Text: HSB00578                          Text: HSB00580
Text: HSB00500 - HSB00599               Text: HSB Index
Bills and Amendments: General Index     Bill History: General Index



House Study Bill 579

Bill Text

PAG LIN
  1  1    Section 1.  Section 68A.201, subsection 3, Code Supplement
  1  2 2003, is amended to read as follows:
  1  3    3.  Any change in information previously submitted in a
  1  4 statement of organization or notice in case of dissolution of
  1  5 the committee shall be reported to the board or commissioner
  1  6 not more than thirty days from the date of the change or
  1  7 dissolution.
  1  8    Sec. 2.  Section 68A.201, subsection 5, Code Supplement
  1  9 2003, is amended to read as follows:
  1 10    5.  A When either a committee or organization not organized
  1 11 as a committee under this section which makes a contribution
  1 12 to a candidate's committee or political committee organized in
  1 13 Iowa that committee or organization shall disclose each
  1 14 contribution in excess of fifty dollars to the board.  A
  1 15 committee or organization not organized as a committee under
  1 16 this section which is not registered and filing full
  1 17 disclosure reports of all financial activities with the
  1 18 federal election commission or another state's disclosure
  1 19 commission shall register and file full disclosure reports
  1 20 with the board pursuant to this chapter, and shall either
  1 21 appoint an eligible Iowa elector as committee or organization
  1 22 treasurer, or shall maintain all committee funds in an account
  1 23 in a financial institution located in Iowa.  A committee which
  1 24 is currently filing a disclosure report in another
  1 25 jurisdiction shall either file a statement of organization
  1 26 under subsections 1 and 2 and file disclosure reports, the
  1 27 same as those required of committees organized only in Iowa,
  1 28 under section 68A.402, or shall file one copy of a verified
  1 29 statement with the board and a second copy with the treasurer
  1 30 of the committee receiving the contribution.  The form shall
  1 31 be completed and filed at the time the contribution is made.
  1 32 The verified statement shall be on forms prescribed by the
  1 33 board and shall attest that the committee is filing reports
  1 34 with the federal election commission or in a jurisdiction with
  1 35 reporting requirements which are substantially similar to
  2  1 those of this chapter, and that the contribution is made from
  2  2 an account which does not accept contributions which would be
  2  3 in violation of section 68A.503.  The form shall include the
  2  4 complete name, address, and telephone number of the
  2  5 contributing committee, the state or federal jurisdiction
  2  6 under which it is registered or operates, the identification
  2  7 of any parent entity or other affiliates or sponsors, its
  2  8 purpose, the name and address of an Iowa resident authorized
  2  9 to receive service of original notice and the name and address
  2 10 of the receiving committee, the amount of the cash or in-kind
  2 11 contribution, and the date the contribution was made.
  2 12    Sec. 3.  Section 68A.202, subsection 2, Code Supplement
  2 13 2003, is amended to read as follows:
  2 14    2.  A political committee shall not be established to
  2 15 expressly advocate the nomination, election, or defeat of only
  2 16 one candidate for office.  However, except that a political
  2 17 committee may be established to expressly advocate the passage
  2 18 or defeat of approval of a single judge standing for
  2 19 retention.  A permanent organization, as defined in subsection
  2 20 68A.402, subsection 6, may make a one-time contribution to
  2 21 only one candidate for office in excess of seven hundred fifty
  2 22 dollars.
  2 23    Sec. 4.  Section 68A.301, Code Supplement 2003, is amended
  2 24 to read as follows:
  2 25    68A.301  CAMPAIGN FUNDS.
  2 26    As used in this division, "campaign funds" means
  2 27 contributions to a candidate or candidate's committee which
  2 28 are required by this chapter to be deposited in a separate
  2 29 campaign account.
  2 30    1.  A candidate's committee shall not accept contributions
  2 31 from, or make contributions to, any other candidate's
  2 32 committee including candidate's committees from other states
  2 33 or for federal office, unless the candidate for whom each
  2 34 committee is established is the same person.  For purposes of
  2 35 this section, "contributions" does not mean include travel
  3  1 costs incurred by a candidate in attending a campaign event of
  3  2 another candidate.
  3  3    2.  This section shall not be construed to prohibit a
  3  4 candidate or candidate's committee from using campaign funds
  3  5 or accepting contributions for tickets to meals if the
  3  6 candidate attends solely for the purpose of enhancing the
  3  7 person's candidacy or the candidacy of another person.
  3  8    Sec. 5.  Section 68A.303, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code
  3  9 Supplement 2003, is amended to read as follows:
  3 10    a.  Contributions to charitable organizations unless the
  3 11 candidate or the candidate's spouse or any of the children of
  3 12 the candidate or the candidate's spouse is employed by the
  3 13 charitable organization.
  3 14    Sec. 6.  Section 68A.403, subsection 1, Code Supplement
  3 15 2003, is amended to read as follows:
  3 16    1.  A report or statement required to be filed by a
  3 17 treasurer of a political committee, a candidate, or by any
  3 18 other person, under this chapter shall be signed by the person
  3 19 filing the report.
  3 20    Sec. 7.  Section 68A.503, subsection 4, Code Supplement
  3 21 2003, is amended by striking the subsection and inserting in
  3 22 lieu thereof the following:
  3 23    4.  The prohibitions in sections 1 and 2 shall not apply to
  3 24 an insurance company, savings and loan association, bank,
  3 25 credit union, or corporation engaged in any of the following
  3 26 activities:
  3 27    a.  Using its funds to encourage registration of voters and
  3 28 participation in the political process or to publicize public
  3 29 issues, but does not use any part of those contributions to
  3 30 expressly advocate the nomination, election, or defeat of any
  3 31 candidate for public office.
  3 32    b.  Using its funds to expressly advocate the passage or
  3 33 defeat of ballot issues so long as the transactions are
  3 34 reported as required under section 68A.402.
  3 35    c.  The placement of yard signs under section 68A.405,
  4  1 subsection 2.
  4  2    Sec. 8.  Section 68A.504, Code Supplement 2003, is amended
  4  3 to read as follows:
  4  4    68A.504  PROHIBITING CONTRIBUTIONS DURING THE LEGISLATIVE
  4  5 SESSION.
  4  6    1.  A lobbyist or political committee, other than a state
  4  7 statutory political committee, county statutory political
  4  8 committee, or a national political party, shall not contribute
  4  9 to, act as an agent or intermediary for contributions to, or
  4 10 arrange for the making of monetary or in-kind contributions to
  4 11 the campaign of an elected state official, member of the
  4 12 general assembly, or candidate for state office on any day
  4 13 during the regular legislative session and, in the case of the
  4 14 governor or a gubernatorial candidate, during the thirty days
  4 15 following the adjournment of a regular legislative session
  4 16 allowed for the signing of bills.  This section shall not
  4 17 apply to the receipt of contributions by an elected state
  4 18 official, member of the general assembly, or other state
  4 19 official who has taken affirmative action to seek nomination
  4 20 or election to a federal elective office Except as set out in
  4 21 subsection 2, an elected state official, member of the general
  4 22 assembly, or candidate for state office shall not accept a
  4 23 contribution as prohibited in this subsection.
  4 24    This section shall not apply to a candidate for state
  4 25 office who filed nomination papers for an office for which a
  4 26 special election is called or held during the regular
  4 27 legislative session, if the candidate receives the
  4 28 contribution at any time during the period commencing on the
  4 29 date on which at least two candidates have been nominated for
  4 30 the office and ending on the date on which the election is
  4 31 held.  A person who is an elected state official shall not,
  4 32 however, solicit contributions during a legislative session
  4 33 from any lobbyist or political committee, other than a state
  4 34 statutory political committee, county statutory political
  4 35 committee, or a national political party, for another
  5  1 candidate for a state office for which a special election is
  5  2 held.
  5  3    2.  The prohibition in subsection 1 shall not apply to the
  5  4 following:
  5  5    a.  The receipt of contributions by an elected state
  5  6 official, member of the general assembly, or candidate for
  5  7 state office who has taken affirmative action to seek
  5  8 nomination or election to a federal elective office so long as
  5  9 the contribution is placed in a federal campaign account.
  5 10    b.  The receipt of contributions by a candidate for state
  5 11 office who filed nomination papers for an office for which a
  5 12 special election is called or held during the regular
  5 13 legislative session, if the candidate receives the
  5 14 contribution during the period commencing on the date that at
  5 15 least two candidates have been nominated for the office and
  5 16 ending on the date the election is held.  A person who is an
  5 17 elected state official shall not solicit contributions during
  5 18 a legislative session from any lobbyist or political
  5 19 committee, other than a state statutory political committee,
  5 20 county statutory political committee, or a national political
  5 21 party, for another candidate for a state office for which a
  5 22 special election is held.  
  5 23                           EXPLANATION
  5 24    This bill makes a series of changes to the campaign finance
  5 25 laws in Code chapter 68A.  Code section 68A.201 is amended by
  5 26 eliminating an outdated reference to filing certain documents
  5 27 with the county election commissioner (county auditor).  That
  5 28 section is also amended to limit the required disclosure of
  5 29 contributions, which are made by an organization not organized
  5 30 under that section, to those contributions in excess of $50.
  5 31    Code section 68A.202 is amended to exempt a permanent
  5 32 organization, making a one-time contribution over $750, from
  5 33 the prohibition against establishing a political committee to
  5 34 advocate the nomination, election, or defeat of a single
  5 35 candidate.
  6  1    Code section 68A.301 is amended to provide that a
  6  2 candidate's committee may neither receive nor make
  6  3 contributions to another candidate's committee.  Current
  6  4 language defining the term "campaign funds" is stricken; the
  6  5 term is left undefined to provide a broad application of the
  6  6 term.
  6  7    Code section 68A.303 is amended to prohibit a candidate's
  6  8 committee from making a contribution to a charitable
  6  9 organization which employs the candidate or a member of the
  6 10 candidate's immediate family.
  6 11    Code section 68A.403 is amended to allow any person filing
  6 12 a report required by Code chapter 68A to sign that report.
  6 13    Code section 68A.503, subsection 4, is completely
  6 14 rewritten.  The current provision allows a nonprofit
  6 15 corporation or organization to make, solicit, or receive
  6 16 contributions used for certain noncandidate types of activity,
  6 17 such as voter registration activities, encouraging
  6 18 participation in the political process, or for issue-only
  6 19 advocacy.  The revision broadens this permissible use of
  6 20 contributions to include any insurance company, savings and
  6 21 loan association, bank, credit union, or corporation.
  6 22    Code section 68A.504 is amended to restructure current
  6 23 provisions relating to the prohibition of contributions during
  6 24 the legislative session.  
  6 25 LSB 5301DP 80
  6 26 jr/sh/8
     

Text: HSB00578                          Text: HSB00580
Text: HSB00500 - HSB00599               Text: HSB Index
Bills and Amendments: General Index     Bill History: General Index

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