Iowa would strengthen penalties for abusing Iowans 60 or older and create a new criminal charge of financial exploitation under a bill now headed to Gov. Kim Reynolds' desk.
The legislation, a top priority of the AARP and other agencies that represent older Iowans, would increase criminal penalties for assaults and thefts against Iowans 60 or older.
It would also create a new criminal charge for "financial exploitation of an older individual" and would additionally create new criminal penalties for "elder abuse," a charge that includes emotional abuse, neglect, isolation and sexual exploitation of older Iowans.
Iowa law currently includes definitions of elder abuse but does not include criminal penalties. Under current law, Iowans who suffer elder abuse can sue and get courts to block the abuser from having contact with them or from exercising financial oversight or other types of legal authority over them.
"What this bill does is it says to those people that are looking for vulnerable victims: 'Not here. You're not going to do it here,'" said Rep. Dustin Hite, R-New Sharon, the bill's floor sponsor in the House.
The bill, Senate File 522, passed both chambers of the Iowa Legislature unanimously. With the Senate's vote Tuesday, it now heads to Reynolds for her signature.
Bill changes criminal penalties for crimes against older Iowans
The bill would establish the following criminal penalties for crimes against those 60 years and older:
- Assault of an older individual, ranging from a simple misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail and $855 in fines, to a class D felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and up to $10,245 in fines — depending on the severity of the crime.
- Theft against an older individual, which raises the penalties of Iowa's existing theft charges by one degree.
- Elder abuse, which ranges from a serious misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in prison and $2,560 in fines, to a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and up to $13,660 in fines.
- Financial exploitation of an older individual, ranging from a serious misdemeanor to a class B felony, punishable by up to 25 years in prison, based on the severity of the crime.
In both chambers, Democrats joined Republicans in support, saying they wanted to see additional protections for older Iowans.
Rep. Mary Wolfe, D-Clinton, said she supported the bill because it filled some gaps in the ability to prosecute certain offenses. But she also said she is concerned that the parts of the bill that raise existing penalties for theft and assault specifically against people over 60 may not have an effect.
"I also don't think there's any evidence that enhancing penalties in that way increases protection for elderly people," she said during the March 23 floor debate in the House.
Hite said he believes the penalties should be harsher for theft or assault against older Iowans because "when somebody takes on the most vulnerable of Iowans, they deserve a harsher punishment."
According to AARP Iowa, Iowa is one of few states that don't have criminal penalties for elder abuse.
"Passage of this bill comes at a critical time when elder abuse is on the rise in Iowa and across the country, and we are grateful vulnerable older Iowans will now have better protection from elder abuse," AARP Iowa State Director Brad Anderson said in a March 23 statement.
How common is elder abuse?
The most reported form of elder abuse is financial exploitation, although it often occurs with other forms of emotional, physical or sexual abuse, according to AARP Iowa. Those who commit abuse can be strangers or, more commonly, trusted people such as family members.
Iowa currently criminalizes the abuse of dependent adults, but advocates say the new penalties are needed to fill in gaps that leave out certain older Iowans.
The Iowa Department of Human Services saw a 37% increase in dependent adult abuse reports from the first half of 2020 to the second half of 2021, according to DHS statistics.
Elder abuse affects about one in 10 people 60 and older but is often under-reported, according to the National Council on Aging.
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