Fiscal Note
Fiscal Services Division
HF 176 – Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child, Mandatory Minimum (LSB1392HV.1)
Staff Contact: Isabel Waller (515.281.6561) isabel.waller@legis.iowa.gov
Fiscal Note Version – Final Action
Description
House File 176 applies a 70.0% mandatory minimum sentence to the criminal offense of
continuous sexual abuse of a child.
Background
Under Iowa Code section 709.23, a person 18 years of age or older commits continuous sexual
abuse of a child when the person engages in any combination of three or more acts of sexual
abuse in violation of Iowa Code sections 709.3 or 709.4, with the same child, and at least 30
days have elapsed between the first and last acts of sexual abuse. A person who is convicted
of continuous sexual abuse of a child is guilty of a Class B felony and is required to be confined
for no more than 50 years.
Assumptions
• The following will not change over the projection period: charge, conviction, and sentencing
patterns and trends; 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 176 adds a mandatory minimum sentence to the existing Class B felony under Iowa
Code section 709.23 and is estimated to have a correctional impact. Adding a mandatory
minimum sentence would increase the length of stay (LOS) of individuals who are admitted to
prison for continuous sexual abuse of a child. This may increase the prison population, but the
extent of this increase cannot be estimated. In FY 2022, one individual was admitted to prison
for continuous sexual abuse of a child. If a mandatory minimum sentence was applied, the
estimated LOS in prison would increase from 9.7 years to 35 years. Refer to the Legislative
Services Agency (LSA) memo addressed to the General Assembly, Cost Estimates Used for
Correctional Impact Statements, dated January 20, 2023, for information related to the
correctional system.
Minority Impact
The minority impact of House File 176 cannot be estimated. The crime of continuous sexual
abuse of a child was established in 2020 Iowa Acts, HF 2554 (Continuous Sexual Abuse of a
Child Act), and there were three convictions in FY 2022. All three individuals were Caucasian.
However, due to the small number of convictions and the recent creation of the crime, it is
difficult to estimate the minority impact. Refer to the LSA memo addressed to the General
Assembly, Minority Impact Statement, dated January 20, 2023, for information related to
minorities in the criminal justice system.
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Fiscal Impact
House File 176 is estimated to increase costs to the DOC by creating a mandatory minimum
sentence, but the extent of the increase in costs is unknown. If one individual is admitted to
prison for continuous sexual abuse of a child, the mandatory minimum sentence would increase
costs to the DOC by approximately $217,000 over that individual’s period of incarceration, as
shown in Table 1.
Table 1 — Change in Cost to the DOC Under HF 176
Prison
Cost Per Day LOS (Days) Total Cost
Admissions
Current Law 1 $23.42 3,520 $82,438
HF 176 1 $23.42 12,768 $299,027
Sources
Department of Corrections
Department of Human Rights, Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning
Legislative Services Agency
/s/ Jennifer Acton
May 8, 2023
Doc ID 1371884
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: 709.23
Enrolled: 709.23