OTTUMWA, IOWA -- Stricter laws for sex-offenders, no more texting while driving and no more guns for domestic abusers.
Iowa State Senators Keith Kreiman-(D) and Becky Schmitz-(D) have been working to make local communities and neighborhoods safer. The duo collaborated with law enforcement to back the passing of multiple legislatures.
State Senator Steve Sodders-(D) of State Center, also a Deputy Sheriff, met up with the two in Ottumwa, Sept. 16, for a press-conference to highlight their work.
Sexoffenders beware! Iowa now has harsher sex-offender laws. Sex-offenders must now report what car they drive and if they change their appearance, and the new laws make it easier for undercover officers to catch online predators.
“If somebody was using the computer and trying to sexually victimize a 12 or 13-year-old, if that 12 or 13-year-old turned out to be a cop in Waterloo, it was very difficult, if not impossible, to charge that person with enticing a minor,” said Senator Kreiman. “But, we changed that this year, so that even the attempt to entice that minor will land that person in prison and on the sex offender registry.”
Also new, a bi-partisan law will not allow convicted domestic abusers to own guns.
“We've had several bills that we've worked on over the last two years that I've been in the Senate,” said Senator Sodders. “One of them last year was the domestic assault bill, where we now take away guns from domestic assault abusers, especially when there's a one-year protective order on the victim. Senator Schmitz was a key member of that, pushed that legislation and we got it passed on a bi-partisan measure through both the Senate and the House, so that was one of the very good bills we did to protect victims of domestic violence.”
No more texting while driving…and teens, no more cell phone use period, while driving.
A new law has been set in place, banning everyone in the state from texting while driving, and banning teens, as well as those with restricted, work or graduated licenses from using any electronic device while driving.
“Statistics show that driving while texting and talking on the phone are distractions,” said Sodders.
Kids under the age of 18 are now required to wear a seatbelt in the back seat of a car, in order to prevent traumatic brain injuries.
Senator Kreiman passed an amendment which eliminates a loophole, which allowed minors to strip in strip clubs.
Iowans also now have a limit on how much pseudoephedrine, a primary ingredient in meth, they may purchase. It is now kept behind pharmacy counters and an electronic database tracks purchases. According to the director of the Governor’s Drug Control Task Force, the number of meth labs in Iowa dropped 82% between 2004 and 2009, because of this law.
Drug enforcement is now a little different. There will be an increased use of drug courts, which incorporates a strict treatment program into drug offender’s lives. According to Kreiman and Schmitz, this will save taxpayers thousands of dollars in prison costs for the non-violent addicts. The penalty for failure of the program is jail.
Senator Kreiman recommended to the State Senate a bill which provides uniform standards for gun permits, in which Iowa previously had 99 different standards.
Also discussed at the press conference was the “Ed Thomas law,” named after a former Aplington-Parkersburg coach/teacher who was shot to death by former student/player Mark Becker. Becker was released from a psychiatric ward, which he was taken to by authorities, but the authorities were not notified of his release. Days after release, he killed Thomas. The new law will open up lines of communication between hospitals and law enforcement. Senator Sodders recommended the bill to the State Senate.
Lastly, it is now illegal to fire an emergency services volunteer for missing work to perform volunteer duties. The new law also protects first-responders from personal liability for doing their job, such as using a heart defibrillator in an emergency.
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