56.13  Independent expenditures.

1.  Action involving a contribution or expenditure which must be reported under this chapter and which is taken by any person, candidate's committee or political committee on behalf of a candidate, if known and approved by the candidate, shall be deemed action by the candidate and reported by the candidate's committee. It shall be presumed that a candidate approves the action if the candidate had knowledge of it and failed to file a statement of disavowal with the commissioner or board and take corrective action within seventy-two hours of the action. A person, candidate's committee or political committee taking such action independently of that candidate's committee shall notify that candidate's committee in writing within twenty-four hours of taking the action. The notification shall provide that candidate's committee with the cost of the promotion at fair market value. A copy of the notification shall be sent to the board.

Any person who makes expenditures or incurs indebtedness, other than incidental expenses incurred in performing volunteer work, in support or opposition of a candidate for public office shall notify the appropriate committee and provide necessary information for disclosure reports.

2.  If a person, other than a political committee, makes one or more expenditures in excess of five hundred dollars in the aggregate, or incurs indebtedness in excess of five hundred dollars in the aggregate, in any one calendar year for purposes of supporting or opposing a ballot issue, the person shall file a statement of activity within ten days of taking the action exceeding the threshold. The statement shall contain information identifying the person filing the statement, identifying the ballot issue, and indicating the position urged by the person with regard to the ballot issue. The person shall file reports indicating the dates on which the expenditures or incurrence of indebtedness took place; a description of the nature of the action taken which resulted in the expenditures or debt; and the cost of the promotion at fair market value. For a local ballot issue, the reports shall be filed five days prior to any election in which the ballot issue appears and on the first day of the month following the election, as well as on the nineteenth day of January, May, and July of each year in which the ballot issue appears on the ballot and on the nineteenth day of January and October of each year in which the ballot issue does not appear on the ballot. For a statewide ballot issue, reports shall be filed on the nineteenth day of January, May, and July of each year. The reports shall be current to five days prior to the filing deadline, and are considered timely filed if mailed bearing a United States postal service postmark on or before the due date. Filing obligations shall cease when the person files a statement of discontinuation indicating that the person's financial activity in support of or in opposition to the ballot issue has ceased. Statements and reports shall be filed with the commissioner responsible under section 47.2 for conducting the election at which the issue is voted upon, except that reports on a statewide ballot issue shall be filed with the board.

3.  A person taking action involving the making of an expenditure or incurrence of indebtedness in support or opposition to a ballot issue independently of a political committee shall, within seventy-two hours of taking the action, notify in writing any political committee which advocates the same position with regard to the ballot issue as the person taking the action. The notification shall provide the political committee with the cost of the promotion at fair market value. A copy of the notification shall be sent to the board. It shall be presumed that a benefited committee approves the action if the committee fails to file a statement of disavowal with the commissioner or board and takes corrective action within ten days of the action. Action approved by a committee shall be reported as a contribution by the committee.

4.  This section shall not be construed to require duplicate reporting of anything reported under this chapter by a political committee except that actions which constitute contributions in kind shall be reported by the benefited committee. This section shall not be construed to require reporting of action by any person which does not constitute a contribution.

Section History: Early form

  [C75, 77, 79, 81, § 56.13; 81 Acts, ch 35, § 11]

Section History: Recent form

  86 Acts, ch 1023, § 10; 93 Acts, ch 163, § 33; 94 Acts, ch 1180, §36; 95 Acts, ch 198, §12


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