Bill
HF 946
HF 946 directs the Iowa Attorney General to investigate officers who knowingly fail to enforce immigration laws and may refer cases to the ILEA for certification revocation.
Status and procedural history
- Introduced: March 12, 2025 (House File 946, LSB 2679HV).
- House action: Amendments H‑1171 (as further amended by H‑1190) were adopted on March 26, 2025; the House passed the bill March 26, 2025 (yeas 61, nays 35). Message to Senate March 27, 2025; read first time and referred to Senate Judiciary. An “Explanation of vote” was recorded April 22, 2025.
- Current posture (per provided documents): passed House in amended form and under consideration in the Senate.
Purpose
- To require enforcement of Iowa Code chapter 27A (enforcement of immigration laws) by state and local law enforcement and to provide enforcement mechanisms and consequences for officers who knowingly and intentionally fail to comply with that chapter.
Key provisions (as amended and passed by the House)
- Creates new section 27A.12, “Failure to comply.”
- Any law enforcement officer, including an elected sheriff, who knowingly and intentionally fails to comply with the requirements of chapter 27A:
- Will be subject to investigation by the Iowa Attorney General under procedures in section 27A.8.
- Will be given an opportunity to come into compliance.
- Upon a determination by the Attorney General that a complaint alleging a violation is valid, the officer’s case may be referred to the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) Council (per section 80B.13A) with a recommendation that the officer’s certification be revoked.
- The House amendments removed an earlier provision that would have made such a failure a criminal offense (see “Changes from introduced version,” below).
Changes from introduced version
- Introduced text made a knowing, intentional failure to comply a Class D felony and made conviction automatic grounds for mandatory revocation of certification by the ILEA. A Class D felony is punishable by up to 5 years’ confinement and a fine between $1,025 and $10,245.
- Amendments H‑1171 and H‑1190 replaced the criminal‑penalty approach with an administrative/investigative enforcement model (Attorney General investigation and potential ILEA referral). Thus the House‑passed version no longer creates a new criminal offense.
Who is affected
- All Iowa law enforcement officers, explicitly including elected sheriffs.
- Iowa Attorney General’s Office (collects/handles complaints and conducts investigations under section 27A.8).
- Iowa Law Enforcement Academy Council (may receive referrals and consider certification revocation).
- Potentially local agencies whose officers are subject to investigation or certification loss.
Fiscal and criminal justice impacts
- Introduced version: LSA fiscal note (Mar 20, 2025) stated the criminalized version created a new offense with unknown correctional and minority impacts. Estimated State cost per Class D felony offense: $11,900–$19,100. Prison LOS, supervision patterns, and per‑day marginal costs were provided; overall fiscal impact was characterized as unknown.
- As amended and passed by the House: LSA issued an updated fiscal note (Apr 2, 2025) stating the bill no longer requires a fiscal note because it no longer creates a criminal penalty; fiscal/correctional impacts are therefore not estimated for the House‑passed text.
Relevant statutory cross‑references
- Iowa Code chapter 27A — Enforcement of immigration laws (new section 27A.12 added).
- Section 27A.8 — Attorney General investigation procedures (procedural reference).
- Section 80B.13A — Iowa Law Enforcement Academy Council authority re: certification revocation.
Bottom line
- The House‑passed HF 946 requires the Attorney General to investigate alleged failures by officers to comply with Iowa’s immigration‑enforcement chapter and allows referral to the ILEA Council for potential certification revocation. It no longer imposes a Class D felony penalty after House amendments replaced the criminal penalty with an administrative/investigative enforcement pathway.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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