Fiscal Note
Fiscal Services Division
HF 524 – Motor Vehicle Accidents, Leaving the Scene (LSB1269HV.1)
Staff Contact: Laura Book (515.205.9275) laura.book@legis.iowa.gov
Fiscal Note Version – Final Action
Description
House File 524 applies the mandatory license revocation provision under Iowa Code section
321.209 to a driver who knows or has reason to believe that the driver’s vehicle was involved in
an accident resulting in injury to or death of a person.
House File 524 provides that if a driver knows or has reason to believe that the driver’s vehicle
was involved in an accident resulting in an injury to or death of a person, the driver is required to
immediately stop the driver’s vehicle at the scene. If the driver leaves the scene and later
discovers the driver’s vehicle was involved in such an accident, the driver is required to make a
good-faith effort to immediately contact emergency services.
House File 524 expands the penalties applicable under Iowa Code section 321.261 to include:
• Any person failing to stop or to comply with the requirements to stop under this section, who
causes an accident resulting in a serious injury to any person, is guilty of a Class D felony.
• A person failing to stop or to comply with the requirements of this section, who causes an
accident resulting in the death of a person, is guilty of a Class C felony.
Background
Currently, the following penalties exist under Iowa Code section 321.261:
• Any person failing to stop or to comply with the requirements in this section, in the event of
an accident resulting in an injury to any person, is guilty of a serious misdemeanor.
• Any person failing to stop or to comply with the requirements in this section, in the event of
an accident resulting in a serious injury to any person, is guilty of an aggravated
misdemeanor.
• A person failing to stop or to comply with the requirements in this section, in the event of an
accident resulting in the death of a person, is guilty of a Class D felony.
A violation of Iowa Code section 321.261 is subject to mandatory driver’s license revocation
under Iowa Code section 321.209, is considered an offense for purposes of habitual offender
status under Iowa Code section 321.555, and may result in exclusion from an automobile
insurance policy under Iowa Code section 515D.4. The penalties under this Bill range from a
serious misdemeanor to a Class C 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 (LOS), 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.
1
Correctional Impact
House File 524 expands the penalties applicable under Iowa Code section 321.261 if the person
caused the accident. In FY 2019 and FY 2020 combined, there were nine Class D felony, 19
aggravated misdemeanor, and 91 serious misdemeanor convictions under Iowa Code section
321.261. Under this Bill, some of those aggravated misdemeanor or Class D felony convictions
may be increased to Class D and Class C felonies respectively if the person caused the
accident. It is unknown how many of these convictions would have qualified under the
enhanced penalties in this Bill; therefore, the impact of adding this provision cannot be
determined.
Table 1 provides estimates for sentencing to State prison, parole, probation, or Community-
Based Corrections (CBC) residential facilities; LOS under those supervisions; and supervision
marginal costs per day for all convictions ranging from serious misdemeanors to Class C
felonies. 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.
Table 1 — LOS and Sentencing
Avg Percent FY 20 Avg FY 20
Length of FY 20 Percent Avg Cost Sentenced Marginal Length of Average
Stay Marginal Ordered Avg LOS Per Day to CBC Cost Percent Stay in Marginal Cost Per
Conviction Percent Prison Cost/Day to on on Residential CBC Per Ordered to County Cost Per Avg LOS Day
Offense Class to Prison (months) Prison Probation Probation Probation Facility Day County Jail Jail Day on Parole Parole
Class C Felony
(Persons) 89.0% 38.6 $20.33 27.9% 34.1 $5.38 5.5% $14.78 49.1% N/A $50.00 21.5 $5.38
Class D Felony
(Persons) 77.0% 16.0 $20.33 47.8% 30.5 $5.38 10.5% $14.78 38.6% N/A $50.00 11.5 $5.38
Aggravated
Misdemeanor
(Persons) 43.0% 7.1 $20.33 51.7% 20.2 $5.38 3.3% $14.78 70.7% N/A $50.00 6.0 $5.38
Serious
Misdemeanor 2.0% 5.0 $20.33 56.0% 13.4 $5.38 1.0% $14.78 69.0% N/A $50.00 2.4 $5.38
Minority Impact
Of the 119 convictions under Iowa Code section 321.261 in FY 2019 and FY 2020, 75.7% of the
convictions involved Caucasian offenders, 16.2% involved African American offenders, and
8.1% involved offenders classified as Other. In FY 2020, Caucasians and African Americans
made up 89.9% and 4.1% of the adult population of the State of Iowa, respectively.
It is unknown how many of these convictions were caused by the driver and would have
qualified under the enhanced penalties in this Bill; therefore, the Criminal and Juvenile Justice
Planning Division (CJJP) of the Department of Human Rights cannot use existing data to
estimate the minority impact. 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.
Fiscal Impact
House File 524 expands the penalties applicable under Iowa Code section 321.261 and the
fiscal impact cannot be estimated. Under this Bill, some aggravated misdemeanor or Class D
felony convictions may be increased to Class D and Class C felonies respectively if the person
caused the accident. Table 2 provides the potential cost increase for one conviction under Iowa
Code section 321.261. 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.
2
 Table 2 — Average Cost Difference Per Conviction
Cost Per Conviction
Code Section Offense Class Minimum Maximum
321.261(3) Class D Felony $ 7,700 $ 13,500
Aggravated Misdemeanor 3,700 7,800
Total Cost Increase $ 4,000 $ 5,700
321.261(4) Class C Felony $ 9,900 $ 19,200
Class D Felony 7,700 13,500
Total Cost Increase $ 2,200 $ 5,700
Sources
CJJP, Department of Human Rights
Department of Corrections
Judicial Branch
LSA analysis
/s/ Holly M. Lyons
June 15, 2021
Doc ID 1221413
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
3


Statutes affected:
Introduced: 321.209, 321.261, 321.555
Enrolled: 321.209, 321.261, 321.555