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HF801 • 2026

A bill for an act relating to screening children for commercial sexual exploitation in certain circumstances.(Formerly HF 449 .)

A bill for an act relating to screening children for commercial sexual exploitation in certain circumstances.(Formerly HF 449 .)

Children
Passed Legislature

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

Sponsor
COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Last action
2025-04-03
Official status
Referred to Health and Human Services. H.J. 896 .
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 relating to screening children for commercial sexual exploitation in certain circumstances.(Formerly HF 449 .)

A bill for an act relating to screening children for commercial sexual exploitation in certain circumstances.(Formerly HF 449 .)

What This Bill Does

  • A bill for an act relating to screening children for commercial sexual exploitation in certain circumstances.(Formerly HF 449 .)

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. 2025-04-03 Iowa Legislature

    Referred to Health and Human Services. H.J. 896 .

  2. 2025-03-05 Iowa Legislature

    Introduced, placed on calendar. H.J. 521 .

Official Summary Text

A bill for an act relating to screening children for commercial sexual exploitation in certain circumstances.(Formerly HF 449 .)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
House

File

801

-

Introduced

HOUSE

FILE

801

BY

COMMITTEE

ON

HEALTH

AND

HUMAN

SERVICES

(SUCCESSOR

TO

HF

449)

A

BILL

FOR

An

Act

relating

to

screening

children

for

commercial

sexual

1

exploitation

in

certain

circumstances.

2

BE

IT

ENACTED

BY

THE

GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

OF

THE

STATE

OF

IOWA:

3

TLSB

2219HV

(3)

91

dg/ko

H.F.

801

Section

1.

Section

232.2,

Code

2025,

is

amended

by

adding

1

the

following

new

subsection:

2

NEW

SUBSECTION

.

7A.

“Commercial

sexual

exploitation”

3

means

causing

a

child

to

engage

in

sex

or

sexually

explicit

4

activities

for

money,

goods,

services,

or

the

promise

of

money,

5

goods,

or

services.

6

Sec.

2.

Section

232.28,

subsection

2,

Code

2025,

is

amended

7

to

read

as

follows:

8

2.

The

Upon

receiving

a

complaint

under

subsection

1,

the

9

court

or

its

designee

shall

refer

do

all

of

the

following:

10

a.

Refer

the

complaint

to

an

intake

officer

who

shall

11

consult

with

law

enforcement

authorities

having

knowledge

of

12

the

facts

and

conduct

a

preliminary

inquiry

to

determine

what

13

action

should

be

taken.

14

b.

Order

the

child

subject

to

the

complaint

to

be

screened,

15

using

a

standardized,

evidence-based,

trauma-informed

screening

16

tool,

for

commercial

sexual

exploitation.

17

Sec.

3.

Section

232.71B,

subsection

1,

paragraph

a,

18

unnumbered

paragraph

1,

Code

2025,

is

amended

to

read

as

19

follows:

20

If

the

department

determines

a

report

constitutes

a

child

21

abuse

allegation,

the

department

shall

promptly

have

the

22

child

subject

to

the

child

abuse

allegation

screened,

using

a

23

standardized,

evidence-based,

trauma-informed

screening

tool,

24

for

commercial

sexual

exploitation,

and

shall

commence

either

a

25

child

abuse

assessment

within

twenty-four

hours

of

receiving

26

the

report

or

a

family

assessment

within

seventy-two

hours

of

27

receiving

the

report.

28

EXPLANATION

29

The

inclusion

of

this

explanation

does

not

constitute

agreement

with

30

the

explanation’s

substance

by

the

members

of

the

general

assembly.

31

This

bill

relates

to

screening

children

for

commercial

32

sexual

exploitation

(exploitation)

in

certain

circumstances.

33

The

bill

defines

“commercial

sexual

exploitation”

as

causing

34

a

child

to

engage

in

sex

or

sexually

explicit

activities

for

35

-1-

LSB

2219HV

(3)

91

dg/ko

1/

2

H.F.

801

money,

goods,

services,

or

the

promise

of

money,

goods,

or

1

services.

2

The

bill

requires

the

juvenile

court

or

the

court’s

3

designee

to

order

a

child

screened,

using

a

standardized,

4

evidence-based,

trauma-informed

screening

tool,

for

5

exploitation

when

the

court

receives

a

complaint

alleging

that

6

the

child

committed

a

delinquent

act.

7

The

bill

requires

the

department

of

health

and

human

8

services

(HHS)

to

screen

a

child,

using

a

standardized,

9

evidence-based,

trauma-informed

screening

tool,

for

10

exploitation

if

HHS

determines

a

report

it

receives

alleging

11

child

abuse

constitutes

a

child

abuse

allegation.

12

-2-

LSB

2219HV

(3)

91

dg/ko

2/

2