Iowa HF 904: A bill for an act relating to motor vehicle accident reports, including the amount of property damage necessary for a report, the period in which a law enforcement officer must forward a report to the department of transportation, and resulting suspensions of driver’s licenses, registrations, and operating privileges.

Bill Text

House
File
904
-
Reprinted

HOUSE
FILE
904

BY
COMMITTEE
ON
LOCAL

GOVERNMENT

(SUCCESSOR
TO
HSB
297)

(As
Amended
and
Passed
by
the
House
March
25,
2025
)

A
BILL
FOR

An
Act
relating
to
motor
vehicle
accident
reports,
including
1

the
amount
of
property
damage
necessary
for
a
report,
the
2

period
in
which
a
law
enforcement
officer
must
forward
a
3

report
to
the
department
of
transportation,
and
resulting
4

suspensions
of
driver’s
licenses,
registrations,
and
5

operating
privileges.
6

BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
7

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904

Section
1.
Section
321.266,
subsections
2
and
3,
Code
2025,
1

are
amended
to
read
as
follows:
2

2.
The
driver
of
a
vehicle
involved
in
an
accident
resulting
3

in
injury
to
or
death
of
any
person,
or
total
property
damage
4

to
an
apparent
extent
of
one
five
thousand
five
hundred
dollars
5

or
more
,

shall
,
within
seventy-two
hours
after
the
accident,
6

forward
a
written
report
of
the
accident
to
the
department
7

within
seventy-two
hours
after
the
accident
.
However,
such
8

report
is
not
required
when

if
the
accident
is
investigated
by
9

a
law
enforcement
agency.
10

3.
Every
law
enforcement
officer
who,
in
the
regular
course
11

of
duty,
investigates
a
motor
vehicle
accident
of
which
report
12

must
be
made
as
required
in
subsections
1
and
2
,
either
at
13

the
time
of
and
at
the
scene
of
the
accident
or
thereafter
14

by
interviewing
participants
or
witnesses
shall
,
within

15

twenty-four
hours
after
completing
such
investigation,
forward
16

a
written
report
of
such
accident
to
the
department.
17

Sec.
2.
Section
321A.5,
subsection
1,
Code
2025,
is
amended
18

to
read
as
follows:
19

1.
The
department
shall,
immediately
or
within
sixty
days
20

after
the
receipt
of
a
report
of
a
motor
vehicle
accident
21

within
this
state
which
has
resulted
in
bodily
injury
or
death
22

to
any
person,

or
property
damage
to
the
property
of
any
23

one
person
in
the
amount
of
one
five
thousand
five
hundred
24

dollars
or
more,
suspend
the
license
of
each
operator
and
all
25

registrations
of
each
owner
of
a
motor
vehicle
in
any
manner
26

involved
in
the
accident,
and
if
the
operator
is
a
nonresident
27

the
privilege
of
operating
a
motor
vehicle
within
this
state,
28

and
if
the
owner
is
a
nonresident
the
privilege
of
the
use
29

within
this
state
of
any
motor
vehicle
owned
by
the
owner,
30

unless
the
operator
or
owner
or
both
shall
deposit
security
31

in
a
sum
which
shall
be
sufficient
in
the
judgment
of
the
32

department
to
satisfy
any
judgment
or
judgments
for
damages
33

resulting
from
the
accident
as
may
be
recovered
against
the
34

operator
or
owner;
provided
notice
of
the
suspension
shall
be
35

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sent
by
the
department
to
the
operator
and
owner
not
less
than
1

ten
days
prior
to
the
effective
date
of
the
suspension
and
2

shall
state
the
amount
required
as
security.
3

Sec.
3.
Section
321I.11,
Code
2025,
is
amended
to
read
as
4

follows:
5

321I.11
Accident
reports.
6

If
an
all-terrain
vehicle
is
involved
in
an
accident
7

resulting
in
injury
or
death
to
anyone

any
person,
or
property
8

damage
amounting
to
one

five
thousand
five
hundred
dollars
or
9

more,
either
the
operator
or
someone
acting
for
the
operator
10

shall
immediately
notify
the
county
sheriff
or
another
law
11

enforcement
agency
in
the
state.
If
the
accident
occurred
on
12

public
land,
public
ice,
or
a
designated
riding
trail
under
the
13

jurisdiction
of
the
commission,
the
operator
shall
file
with
14

the
commission
a
report
of
the
accident,
within
seventy-two
15

hours,
containing
information
as
the
commission
may
require.
16

All
other
accidents
shall
be
reported
as
required
under
section
17

321.266
.
18

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