Three bills that make up Iowa House Republicans’ “tough on crime” package cleared their first legislative hurdle in the Iowa House this week.
A person convicted of multiple specific crimes would face a minimum 20-year prison sentence without parole under one bill (HSB 666) advanced by a subcommittee.
The proposal would follow a point system. Various felony and aggravated misdemeanor convictions would be worth either one point or half a point, and people who reach three points would be subject to the 20-year sentence. Iowa’s current habitual offender law has stackable sentences of 15 years with a mandatory minimum of three years in prison.
Tony Phillips, lobbyist for the Iowa State Sheriffs’ and Deputies’ Association, said the group appreciates the bill because a small subset of people end up in jail and prison repeatedly.
“I think any time you’re going to address criminal penalties, it’s important that you look at a deterrent effect and sending a clear signal to folks that if on repeat occasions you’re going to do that crime, you’re going to end up doing the time,” he said.
Wayne Ford, a former state lawmaker, said Iowa has made progress in recent years in moving away from its previous status as worst in the nation for disproportionately incarcerating Black men.
“I oppose House Study Bill 666 — I do not out of disagreement with the committee’s intent, but out of concern that expanding mandatory sentencing risks going back to number one,” he said.
Karl Schilling, with the Iowa Organization for Victim Assistance, said keeping people convicted of crimes in prison longer could keep them from harming additional people.
“It’s a very harsh thing to put someone away for a lengthy period,” he said. “But when there is a first crime, there is a first victim. When there is a second crime, there is a second victim. When there is a third crime, there is a third victim.”
Defense lawyer Molly Spellman said the bill “provides disproportionate punishment for nonviolent offenses.” She noted thefts and drug possession convictions could add up to enough points for someone to face a minimum of 20 years in prison.
Jen Rathje, legislative liaison for the Iowa Department of Corrections, said about 75% of the current prison population would meet the three-point criteria, and about half of people admitted to probation last year would instead face a 20-year prison sentence.
She said the department still has to do more analysis to see how this would affect Iowa’s prison capacity. The state’s prisons are overcrowded by 24%, according to the DOC.
Rathje also said Iowa is experiencing its lowest rate in the past decade of people returning to prison within three years of being released, and the DOC’s priority is to maintain the resources that have driven those numbers down.
“By successfully integrating individuals and preventing their return to prison, we create the operational flexibility needed to house the higher-risk individuals that this habitual offenders bill is targeting with that,” she said.
Changes to bail and judicial information also advance
House Republicans have also advanced a bill (HSB 641) that would make it harder to be released on bail.
It would require magistrates to set bail at an amount endorsed on the warrant, unless the amount is lower than the uniform bond schedule. If a magistrate sets bail lower than the uniform bond schedule, they would have to provide written justification. The bill would also make several other changes to pretrial policies for people charged with crimes.
Betty Andrews, president of the Iowa-Nebraska NAACP, said financial bail has never been proven to improve public safety. She said the bill would create a two-tiered justice system where freedom depends on a person's bank account.
“We ask that you don’t jail people for being poor,” Andrews said. “People of color tend to have lower incomes, and so this also punishes people of color.”
Lederman Bail Bonds was the only organization that expressed support for the bill at the subcommittee hearing.
Bill manager, Rep. Mike Vondran, R-Davenport, was asked about the impact to low-income Iowans at a news conference last week.
“Respectfully, I’m not concerned with somebody’s income level,” he said. “I’m concerned with keeping criminals off streets and keeping Iowans safe.”
The third bill (HSB 631) in the package that advanced this week would require the state court administrator to annually collect and publish information about how individual judges handle criminal cases.
