Fiscal Note
Fiscal Services Division
HF 392 – Distracted Driving (LSB1179HV)
Staff Contact: Austin Brinks (515.725.2200) austin.brinks@legis.iowa.gov
Fiscal Note Version – New
Description
House File 392 prohibits any use of an electronic device while driving. The Bill defines an
electronic device as being capable of sending or receiving messages and storing or displaying
videos. The Bill increases the scheduled fine for using an electronic device from $45 to $100.
Under the Bill, use of an electronic device would be a moving violation. A moving violation can
be considered for purposes of administrative suspension of a driver’s license or to establish
habitual offender status.
The Bill allows use of an electronic device under the following circumstances:
• Use in voice-activated or hands-free mode.
• Use by members of a public safety agency performing official duties.
• Use by health care professionals in the course of emergency situations.
• Use for the purpose of receiving safety-related information.
• Use for the purpose of reporting 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 certain radio operators.
• Use by members of a public transit system performing official duties in a vehicle that is not in
motion.
• A utility maintenance employee or contractor using an electronic device while in a utility
maintenance vehicle for the purpose of providing utility services.
• A transportation network company driver engaged in a prearranged ride, provided the
vehicle is not in motion.
A peace officer is required to issue a warning memorandum in lieu of a citation for violations that
occur during the period of time between July 1, 2021, the effective date of the Bill, and January
1, 2022.
Background
Current law prohibits the use of hand-held Table 1 — Cost of Single Citation
electronic communication devices to write, send, or Current Law
view electronic messages while driving a motor
Penalty $ 45.00
vehicle. The fine for this violation is $45. The
violation is not considered a moving violation. Surcharge (15.0%) 6.75
Persons under the age of 18 are currently Court Cost 55.00
prohibited from using an electronic communication Total $ 106.75
device while driving a motor vehicle (Iowa Code HF 392
section 321.178). For FY 2019, convictions under Penalty $ 100.00
Iowa Code section 321.276 for using an electronic Surcharge (15.0%) 15.00
communication device while driving a motor vehicle
Court Cost 55.00
totaled 1,770. FY 2019 is used for calculations due
Total $ 170.00
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to the COVID-19 pandemic limiting traffic in FY 2020.
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 Fund. The fee assessed for court costs is
deposited into the State General Fund.
Correctional Impact
House File 392 is estimated to have minimal correctional impact. Refer to the Legislative
Services Agency (LSA) memo addressed to the General Assembly, Cost Estimates Used for
Correctional Impact Statements, dated January 22, 2021, for information related to the
correctional system.
Minority Impact
Convictions issued under Iowa Code section 321.276 are displayed in Table 2.
Refer to the LSA memo addressed to the General Assembly, Minority Impact Statement, dated
January 27, 2021, for information related to minorities in the criminal justice system.
Table 2
Iowa Code Section 321.726 Convictions by Ethnicity
White Black Hispanic Asian Native Am. Other Unknown Total
FY 2018 1286 68 11 33 9 33 294 1734
FY 2019 1315 70 23 35 3 45 279 1770
FY 2020 1144 73 18 24 1 37 279 1576
Assumptions
• The state of Utah enacted a similar law beginning in May 2014. From 2016 to 2019, the
state averaged 2,667 convictions per year for operating an electronic communication device
while driving. Utah has 1.9 million drivers. Utah’s citation rate was 133.7 per 100,000
licensed drivers.
• The number of citations under current law for FY 2021 are estimated to total 1,700, which is
similar to the average number of citations over the previous three years.
• For estimation purposes, it is assumed that the number of annual citations issued under
HF 392 will total 3,000, which is similar to the rate of citations issued annually in Utah from
2016 to 2019. However, the estimated number of citations issued during FY 2022, will total
1,500 as a result of the requirement in HF 392 that warning memorandums be issued in lieu
of citations of FY 2022.
• A delay of six months is expected until fines are collected. The collection rate for the
scheduled violation is estimated to be 58.0%.
Fiscal Impact
House file 392 is estimated to reduce General Fund revenue by $47,000 in FY 2022, and
increase revenue by $100,500 beginning in FY 2023. The fiscal impact on other funding
sources and the counties is shown on Table 3.
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Table 3 displays the estimated fiscal impact of the changes enacted in the Bill.
Table 3 — Estimated Revenue Current Law vs HF 392
Current Law HF 392
FY 2022 FY 2023
FY 2021 FY 2022 vs 2021 FY 2023 vs 2021
General Fund
Penalty Revenue $ 40,000 $ 20,000 $ -20,000 $156,000 $116,000
Court Fee 54,000 27,000 -27,000 96,000 42,000
Subtotal $ 94,000 $ 47,000 $ -47,000 $252,000 $158,000
Surcharge Revenue
Juvenile Detention $ 3,100 $ 1,600 $ -1,500 $ 12,000 $ 8,900
Victim Comp. 2,100 1,100 -1,000 8,300 6,200
Crime Lab 1,300 700 -600 5,200 3,900
DARE 100 50 -50 500 400
Subtotal $ 6,600 $ 3,450 $ -3,150 $ 26,000 $ 19,400
Other
County General Funds $ 4,000 $ 2,000 $ -2,000 $ 16,000 $ 12,000
EMS Fund 500 300 -200 2,000 1,500
Grand Total $ 105,100 $ 52,750 $ -52,350 $ 296,000 $ 190,900
DARE= Drug Abuse Resistance Education
Sources
LSA calculations
Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning Division, Department of Human Rights
/s/ Holly M. Lyons
February 10, 2021
Doc ID 12117151211715
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, 321.210, 321.238, 321.276, 321.482A, 321.482, 805.8A