House File 636 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 636 BY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY (SUCCESSOR TO HF 259) A BILL FOR An Act relating to the carrying, possession, or transportation 1 of weapons on school grounds, at places of employment, 2 in buildings or physical structures located on property 3 under the control of a political subdivision, and in county 4 courthouses, and including effective date provisions. 5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 6 TLSB 1147HV (4) 88 mo/rh

H.F. 636 Section 1. Section 724.4B, subsection 2, Code 2019, is 1 amended by adding the following new paragraph: 2 NEW PARAGRAPH . d. A person who has in the person’s 3 possession a valid permit to carry weapons issued pursuant to 4 section 724.7 and remains on the portion of school district 5 property that comprise its driveways, parking lots, and 6 sidewalks while going armed with, carrying, or transporting a 7 concealed pistol or revolver. A school shall be immune from 8 any claim, cause of action, or lawsuit by a person seeking 9 damages that are alleged, directly or indirectly, as a result 10 of any concealed pistol or revolver brought onto the school 11 district property by a person pursuant to this paragraph. This 12 paragraph shall not apply to a school governed by the board of 13 regents pursuant to section 262.7. 14 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 724.4D Limitation on employers —— 15 firearms and ammunition. 16 1. For purposes of this section, “employee” means the same 17 as defined in section 91A.2, subsection 3. “Employee” also 18 includes a contract employee or a volunteer. 19 2. An employer shall not prohibit an employee from carrying, 20 transporting, or possessing a firearm or ammunition, if the 21 firearm and ammunition are out of sight and inside the locked 22 motor vehicle of the employee on the real property comprising 23 the employee’s place of employment, and if the carrying, 24 transportation, or possession of the firearm or ammunition is 25 otherwise lawful under the laws of this state. 26 3. An employer, owner, or lawful possessor of the property 27 on which the employer is located shall be immune from any 28 claim, cause of action, or lawsuit brought by any person 29 seeking damages that are alleged, directly or indirectly, as a 30 result of any firearm or ammunition brought onto the property 31 of the employer, owner, or lawful possessor by an employee 32 pursuant to this section. 33 4. An employer shall not be subject to liability under 34 chapter 85 if the employer has prohibited the carrying, 35 -1- LSB 1147HV (4) 88 mo/rh 1/ 6

H.F. 636 transportation, or possession of a firearm or ammunition on 1 the employer’s property in conformance with this section and 2 an employee is subsequently injured due to that employee’s 3 carrying, transportation, or possession of a firearm or 4 ammunition on the employer’s property in violation of the 5 employer’s firearm prohibition. Any such claim shall be paid 6 by the injured employee’s private insurance policy. 7 5. An employee who is terminated due to a violation of an 8 employer’s policy that prohibits the carrying, transportation, 9 or possession of a firearm or ammunition on the employer’s 10 property in conformance with this section shall not be eligible 11 to receive unemployment compensation. 12 6. An employer may prohibit an employee from carrying, 13 transporting, or possessing a firearm or ammunition in a 14 vehicle owned or leased by the employer or otherwise under the 15 employer’s control or possession. 16 7. This section does not apply to the extent that it 17 violates federal or other state law or the terms of a contract 18 with a federal entity. 19 Sec. 3. Section 724.28, subsections 2 and 3, Code 2019, are 20 amended to read as follows: 21 2. A political subdivision of the state shall not enact 22 an ordinance regulating the ownership, possession, legal 23 transfer, lawful transportation, modification, registration, or 24 licensing of firearms , firearms attachments, or other weapons 25 when the ownership, possession, transfer, or transportation , or 26 modification is otherwise lawful under the laws of this state. 27 An ordinance regulating firearms , firearms attachments, or 28 other weapons in violation of this section existing on or after 29 April 5, 1990, is void. 30 3. If a political subdivision of the state, prior to, 31 on, or after July 1, 2017 2019 , adopts, makes, enacts, or 32 amends any ordinance, measure, enactment, rule, resolution, 33 motion, or policy regulating the ownership, possession, legal 34 transfer, lawful transportation, modification, registration, or 35 -2- LSB 1147HV (4) 88 mo/rh 2/ 6

H.F. 636 licensing of firearms , firearms attachments, or other weapons 1 when the ownership, possession, transfer, transportation, 2 modification, registration, or license licensing of firearms, 3 firearms attachments, or other weapons is otherwise lawful 4 under the laws of this state, a person adversely affected by 5 the ordinance, measure, enactment, rule, resolution, motion, or 6 policy may file suit in the appropriate court for declaratory 7 and injunctive relief for damages and all damages attributable 8 to the violation. A court shall also award the prevailing 9 party in any such lawsuit reasonable attorney fees and court 10 costs . 11 Sec. 4. Section 724.28, Code 2019, is amended by adding the 12 following new subsection: 13 NEW SUBSECTION . 4. A political subdivision of the state 14 may restrict the carrying, possession, or transportation 15 of firearms or other dangerous weapons in the buildings or 16 physical structures located on property under the political 17 subdivision’s control if adequate arrangements are made by the 18 political subdivision to screen persons for firearms or other 19 dangerous weapons and the political subdivision provides armed 20 security personnel inside the building or physical structure 21 where the restriction is to be in effect. 22 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION . 724.32 County courthouse —— weapon 23 prohibitions. 24 A supreme court or judicial branch order that prohibits 25 a person from lawfully carrying, possessing, or transporting 26 a weapon in a county courthouse or other joint-use public 27 facility shall be unenforceable unless the judicial order 28 applies only to a courtroom, court office, or courthouse used 29 only for judicial branch functions. 30 Sec. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of immediate 31 importance, takes effect upon enactment. 32 EXPLANATION 33 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 34 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 35 -3- LSB 1147HV (4) 88 mo/rh 3/ 6

H.F. 636 This bill relates to the carrying, possession, or 1 transportation of weapons on school grounds, at places of 2 employment, in buildings or physical structures located on 3 property under the control of a political subdivision, and in 4 county courthouses. 5 Current law provides that a person who goes armed with, 6 carries, or transports a firearm of any kind, whether concealed 7 or not, on the grounds of a school (public or nonpublic) 8 commits the criminal offense of carrying firearms on school 9 grounds, except under certain circumstances. Carrying firearms 10 on school grounds in violation of Code section 724.4B is a 11 class “D” felony. Under the bill, a person does not commit 12 the criminal offense of carrying firearms on school grounds 13 in violation of Code section 724.4B if the person possesses a 14 valid permit to carry weapons while remaining on the portion 15 of school district property that comprise the driveways, 16 parking lots, and sidewalks of a school while going armed with, 17 carrying, or transporting a concealed pistol or revolver. The 18 bill also provides that a school is immune from any claim, 19 cause of action, or lawsuit seeking damages alleged as a result 20 of a concealed pistol or revolver brought onto the school 21 district property by a person possessing a valid permit to 22 carry weapons who remains on the portion of the grounds that 23 comprise the driveways, parking lots, and sidewalks of the 24 school. The bill provides that this exception does not apply 25 to a school governed by the board of regents. 26 The bill prohibits an employer from prohibiting an employee 27 from carrying, possessing, or transporting a firearm or 28 ammunition on the real property comprising the employee’s place 29 of employment if the firearm or ammunition is out of sight 30 and inside the locked motor vehicle of the employee and if 31 the carrying, transportation, or possession of the firearm or 32 ammunition is otherwise lawful under the laws of this state. 33 The bill defines “employee” as that term is defined in Code 34 section 91A.2 and includes a contract employee or volunteer. 35 -4- LSB 1147HV (4) 88 mo/rh 4/ 6

H.F. 636 The bill also provides that an employer, owner, or lawful 1 possessor of the property on which the employer is located is 2 immune from any claim, cause of action, or lawsuit seeking 3 damages alleged as a result of any firearm brought onto the 4 property of the employer, owner, or lawful possessor on which 5 the employer is located by an employee. The bill provides that 6 an employer will not be subject to liability under Code chapter 7 85 (workers’ compensation) if the employer has prohibited 8 the carrying, transportation, or possession of a firearm 9 or ammunition on the employer’s property and an employee 10 is subsequently injured due to that employee’s carrying, 11 transportation, or possession of a firearm or ammunition on 12 the employer’s property in violation of the employer’s firearm 13 prohibition. The bill provides that any claim arising from 14 such injury shall be paid by the injured employee’s private 15 insurance policy. The bill provides that an employee that 16 is terminated due to a violation of an employer’s firearm 17 prohibition on the employer’s property is not eligible to 18 receive unemployment compensation. Under the bill, an employer 19 can prohibit an employee from carrying, transporting, or 20 possessing a firearm or ammunition in a vehicle owned or leased 21 by the employer or otherwise under the employer’s control or 22 possession. 23 Current law provides that a political subdivision shall not 24 enact, adopt, make, or amend any ordinance, measure, enactment, 25 rule, resolution, motion, or policy that regulates the 26 ownership, possession, legal transfer, lawful transportation, 27 registration, or licensing of firearms when the ownership, 28 possession, transfer, transportation, registration, or license 29 is otherwise lawful, and that a person adversely affected 30 by such an ordinance, measure, enactment, rule, resolution, 31 motion, or policy may file suit in the appropriate court for 32 declaratory and injunctive relief for damages. The bill 33 extends this prohibition to modifications and further provides 34 that the prohibition applies to firearm attachments and other 35 -5- LSB 1147HV (4) 88 mo/rh 5/ 6

H.F. 636 weapons. The bill provides that a person adversely affected 1 may also file a lawsuit for damages attributable to the 2 violation. The bill provides that a court shall also award the 3 prevailing party reasonable attorney fees and court costs. 4 The bill provides that political subdivisions may restrict 5 the carrying, possession, or transportation of firearms or 6 other dangerous weapons in the buildings or physical structures 7 located on property under the political subdivision’s control 8 if arrangements are made to screen persons entering into the 9 building or physical structure and the political subdivision 10 provides armed security personnel inside the building or 11 physical structure. 12 The bill provides that a supreme court or judicial branch 13 order that prohibits a person from carrying, possessing, or 14 transporting a weapon in a county courthouse or other joint-use 15 public facility shall be unenforceable unless the judicial 16 order applies only to a courtroom, court office, or courthouse 17 used only for judicial branch functions. 18 The bill takes effect upon enactment. 19 -6- LSB 1147HV (4) 88 mo/rh 6/ 6