Opinion ID: 1991332
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Does an Inmate's Institutional Allowance Fall Within the Terms of Iowa Code Section 252D.1 (1993)?

Text: Iowa Code section 904.701 permits the director of a correctional facility to pay inmates an allowance as the director deems proper in view of the circumstances. Iowa Code § 904.701 (1993). The statute specifically provides that the allowance is a gratuitous payment and is not a wage arising out of an employment relationship. Id. Allbee claims that his allowance does not fall within the terms of section 252D.1. Section 252D.1(2) allows the deduction of the sums specified in the mandatory income withholding order from the obligor's periodic earnings, trust income, compensation, benefits, or other income. Id. § 252D.1(2). We conclude that Allbee's institutional allowance is a benefit and therefore, encompassed within the mandatory income withholding order. Because chapter 252D does not define the term benefits, we look to the ordinary and usual meaning of this term. State v. Bush, 518 N.W.2d 778, 780 (Iowa 1994). The term benefit is defined as a payment or a gift. Webster's Third New Int'l Dictionary 204 (1993). Clearly, the gratuitous payment received by Allbee under section 904.701 falls within this definition.