I’m seeing this… a lot this month… and… yes, I’m blaming the internet entirely.
I’ve routinely had people come in after receiving a traffic ticket and confidently tell me, “You need to educate your cops, man! This ain’t against the law no more!!” And I look at them. I look at the ticket. I shake my head a little bit. And I have to tell them what their internet search did not.
“Yes, during the last legislative session a bill was signed to make TRAFFIC VIOLATION less punitive. That law goes into effect July 1st. So, while you were committing TRAFFIC VIOLATION? Which is… clearly before July 1st… it was still illegal at that amount and within those parameters.”
And then there’s confusion and anger. BUT when it goes the other way? They seem to be perfectly okay with it! Driving with a cell phone has been a crime for over a year. Officers should and could have been issuing citations on day ONE. But the law specifically created a grace period where it was still illegal but the State wouldn’t enforce it. You don’t see a lot of people upset there.
It’s just… yes. I understand that they are thinking “BUT THE LAW CHANGED!” and this is where the lawyers come out to teach about suffixes. How laws are written are very specific about suffixes. UNTIL THE LAW GOES INTO EFFECT it is not the law. So what you’re actually meaning to say is “But the law is going to change!” And… knowing something in the future is okay doesn’t make it okay now. There is a law that was passed that permits the State to get more money from people in criminal cases. It goes into effect July 1st. I’m not looking at everybody right now saying, “The law changed so I’m taking your money!” IT IS NOT THE LAW until it goes into effect. And honestly with how Iowa writes, enforces, and modifies laws? MULTIPLE THINGS HAPPENING AT THE SAME TIME WAS THE DESIGN. For example, highway speeds increase from 55 mph to 60 mph starting July 1. The law permitting the State to seek higher financial costs starts July 1. That isn’t a coincidence. The law permitting window tinting to be 20% darker than the current law goes into effect July 1. The law permitting the State to seek higher financial costs starts July 1. That isn’t a coincidence. Iowa has a long history of saying, “Look- we’re letting you go faster or modify your car more” and every single time it is tied to an increase in fines and jail time. Actual example: When Iowa said they were increasing their fastest speed limit from 65 mph to 70 mph..... that was also the exact same time they increased criminal penalties by 61%. Timing of the law/bills is specifically a part of what is debated and decided upon while crafting a bill!
All this to say- if you hear that a law is changing or may be changing? Don’t just walk around as though you know “the new law”. You walk around with a supercomputer in your pocket. Do the reading.
This is not dissimilar to what I ran into last year and the year before. A person would get busted for Dark Window Tint; I would explain the law and remedies, and he would demand trial because “the law changed!” And I would have to explain it to him and the Judge would have to explain it to him (and we had to do this for multiple people, multiple times). It would always go something like:
US: Yes, the House passed a bill out of committee lowering window tint thresholds. The Senate killed the bill, so it did not go to the Governor’s desk nor did it become law.
THEM: But you just said that they passed a bill! That means THAT’s the law now!!
US: NOPE. Until a bill is passed by both halves of our bicameral system and then signed by the governor, it is not the law. So what you’re referring to is not the law.
then the next year
US: Yes, the Senate passed a bill out of committee lowering window tint thresholds. The House killed the bill, so it did not go to the Governor’s desk nor did it become law.
THEM: But you just said that they passed a bill! That means THAT’s the law now!!
US: NOPE. Until a bill is passed by both halves of our bicameral system and then signed by the governor, it is not the law. So what you’re referring to is not the law.
now this year
US: Yes, the House and Senate passed the bill, it went to the Governor’s Desk and the bill as passed expressly states it will not go into effect until July 1, 2026.
THEM: But you just said that they passed a bill! And the Governor signed it! That means THAT’s the law now!!
US: NOPE. If a bill has no wording as to when it takes effect, it becomes law on July 1st. If a bill does specify when it takes effect, it becomes a law on the day listed in the bill. THIS bill is both because it does expressly list the date the law goes into effect and that date is July 1st.
And all of that information every year was a twelve second Google search. I know because the first time someone said “NU UH! They changed the law! You’re being ignorant!” I immediately googled the damned thing to show them The House Bill as Written, The Senate Rejection, and the legislative docket listing the House Bill as Failed.
If you are going to be making decisions based on “But I heard that law changed!” I implore you for your safety, sanity, and well-being.... research a little. DON’T trust the A.I. summary. You’ll often be able to find a local news blurb discussing it if the law passed. Or at least guidance and direction from the Courts or the Governor’s Desk or… especially with traffic there’s NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) and, at least in Iowa, the GTSB (Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau).
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