321.556 Notice and hearing — findings and order.

1. If, upon review of the record of convictions of any person, the department determines that the person appears to be a habitual offender, the department shall immediately notify the person in writing and afford the licensee an opportunity for a hearing. Notwithstanding chapter 17A, the notice shall meet the requirements of section 321.16 and shall be served in the manner provided in that section. Service of notice on any nonresident of this state may be made in the same manner as provided in sections 321.498 through 321.506. A peace officer stopping a person for whom a notice has been issued under this section may personally serve the notice upon forms approved by the department to satisfy the notice requirements of this section. A peace officer may confiscate the driver’s license of a person if the license has been revoked or has been suspended subsequent to a hearing and the person has not forwarded the driver’s license to the department as required.

2. The hearing shall be conducted as provided in section 17A.12 before the department in the county where the alleged events occurred, unless the director and the person agree that the hearing may be held in some other county, or the hearing may be held by telephone conference at the discretion of the agency conducting the hearing. The hearing shall be recorded and its scope shall be limited to the issue of whether the person notified is a habitual offender.

3. An abstract certified by the director of transportation may be admitted as evidence as provided in section 622.43, at the hearing, and shall be prima facie evidence that the person named in the abstract was duly convicted by the court in which the conviction or holding was made of each offense shown by the abstract. If the person named in the abstract denies conviction of any of the relevant convictions contained in the abstract, the person shall have the burden of proving that the conviction is untrue. For purposes of this subsection, a conviction is relevant if it is for one of the offenses listed in section 321.555.

4. If the department finds that the person is not the same person named in the abstract, or otherwise concludes that the person is not a habitual offender as provided in section 321.555, the department shall issue a decision dismissing the proceedings. If the department’s findings and conclusions are that the person is a habitual offender, the department shall issue an order prohibiting the person from operating a motor vehicle on the highways of this state for the period specified in section 321.560. If a person is found to be a habitual offender, the person shall surrender all licenses or permits to operate a motor vehicle in this state to the department. A person who is found to be a habitual offender may be assessed a fee by the department to cover the costs of the habitual offender proceedings. Fees assessed shall be paid before the person may be issued a license or permit to operate a motor vehicle in this state.

[C75, 77, 79, 81, §321.556]

95 Acts, ch 143, §2; 98 Acts, ch 1073, §9; 2000 Acts, ch 1133, §13; 2001 Acts, ch 32, §46

Referred to in §321.555, 321.562