Text: SF00374                           Text: SF00376
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Senate File 375

Partial Bill History

Bill Text

PAG LIN
  1  1    Section 1.  Section 56.2, subsection 14, paragraph c, Code
  1  2 2001, is amended by striking the paragraph.
  1  3    Sec. 2.  Section 56.12A, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2001,
  1  4 is amended to read as follows:
  1  5    The state and the governing body of a county, city, or
  1  6 other political subdivision of the state A person shall not
  1  7 expend or permit the expenditure of public moneys for
  1  8 political purposes, including expressly advocating the passage
  1  9 or defeat of a ballot issue.
  1 10    Sec. 3.  Section 56.13, Code 2001, is amended by striking
  1 11 the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
  1 12    56.13  INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES.
  1 13    1.  Any individual who meets all of the following criteria
  1 14 shall file an independent expenditure statement with the board
  1 15 or commissioner with whom the benefited committee files
  1 16 statements and reports under this chapter:
  1 17    a.  The individual is not a candidate.
  1 18    b.  The individual is acting independently and not in
  1 19 coordination with another individual, organization, or
  1 20 committee.
  1 21    c.  The individual makes one or more expenditures in excess
  1 22 of five hundred dollars in the aggregate, or incurs
  1 23 indebtedness in excess of five hundred dollars in the
  1 24 aggregate, to expressly advocate the election or defeat of a
  1 25 clearly identified candidate or the passage or defeat of a
  1 26 ballot issue.
  1 27    2.  Any combination of two or more individuals, or a person
  1 28 other than an individual, that makes one or more expenditures
  1 29 in excess of five hundred dollars in the aggregate, or incurs
  1 30 indebtedness in excess of five hundred dollars in the
  1 31 aggregate, to expressly advocate the election or defeat of a
  1 32 clearly identified candidate or the passage or defeat of a
  1 33 ballot issue, shall file an independent expenditure statement
  1 34 with the board or commissioner where the benefited committee
  1 35 files statements and reports under this chapter.
  2  1    3.  An independent expenditure statement shall be filed
  2  2 within ten days of the making of any expenditure or incurring
  2  3 of indebtedness that exceeds the five hundred dollar aggregate
  2  4 threshold.
  2  5    4.  The independent expenditure statement shall contain all
  2  6 of the following information:
  2  7    a.  Identification of the individuals or persons filing the
  2  8 statement.
  2  9    b.  Description of the position advocated by the
  2 10 individuals or persons with regard to the clearly identified
  2 11 candidate or ballot issue.
  2 12    c.  Identification of the candidate or ballot issue
  2 13 benefited by the independent expenditure.
  2 14    d.  The dates on which the expenditures or incurrence of
  2 15 indebtedness took place.
  2 16    e.  Description of the nature of the action taken that
  2 17 resulted in the expenditures or debts.
  2 18    f.  The fair market value of the expenditures.
  2 19    5.  The filing requirements of this section shall apply in
  2 20 addition to any other applicable filing requirements under
  2 21 this chapter.
  2 22    6.  The board shall develop, prescribe, furnish, and
  2 23 distribute forms for the independent expenditure statements
  2 24 required by this section.
  2 25    Sec. 4.  Section 56.14, Code 2001, is amended to read as
  2 26 follows:
  2 27    56.14  POLITICAL ATTRIBUTION STATEMENT ON PUBLISHED
  2 28 MATERIAL – YARD SIGNS.
  2 29    1.  a.  A person who causes the publication or distribution
  2 30 of published material designed to expressly advocate the
  2 31 nomination, election, or defeat of a candidate for public
  2 32 office or the passage or defeat of a constitutional amendment
  2 33 or public measure ballot issue shall include conspicuously on
  2 34 the published material the identity and address of the person
  2 35 responsible for the material.
  3  1    a.  If the person responsible is an organization, the name
  3  2 of one officer of the organization shall appear on the
  3  3 material.  However, if the organization is a registered
  3  4 committee which has filed a statement of organization under
  3  5 this chapter, only the name of the committee is required to be
  3  6 included on the published material.
  3  7    b.  Published material designed to expressly advocate the
  3  8 nomination, election, or defeat of a candidate for public
  3  9 office or the passage or defeat of a constitutional amendment
  3 10 or public measure ballot issue which contains language or
  3 11 depictions which a reasonable person would understand as
  3 12 asserting that an entity which is incorporated or is a
  3 13 registered committee had authored the material shall, if the
  3 14 entity is not incorporated or a registered committee, include
  3 15 conspicuously on the published material a statement that the
  3 16 apparent organization or committee is not incorporated or a
  3 17 registered committee in addition to the attribution statement
  3 18 required by this section.
  3 19    2.  For purposes of this section, "registered:
  3 20    a.  "Registered committee" means a committee which has an
  3 21 active statement of organization filed under section 56.5.
  3 22    b.  "Published material" means any newspaper, magazine,
  3 23 shopper, outdoor advertising facility, poster, direct mailing,
  3 24 brochure, or any other form of printed general public
  3 25 political advertising; however, the identification need not be
  3 26 conspicuous on posters.  This subsection does not apply to
  3 27 yard signs, bumper stickers, pins, buttons, pens, matchbooks,
  3 28 and similar small items upon which the inclusion of the
  3 29 attribution statement would be impracticable or to published
  3 30 material which is subject to federal regulations regarding an
  3 31 attribution requirement.
  3 32    b. 3.  This subsection section does not apply to the
  3 33 editorials or news articles of a newspaper or magazine which
  3 34 are not political advertisements.  For the purpose of this
  3 35 subsection, "published material" means any newspaper,
  4  1 magazine, shopper, outdoor advertising facility, poster,
  4  2 direct mailing, brochure, or any other form of printed general
  4  3 public political advertising; however, the identification need
  4  4 not be conspicuous on posters.  This subsection does not apply
  4  5 to yard signs, bumper stickers, pins, buttons, pens,
  4  6 matchbooks, and similar small items upon which the inclusion
  4  7 of the attribution statement would be impracticable or to
  4  8 published material which is subject to federal regulations
  4  9 regarding an attribution requirement.
  4 10    c. 4.  This subsection section shall not be construed to
  4 11 require the inclusion on published material of information
  4 12 which discloses the identity or address of any individual who
  4 13 is acting independently and using the individual's own modest
  4 14 resources expends five hundred dollars or less to publish or
  4 15 distribute the material that expressly advocates the passage
  4 16 or defeat of a ballot issue.
  4 17    2.  a.  Yard signs shall not be placed on any property
  4 18 which adjoins a city, county, or state roadway sooner than
  4 19 forty-five days preceding a primary or general election and
  4 20 shall be removed within seven days after the primary or
  4 21 general election in which the name of the particular candidate
  4 22 or ballot issue described on the yard sign appears on the
  4 23 ballot.  Yard signs are subject to removal by highway
  4 24 authorities as provided in section 319.13, or by county or
  4 25 city law enforcement authorities in a manner consistent with
  4 26 section 319.13.  The placement or erection of yard signs shall
  4 27 be exempt from the requirements of chapter 480.  Notice may be
  4 28 provided to the chairperson of the appropriate county central
  4 29 committee if the highway authorities are unable to provide
  4 30 notice to the candidate, candidate's committee, or political
  4 31 committee regarding the yard sign.
  4 32    b.  This subsection does not prohibit the placement of yard
  4 33 signs on agricultural land owned by individuals or by a family
  4 34 farm operation as defined in section 9H.1, subsections 8, 8A,
  4 35 9, and 10; does not prohibit the placement of yard signs on
  5  1 property owned by private individuals who have rented or
  5  2 leased the property to a corporation, if the prior written
  5  3 permission of the property owner is obtained; and does not
  5  4 prohibit the placement of yard signs on residential property
  5  5 owned by a corporation but rented or leased to a private
  5  6 individual if the prior permission of the renter or lessee is
  5  7 obtained.  For the purposes of this chapter, "agricultural
  5  8 land" means agricultural land as defined in section 9H.1.
  5  9    Sec. 5.  NEW SECTION.  56.14A  YARD SIGNS.
  5 10    1.  This section does not prohibit placement of yard signs
  5 11 on any of the following property:
  5 12    a.  Agricultural land owned by individuals or by a family
  5 13 farm operation as defined in section 9H.1, subsections 8, 8A,
  5 14 9, and 10.  For the purposes of this paragraph, "agricultural
  5 15 land" means agricultural land as defined in section 9H.1.
  5 16    b.  Property owned by private individuals who have rented
  5 17 or leased the property to a corporation, if the prior written
  5 18 permission of the property owner is obtained.
  5 19    c.  Residential property owned by a corporation but rented
  5 20 or leased to a private individual, if the prior permission of
  5 21 the renter or lessee is obtained.
  5 22    2.  a.  Yard signs with dimensions of twenty square feet or
  5 23 less that are posted on real property are exempt from the
  5 24 attribution requirements in section 56.14.
  5 25    b.  Campaign signs in excess of twenty square feet shall
  5 26 bear the attribution statement required by section 56.14.
  5 27    3.  A person shall not alter, remove, move, vandalize,
  5 28 deface, or destroy any sign that expressly advocates the
  5 29 election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate or the
  5 30 passage or defeat of a ballot issue without the prior
  5 31 permission of the owner of the sign.
  5 32    Sec. 6.  Section 56.22, subsection 2, Code 2001, is amended
  5 33 to read as follows:
  5 34    2.  Funds distributed to statutory political committees
  5 35 pursuant to this chapter shall not be used to expressly
  6  1 advocate the nomination, election, or defeat of any candidate
  6  2 during the primary election.  Nothing in this subsection shall
  6  3 be construed to prohibit a statutory political committee from
  6  4 using such funds to pay expenses incurred in arranging and
  6  5 holding a nominating convention.
  6  6    Sec. 7.  Section 56.43, subsection 1, Code 2001, is amended
  6  7 to read as follows:
  6  8    1.  Equipment, supplies, or other materials purchased with
  6  9 campaign funds or received in-kind are campaign property.
  6 10 Campaign property belongs to the candidate's committee and not
  6 11 to the candidate.  Campaign property which has a value of five
  6 12 hundred dollars or more at the time it is acquired by the
  6 13 committee shall be separately disclosed as committee inventory
  6 14 on reports filed pursuant to section 56.6, including a
  6 15 declaration of the approximate current value of the property.
  6 16 Such property shall continue to be reported as committee
  6 17 inventory until it is disposed of by the committee or until
  6 18 the property has a residual value of less than one hundred
  6 19 dollars.  Once the property is reported as having a residual
  6 20 value of less than one hundred dollars, the property is no
  6 21 longer required to be reported.  However, consumable campaign
  6 22 property is not required to be reported as committee
  6 23 inventory, regardless of the initial value of the consumable
  6 24 campaign property.  "Consumable campaign property" means
  6 25 stationery, yard signs, and other campaign materials which
  6 26 have been permanently imprinted to be specific to a candidate
  6 27 or election.
  6 28    Sec. 8.  IMPLEMENTATION OF ACT.  Section 25B.2, subsection
  6 29 3, shall not apply to this Act.  
  6 30                           EXPLANATION 
  6 31    This bill amends certain provisions of Code chapter 56
  6 32 pertaining to campaign finance law.
  6 33    The bill strikes part of the definition of "express
  6 34 advocacy" in Code section 56.2, subsection 14.  The United
  6 35 States court of appeals for the eighth circuit has held that
  7  1 the language in that portion of the definition is
  7  2 unconstitutional.
  7  3    The bill amends Code section 56.12A to prohibit any person
  7  4 from using public moneys for political purposes.  The current
  7  5 statute prohibits only the state and political subdivisions
  7  6 from making such expenditures.
  7  7    The bill replaces language in Code section 56.13 relating
  7  8 to independent expenditures and removes certain provisions
  7  9 held to be unconstitutional by the United States court of
  7 10 appeals for the eighth circuit.  The new language requires the
  7 11 filing by individuals or certain persons of an independent
  7 12 expenditure statement within 10 days of making an expenditure
  7 13 or incurring an indebtedness exceeding $500 in the aggregate
  7 14 to expressly advocate the election or defeat of a clearly
  7 15 identified candidate or the passage or defeat of a ballot
  7 16 issue.  The new language specifies the criteria for filing, as
  7 17 well as the contents of the statement.
  7 18    The bill amends and reorganizes Code section 56.14 relating
  7 19 to attribution statements on political material and to yard
  7 20 signs.  The bill specifies a $500 limit for political material
  7 21 that can be distributed by an individual to expressly advocate
  7 22 the passage or defeat of a ballot issue, rather than the
  7 23 current limit of the individual's "modest resources" regarding
  7 24 candidates or ballot issues.
  7 25    The bill removes restrictions on the placement of yard
  7 26 signs held to be unconstitutional by the United States court
  7 27 of appeals for the eighth circuit.
  7 28    The bill also places current provisions from Code section
  7 29 56.14 pertaining to placement of yard signs on certain types
  7 30 of property into a separate new Code section 56.14A.  The new
  7 31 Code section also provides that yard signs with dimensions of
  7 32 20 square feet or less are not required to bear the
  7 33 attribution statement required by Code section 56.14.
  7 34    The bill prohibits the movement or destruction of yard
  7 35 signs without the sign owner's permission.  Violations of this
  8  1 provision are punishable as a serious misdemeanor under Code
  8  2 section 56.16.  A serious misdemeanor is punishable by
  8  3 confinement for no more than one year and a fine of at least
  8  4 $250 but not more than $1,500.
  8  5    The bill adds language to Code section 56.22 to prohibit
  8  6 parties from using funds received pursuant to the income-tax
  8  7 checkoff under Code section 56.18 only during the primary
  8  8 election.
  8  9    The bill also specifies that campaign property having a
  8 10 residual value of less than $100 does not need to be reported.
  8 11    This bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code
  8 12 section 25B.3.  The bill makes inapplicable Code section
  8 13 25B.2, subsection 3, which would relieve a political
  8 14 subdivision from complying with a state mandate if funding for
  8 15 the cost of the state mandate is not provided or specified.
  8 16 Therefore, political subdivisions are required to comply with
  8 17 any state mandate included in this bill.  
  8 18 LSB 1237SV 79
  8 19 jj/gg/8
     

Text: SF00374                           Text: SF00376
Text: SF00300 - SF00399                 Text: SF Index
Bills and Amendments: General Index     Bill History: General Index

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