A bill for an act relating to limitations on discovery depositions involving minor victims.(See HF 2639 .)

Children Crime

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: JONES
Last action: 2026-02-19
Official status: Committee report approving bill, renumbered as HF 2639 .
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Limitations on Discovery Depositions for Minor Victims

This bill sets rules to limit when discovery depositions can be taken from minor victims in criminal cases.

What This Bill Does

Limits discovery depositions of minors who have already given a video and audio statement about the crime, if certain conditions are met.
Requires that the victim's statement must come from an accredited child advocacy or protection center using a recognized interview protocol.
Allows for exceptions to these limits if the court finds there are special reasons.

Who It Names or Affects

Victims who are minors in criminal cases
Law enforcement and prosecutors involved in such cases

Terms To Know

Discovery deposition: A process where one party can ask questions of another before a trial to learn more about the case.
Forensic interviewer: A professional who interviews children using special methods to gather evidence in criminal cases.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify what 'exceptional circumstances' are.
It is unclear how this will affect ongoing or future court cases involving minor victims.

Bill History

2026-02-19 Iowa Legislature
Committee report approving bill, renumbered as HF 2639 .
2026-02-17 Iowa Legislature
Committee vote: Yeas, 18. Nays, 2. Excused, 1. H.J. 321 .
2026-02-17 Iowa Legislature
Committee report, recommending amendment and passage. H.J. 321 .
2026-02-04 Iowa Legislature
Subcommittee recommends passage.
2026-01-28 Iowa Legislature
Subcommittee Meeting: 02/04/2026 8:15AM House Lounge.
2026-01-27 Iowa Legislature
Subcommittee: Fett, Olson and Thomson, C. H.J. 159 .
2026-01-21 Iowa Legislature
Introduced, referred to Judiciary. H.J. 133 .

Official Summary Text

A bill for an act relating to limitations on discovery depositions involving minor victims.(See HF 2639 .)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

House

File

2135

-

Introduced

HOUSE

FILE

2135

BY

JONES

A

BILL

FOR

An

Act

relating

to

limitations

on

discovery

depositions

1

involving

minor

victims.

2

BE

IT

ENACTED

BY

THE

GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

OF

THE

STATE

OF

IOWA:

3

TLSB

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91

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H.F.

2135

Section

1.

NEW

SECTION

.

701.14

Limitation

on

discovery

1

depositions

involving

minor

victims.

2

1.

Except

as

provided

in

subsection

2,

discovery

3

depositions

shall

not

be

permitted

in

any

criminal

action

when

4

all

of

the

following

apply:

5

a.

The

victim

is

a

minor

at

the

time

of

the

deposition.

6

b.

The

victim

has

given

a

statement

by

video

and

audio

7

recording

that

describes

the

conduct

that

constitutes

the

8

elements

of

the

charged

offense,

which

recording

was

all

of

the

9

following:

10

(1)

Obtained

by

a

forensic

interviewer

employed

by

an

11

accredited

child

advocacy

center

or

child

protection

center.

12

(2)

Conducted

substantially

in

accordance

with

a

nationally

13

recognized

protocol

for

interviewing

children.

14

2.

Notwithstanding

subsection

1,

discovery

depositions

15

shall

be

permitted

in

a

criminal

action

involving

a

minor

16

victim

upon

application

to

the

court

and

a

showing

of

17

exceptional

circumstances.

18

EXPLANATION

19

The

inclusion

of

this

explanation

does

not

constitute

agreement

with

20

the

explanation’s

substance

by

the

members

of

the

general

assembly.

21

This

bill

relates

to

limitations

on

discovery

depositions

22

involving

minor

victims.

23

The

bill

provides

that,

except

as

provided,

discovery

24

depositions

are

not

permitted

in

any

criminal

action

when

the

25

victim

is

a

minor

at

the

time

of

the

deposition

and

when

the

26

victim

has

previously

given

a

statement

by

video

and

audio

27

recording

that

describes

the

conduct

that

constitutes

the

28

elements

of

the

charged

offense,

which

recording

was

obtained

29

by

a

forensic

interviewer

employed

by

an

accredited

child

30

advocacy

center

or

child

protection

center,

and

conducted

31

substantially

in

accordance

with

a

nationally

recognized

32

protocol

for

interviewing

children.

33

The

bill

provides

that

discovery

depositions

shall

be

34

permitted

in

a

criminal

action

involving

a

minor

victim

35

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H.F.

2135

upon

application

to

the

court

and

a

showing

of

exceptional

1

circumstances.

2

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