A piece of legislation known as “Noah’s Bill,” sponsored by District 39 State Senator Kevin Kinney (D) of Oxford, is one step closer to becoming state law.

The Iowa Senate passed Senate File 243 Wednesday that would make it a crime for someone to fail disclosing the location of a dead body with the intent to conceal a crime.  Kinney proposed the legislation in response to events following the fatal drowning of Noah Herring at the Coralville Reservoir in the summer of 2020 and he addressed the issue during the Senate floor debate, “This really hits home because it happened in my community. This is a bill that Noah Herring’s, who passed away, family came to me and was up in arms about what can be done. We worked through this and all the Herring family wanted was that this didn’t happen to another family.”

Fifteen-year-old Noah Herring was reported missing on April 8, 2020 and his body was later found April 11 at the Coralville Reservoir. Officials say witnesses provided investigators false information and Kinney’s bill would make that a crime. The legislation now goes to the Iowa House for its consideration.