Fiscal Note
Fiscal Services Division
HF 452 – Human Trafficking, Massage Therapy Enforcement (LSB2286SV.1)
Staff Contact: Laura Book (515.205.9275) laura.book@legis.iowa.gov
Fiscal Note Version – Final Action
Description
House File 452 relates to certain civil and criminal enforcement activities involving the practice
of massage therapy, cosmetology, and human trafficking, and provides penalties. The Bill
creates several new crimes punishable as serious misdemeanors, including the following:
• Iowa Code section 152C.5B — A person licensed or who purports to be licensed who
refuses to present a copy of the person’s valid license and government-issued identification
to a peace officer immediately upon request.
• Iowa Code section 152C.5C — A person, in an announcement to the public, is prohibited
from representing that another person is licensed as a massage therapist or a
cosmetologist, when the person knows or has reason to know the other person is not
licensed.
• Iowa Code section 157.4B — A person is prohibited from falsely representing the person’s
self as being licensed as a massage therapist or a cosmetologist.
House File 452 also expands the definition of human trafficking and states that a person
engages in human trafficking when:
• A person knowingly provides or facilitates the provision of a forged, altered, or fraudulent
license to another person in order to force, coerce, entice, assist, facilitate, or permit the
other person to perform labor or services.
• Knowingly forcing, coercing, enticing, assisting, facilitating, or permitting another person in
possession of a fraudulent license to produce such license to a peace officer upon request.
Violation of these provisions is an aggravated misdemeanor. If the victim is under 18, the
person is guilty of a Class D felony.
House File 452 establishes a crime relating to the premises used for human trafficking. A
person who has possession of a building where there is reason to suspect human trafficking
occurs is guilty of a Class D felony. A person who fails to fully cooperate with an investigation
on their premises commits a serious misdemeanor.
House File 452 establishes an affirmative defense for the offenses provided in this Bill if the
violation directly resulted from the defendant’s status as a victim of any human trafficking crime
under Iowa Code chapter 710A. The Bill also provides that a court may order restorative
expenses for a period of three years as part of a human trafficking victim’s restitution and
defines restorative expenses. The court is prohibited from considering a defendant’s ability to
pay in the court’s decision to order restorative expenses.
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Background
The penalties for human trafficking under this Bill range from a serious misdemeanor to a Class
D felony. Felonies and misdemeanors are punishable by the terms defined in Iowa Code
chapters 902 and 903, respectively.
Assumptions
• The following will not change over the projection period: charge, conviction, and sentencing
patterns and trends, prisoner length of stay, revocation rates, plea bargaining, and other
criminal justice system policies and practices.
• A lag effect of six months is assumed from the effective date of this Bill to the date of first
entry of affected offenders into the correctional system.
• Marginal costs for county jails cannot be estimated due to a lack of data. For purposes of
this analysis, the marginal cost for county jails is assumed to be $50 per day.
Correctional Impact
House File 452 establishes several new offenses and expands offenses related to human
trafficking. The Department of Corrections (DOC) estimates this Bill will result in an increase in
convictions in regard to the new licensure requirements as well as the expanded definition for
human trafficking. However, a correctional impact cannot be estimated for the portions of this
Bill establishing new penalties relating to licensure due to the lack of existing conviction data.
In FY 2019 and FY 2020, there were no human trafficking convictions. Over the last five fiscal
years, there have been zero prison admissions for an Iowa Code chapter 710A offense.
Similarly, over the course of the last five years, there have been zero admissions to probation
for the same offense. It is unknown how many more convictions may result under the expanded
definition of human trafficking in Iowa Code chapter 710A, and therefore a correctional impact
cannot be estimated. It is important to note that the current correctional impact for offenders
convicted of Iowa Code chapter 710A offenses is small due to the low conviction rate.
Table 1 provides estimates for sentencing to State prison, parole, probation, or Community-
Based Corrections (CBC) residential facilities; length of stay (LOS) under those supervisions;
and supervision marginal costs per day for all convictions ranging from serious misdemeanors
to Class D felonies.
Table 1 — Sentencing Estimates and LOS
Prison Ordered Probation
Ordered to LOS to LOS
Offense Class Prison (months) Probation (Months)
Serious
Misdemeanor 2.1% 10.5 58.5% 15.1
Aggravated
Misdemeanor 46.5% 8.9 71.9% 20.2
Class D
Felony 86.8% 16.0 47.8% 30.5
Refer to the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) memo addressed to the General Assembly,
Cost Estimates Used for Correctional Impact Statements, dated January 26, 2021, for
information related to the correctional system.
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Minority Impact
House File 452 establishes several new offenses and expands offenses related to human
trafficking. In FY 2019 and FY 2020, there were no human trafficking convictions. As a result,
the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning Division (CJJP) of the Department of Human Rights
cannot use prior existing data to estimate the minority impact of HF 452. Refer to the LSA
memo addressed to the General Assembly, Minority Impact Statement, dated January 26, 2021,
for information related to minorities in the criminal justice system.
Fiscal Impact
House File 452 establishes several new offenses and expands offenses related to human
trafficking, and the fiscal impact cannot be estimated due to the lack of existing conviction data.
Table 2 contains cost estimates for the average State cost per offense class type for one
conviction. The cost estimate includes operating costs incurred by the Judicial Branch, the
State Public Defender, and the Department of Corrections for one conviction. The cost would
be incurred across multiple fiscal years for prison and parole supervision.
Table 2 — Average State Cost Per Offense Class Type
Total Cost
Offense Class Minimum Maximum
Serious Misdemeanor $ 410 $ 7,500
Aggravated Misdemeanor 3,700 7,800
Class D Felony 7,700 13,500
The new offense established by HF 452 may also result in an increase in fine and surcharge
revenue, but the impact is unknown.
Sources
CJJP, Department of Human Rights
Department of Corrections
Judicial Branch
/s/ Holly M. Lyons
June 15, 2021
Doc ID 1220489
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: 330A.8, 152C.5B, 710A.2
Reprinted: 330A.8, 152C.5B, 710A.2
Enrolled: 330A.8, 152C.5B, 710A.2