Rapids General fund
Council Bluffs General fund
Davenport General fund
Des Moines Des Moines Public Safety Radio System and Iowa
Statewide Interoperable Communications System
Fayette General fund
LeClaire General fund
Marshalltown General fund
Muscatine Police department for personnel costs
Waterloo General fund: Police department for equipment
Source: As reported by local authorities
Sources
Legislative Services Agency calculations
Local authorities
Department of Transportation
Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning, Department of Management
National Conference of State Legislatures
Federal Highway Administration
/s/ Jennifer Acton
March 13, 2024
Doc ID 1446975
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: 321.178, 321.180B, 321.194, 321.210, 321.238, 321.276, 321.482A, 321.482, 321.491, 805.8A