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HF54 • 2026

A bill for an act authorizing manufacturers of battery electric motor vehicles to be licensed as motor vehicle dealers.

A bill for an act authorizing manufacturers of battery electric motor vehicles to be licensed as motor vehicle dealers.

Passed Legislature

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

Sponsor
WHEELER
Last action
2025-01-14
Official status
Introduced, referred to Transportation. H.J. 46 .
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

A bill for an act authorizing manufacturers of battery electric motor vehicles to be licensed as motor vehicle dealers.

A bill for an act authorizing manufacturers of battery electric motor vehicles to be licensed as motor vehicle dealers.

What This Bill Does

  • A bill for an act authorizing manufacturers of battery electric motor vehicles to be licensed as motor vehicle dealers.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2025-01-14 Iowa Legislature

    Introduced, referred to Transportation. H.J. 46 .

Official Summary Text

A bill for an act authorizing manufacturers of battery electric motor vehicles to be licensed as motor vehicle dealers.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
House

File

54

-

Introduced

HOUSE

FILE

54

BY

WHEELER

A

BILL

FOR

An

Act

authorizing

manufacturers

of

battery

electric

motor

1

vehicles

to

be

licensed

as

motor

vehicle

dealers.

2

BE

IT

ENACTED

BY

THE

GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

OF

THE

STATE

OF

IOWA:

3

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54

Section

1.

Section

322.3,

subsection

15,

Code

2025,

is

1

amended

by

adding

the

following

new

paragraph:

2

NEW

PARAGRAPH

.

g.

A

manufacturer

of

battery

electric

motor

3

vehicles,

as

defined

in

section

321.116,

from

being

licensed

4

as

a

motor

vehicle

dealer

of

only

the

battery

electric

motor

5

vehicles

manufactured

by

that

manufacturer.

6

EXPLANATION

7

The

inclusion

of

this

explanation

does

not

constitute

agreement

with

8

the

explanation’s

substance

by

the

members

of

the

general

assembly.

9

Under

current

law,

a

motor

vehicle

manufacturer

or

importer

10

is

prohibited

from

directly

or

indirectly

being

licensed

as,

11

owning

an

interest

in,

operating,

or

controlling

a

motor

12

vehicle

dealer.

There

are

limited

exceptions

provided,

13

including

temporarily

to

facilitate

transfer

of

the

motor

14

vehicle

dealership

to

a

new

owner;

for

the

purpose

of

enhancing

15

opportunities

for

persons

who

lack

the

financial

resources

16

to

purchase

the

dealership

without

such

assistance;

where

17

the

dealer’s

primary

business

is

renting

motor

vehicles;

for

18

dealers

of

motor

homes

manufactured

by

that

manufacturer;

for

19

dealers

of

the

line-make

manufactured

by

that

manufacturer

20

under

certain

circumstances;

and

for

final-stage

manufacturers

21

of

multi-stage

manufactured

vehicles

under

certain

22

circumstances.

23

This

bill

provides

an

additional

exception

that

authorizes

a

24

manufacturer

of

battery

electric

motor

vehicles

to

be

licensed

25

as

a

motor

vehicle

dealer

of

only

the

battery

electric

motor

26

vehicles

manufactured

by

that

manufacturer.

For

purposes

27

of

the

bill,

“battery

electric

motor

vehicle”

means

a

motor

28

vehicle

equipped

with

electrical

drivetrain

components

and

not

29

equipped

with

an

internal

combustion

engine,

that

is

propelled

30

exclusively

by

one

or

more

electrical

motors

using

electrical

31

energy

stored

in

a

battery

or

other

energy

storage

device

that

32

can

be

recharged

by

plugging

into

an

electrical

outlet

or

33

electric

vehicle

charging

station.

34

A

person

who

engages

in

the

business

of

selling

motor

35

-1-

LSB

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2

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54

vehicles

and

who

was

not

issued

a

dealer

license

by

the

1

department

of

transportation

(DOT)

commits

a

simple

misdemeanor

2

punishable

by

a

fine

of

not

less

than

$250

nor

more

than

3

$1,500

or

by

imprisonment

not

to

exceed

30

days.

Pursuant

to

4

administrative

rules

adopted

by

the

DOT

(761

IAC

425.3),

a

5

person

who

sells

at

retail

more

than

six

motor

vehicles

during

6

a

12-month

period

is

presumed

to

be

engaged

in

the

business

of

7

selling

motor

vehicles.

8

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