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SF440 • 2026

A bill for an act imposing fines for hazardous conditions caused by a person having control over a hazardous substance, providing penalties, and making appropriations.

A bill for an act imposing fines for hazardous conditions caused by a person having control over a hazardous substance, providing penalties, and making appropriations.

Budget
Passed Legislature

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

Sponsor
WEINER, DONAHUE, DOTZLER, CELSI, ZIMMER, TOWNSEND and STAED
Last action
2025-03-03
Official status
Subcommittee: Evans, Westrich, and Zimmer. S.J. 393 .
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 imposing fines for hazardous conditions caused by a person having control over a hazardous substance, providing penalties, and making appropriations.

A bill for an act imposing fines for hazardous conditions caused by a person having control over a hazardous substance, providing penalties, and making appropriations.

What This Bill Does

  • A bill for an act imposing fines for hazardous conditions caused by a person having control over a hazardous substance, providing penalties, and making appropriations.

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. 2025-03-03 Iowa Legislature

    Subcommittee: Evans, Westrich, and Zimmer. S.J. 393 .

  2. 2025-02-25 Iowa Legislature

    Introduced, referred to Natural Resources and Environment. S.J. 354 .

Official Summary Text

A bill for an act imposing fines for hazardous conditions caused by a person having control over a hazardous substance, providing penalties, and making appropriations.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
Senate

File

440

-

Introduced

SENATE

FILE

440

BY

WEINER

,

DONAHUE

,

DOTZLER

,

CELSI

,

ZIMMER

,

TOWNSEND

,

and

STAED

A

BILL

FOR

An

Act

imposing

fines

for

hazardous

conditions

caused

by

a

1

person

having

control

over

a

hazardous

substance,

providing

2

penalties,

and

making

appropriations.

3

BE

IT

ENACTED

BY

THE

GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

OF

THE

STATE

OF

IOWA:

4

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S.F.

440

Section

1.

Section

455B.392,

subsection

5,

Code

2025,

is

1

amended

to

read

as

follows:

2

5.

Money

collected

by

the

department

pursuant

to

this

3

section

,

except

for

moneys

collected

under

subsection

5A,

shall

4

be

deposited

in

the

hazardous

waste

remedial

fund

created

in

5

section

455B.423

.

Moneys

shall

be

used

in

the

manner

permitted

6

for

the

fund.

Moneys

collected

by

a

state

agency

other

than

7

the

department

of

natural

resources

pursuant

to

this

section

8

are

appropriated

to

that

agency

for

purposes

of

reimbursing

9

costs

of

the

agency

for

emergency

response

activities

described

10

in

subsection

1

.

Moneys

collected

by

a

political

subdivision

11

pursuant

to

this

section

shall

be

retained

by

the

political

12

subdivision

and

shall

be

used

for

purposes

of

reimbursing

costs

13

of

the

political

subdivision

for

emergency

response

activities

14

described

in

subsection

1

.

15

Sec.

2.

Section

455B.392,

Code

2025,

is

amended

by

adding

16

the

following

new

subsection:

17

NEW

SUBSECTION

.

5A.

In

addition

to

liabilities

imposed

18

by

this

section,

there

shall

be

imposed

on

a

person

liable

19

for

costs

or

damages

under

subsection

1

a

fine

of

ten

percent

20

of

the

total

amount

of

costs

and

damages.

Moneys

collected

21

pursuant

to

this

subsection

shall

be

deposited

into

the

natural

22

resources

account

created

in

section

461.32.

Moneys

shall

be

23

used

in

a

manner

permitted

for

the

account.

24

Sec.

3.

Section

461.32,

subsection

1,

Code

2025,

is

amended

25

to

read

as

follows:

26

1.

A

natural

resources

account

is

created

in

the

trust

27

fund.

Twenty-three

In

addition

to

any

moneys

deposited

in

the

28

account

pursuant

to

section

455B.392,

twenty-three

percent

of

29

the

moneys

credited

to

the

trust

fund

shall

be

allocated

to

the

30

account.

31

EXPLANATION

32

The

inclusion

of

this

explanation

does

not

constitute

agreement

with

33

the

explanation’s

substance

by

the

members

of

the

general

assembly.

34

This

bill

imposes

fines

for

hazardous

conditions

caused

by

a

35

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S.F.

440

person

having

control

over

a

hazardous

substance.

1

Under

current

law,

a

person

having

control

over

a

hazardous

2

substance

is

strictly

liable

for

costs

and

damages

resulting

3

from

a

hazardous

condition

caused

by

the

person.

In

addition

4

to

the

person’s

liability

under

current

law,

the

bill

adds

5

a

fine

in

the

amount

of

10

percent

of

the

total

costs

and

6

damages.

The

bill

requires

moneys

collected

from

the

fine

7

to

be

deposited

into

the

natural

resources

account

of

the

8

natural

resources

and

outdoor

recreation

trust

fund

and

used

9

in

a

manner

permitted

for

the

account.

The

natural

resources

10

account

supports

the

establishment,

restoration,

or

enhancement

11

of

state

parks,

state

preserves,

state

forests,

wildlife

areas,

12

wildlife

habitats,

native

prairies,

and

wetlands;

wildlife

13

diversity,

recreational

purposes,

technical

assistance

and

14

financial

incentives

to

private

landowners

to

promote

the

15

management

of

forests,

fisheries,

wetlands,

and

wildlife;

the

16

improvement

of

water

trails,

rivers,

and

streams;

and

education

17

and

outreach

that

provide

instruction

regarding

natural

history

18

and

the

outdoors.

19

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