Iowa General Assembly - 2004 Summary of Legislation

2004 Summary of Legislation

ELECTIONS, ETHICS AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE

SENATE FILE 2179 - Regulation of Government Ethics and Lobbying
SENATE FILE 2269 - Elections and Voter Registration
SENATE FILE 2279 - Satellite Absentee Voting Stations - Petition Requirements - VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR
HOUSE FILE 593 - Election Law Changes - VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR
HOUSE FILE 2180 - Appointment of County Attorney - Residency Requirement
HOUSE FILE 2318 - Campaign Finance - Committee Organization or Dissolution - Contributions
HOUSE FILE 2319 - Regulation of Political Activities and Materials

RELATED LEGISLATION

SENATE FILE 2296 - Administration of Tax Policy and Related Internal Revenue Code Revisions: SEE TAXATION. This Act amends various provisions of state tax law by repealing the requirement that two voter registration forms be inserted in each individual income tax instruction booklet every other year. In addition, the Act requires that the official electronic Iowa voter registration form and a link to the Secretary of State's website be placed on the Department of Revenue's official website.
SENATE FILE 2298 - Government Funding, Administration, and Regulation - Appropriations and Miscellaneous Changes: SEE APPROPRIATIONS. Division XIV of this Act appropriates moneys from the General Fund of the State to the Secretary of State to draw down federal moneys for purchase and installation of voting machines under the federal Help America Vote Act.
HOUSE FILE 2207 - Substantive Code Corrections: SEE STATE GOVERNMENT. This Act contains statutory corrections that adjust language to reflect current practices, insert earlier omissions, delete redundancies and inaccuracies, delete temporary language, resolve inconsistencies and conflicts, update ongoing provisions, or remove ambiguities. Changes made include changes related to district associate judge elections and area education agency (AEA) reorganizations. The changes made to a 2003 Act which pertain to AEA reorganizations take effect April 26, 2004, and are retroactively applicable to July 1, 2003. The corrections to the district associate judge elections provisions take effect April 26, 2004.
HOUSE FILE 2419 - School Board Elections - Nomination Petitions - Signatures: SEE EDUCATION. This Act limits to 50 the number of eligible electors needed to sign the nomination petition for a school district board of directors candidate for an at-large seat or a seat which is voted for only by the voters of a director district.

ELECTIONS, ETHICS AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE

SENATE FILE 2179 - Regulation of Government Ethics and Lobbying (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT. This Act relates to ethics laws and the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board.

The Act amends the definition of the term "regulatory agency" in Code Chapter 68B, Government Ethics and Lobbying, to include the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board.

Officials, employees of regulatory agencies, and permanent full time members of the Office of the Governor are prohibited from selling goods or services to individuals, associations or corporations that are subject to the regulatory authority of the agency, in the case of officials and regulatory agency employees, or are registered lobbyists before the General Assembly, in the case of Governor's Office employees. The exception to this prohibition occurs if certain criteria are met, including a requirement that consent be obtained. The prohibition for Governor's Office employees also applies to individuals, associations or corporations that are registered lobbyists before the executive branch. The Act requires a copy of any such consent to be filed with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board within 20 days of the consent being granted. The Act requires the board to adopt rules specifying the method by which regulatory agency employees may obtain agency consent. Previously, the Department of Administrative Services was charged with adopting such rules.

The Act condenses the language used in the prohibition against certain persons providing services against the state by using the defined term "officials." The Act provides that the Office of the Attorney General and the State Public Defender, in executing the duties of those offices, are not in violation of this prohibition.

The Act eliminates a distinction between formal and informal board opinions issued by the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board. All such opinions will be referred to as board advisory opinions. Local officials and local employees may seek board advisory opinions for situations where Code Chapter 68B may apply.

The Act requires the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board to conduct an annual review to determine if members of any board, commission or authority not specifically required in the Code to file a personal financial disclosure statement should file such a statement.

The Act requires personal financial disclosure statements filed with the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives or with the Secretary of the Senate to be recorded on the legislative Internet website or copies of the statements to be forwarded to the Secretary of State for recording on an Internet website. The Act requires the Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board to record statements filed with the board on an Internet website. The Act eliminates a requirement that the board and the General Assembly enter into agreements with the Secretary of State for purposes of public access to and copying of the personal financial disclosure statements.

The Act amends the requirements for lobbyist's client reporting. The Act adds the reimbursement of expenses to the items that must be reported, and requires the reporting of anticipated payments for salaries, fees, retainers, and reimbursement of expenses. The Act changes the reporting date from July 1 of each year to July 31 of each year, and requires that the report include information for the preceding 12 months concluding on June 30 of each year. The Act eliminates a requirement that the report include a cumulative total of all salaries, fees, retainers, and reimbursements of expenses paid to the lobbyist for lobbying activities during the preceding calendar year.

The Act repeals Code Section 68B.34, relating to investigations of ethics complaints filed with one of the ethics standing committees by an independent special counsel, reenacts the section in Code Section 68B.31A, and makes conforming reference changes.

SENATE FILE 2269 - Elections and Voter Registration (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT. This Act makes changes to the law relating to elections, absentee balloting, and voter registration, including Code language changes which are necessary to comply with requirements of Pub. L. No. 107 252, the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA).

HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT CHANGES. The changes related to HAVA require the following:

That the State Commissioner of Elections (Secretary of State) adopt, by rule, administrative complaint procedures for resolution of grievances relating to violations of HAVA provisions relating to uniform and nondiscriminatory election technology and administration requirements.
That the State Registrar of Voters (Secretary of State), on or before January 1, 2006, implement a centralized, computerized statewide voter registration system that is interactive with other agency computer databases in the state.
That an eligible elector who registers by mail and who has not previously voted in an election for federal office in the county of registration present identification when voting for the first time unless the voter provided the voter's Iowa driver's license number, or the voter's Iowa nonoperator's identification card number, or the last four numerals of the voter's social security number on the registration form and those numbers were subsequently verified. A voter who votes an absentee ballot by mail is required to include a photocopy of one of the optional forms of identification with the ballot. If the required identification is not provided, the voter will be allowed to vote a provisional ballot or, if voting an absentee ballot by mail, the absentee ballot shall be considered a provisional ballot.
That information required when registering to vote include the registrant's first name and any family forename or surname and the registrant's Iowa driver's license number or Iowa nonoperator's identification card number or, if not available, the last four numerals of the registrant's social security number. A registrant who does not have either an Iowa driver's license, Iowa nonoperator's identification card, or social security number shall be assigned an identification number for voter registration purposes by the registrar.
That the requirement for the registrant's date of birth include the month, date and year of birth and that the mail voter registration form ask the registrant if the registrant is a citizen of the United States and if the registrant will be 18 years old on or before election day. The mail form shall also contain a statement that if the registrant answered "no" to either of those questions, the registrant is not to complete the registration form. If certain required information is not provided on the registration form, the form shall not be processed and the registrar shall mail an acknowledgment to the registrant notifying the registrant that the registration could not be processed.
That the State Registrar of Voters verify the registrant's driver's license number, Iowa nonoperator's identification card number, or the last four digits of the registrant's social security number. If the number provided cannot be verified, the registrar is required to reject the registration application and notify the registrant. If the information can be verified, the registrar is required to make a record of the source used for verification.
That if a voter registration form lacking required information is received during the 12 days before the close of registration, the commissioner provide the registrant with an opportunity to complete the form before the close of registration.
That registrants whose registration status is local be provided an opportunity to submit another registration before the close of registration for elections with federal offices on the ballot.
That if a mail registrant answered "no" to the question relating to U. S. citizenship, the application not be processed and the acknowledgement inform the applicant why the application was not processed.
That the time period be changed from four consecutive calendar years to two or more consecutive general elections under which a commissioner participating in the national change of address program is to notify a registered voter if the voter has not voted after registering or if the voter has not responded to a prior notice mailed by the commissioner.
That a voter's driver's license number or Iowa nonoperator's identification card number be removed from a voter registration list prepared at the request of any person. Current law only requires that the voter's social security number be removed.
That the term "special ballot" be changed to "provisional ballot," which is the term used in HAVA for a ballot cast by a challenged voter.
That when a challenged voter's ballot is not counted, the commissioner must notify the voter by mail and inform the voter why the ballot was not counted.
That the State Commissioner of Elections adopt rules providing uniform definitions of what constitutes a vote.
That voting machines and electronic voting systems be allowed to be used concurrently at the same precinct.
That the State Commissioner of Elections provide information to members of the armed forces of the United States on voter registration and absentee ballot procedures and accept voter registration applications and absentee ballot applications from members of the armed forces and forward the applications to the appropriate county commissioner of elections.
That the time period during which a commissioner is to mail absentee ballots to a member of the armed forces after receiving the member's initial application for an absentee ballot be extended from one calendar year after receipt of the application to the next two general elections after receipt of the application.
That when the state commissioner receives a federal write in ballot, the commissioner immediately forward it to the appropriate county commissioner of elections. If the ballot is received after election day but before noon on the Monday following the election, the state commissioner, rather than the county commissioner, shall verify that the ballot is eligible to be counted, and notify the appropriate county commissioner and transmit the ballot. If the ballot is not to be counted, the county commissioner is required to notify the voter and give the reason why the ballot was not counted.

OTHER ELECTION LAW CHANGES. The Act makes other election law changes, including the following:

Provides that an unauthorized person who returns, by mail or in person, a voted absentee ballot commits election misconduct in the third degree and that a person who makes a false or untrue statement reporting that a voted absentee ballot was returned, by mail or in person, by an unauthorized person commits election misconduct in the third degree. Election misconduct in the third degree is a serious misdemeanor.
Strikes the requirement that the names of judges standing for retention be rotated on the ballot if only one county is voting on retention of the judges named.
Strikes the requirement that the State Voter Registration Commission prescribe voter registration forms by rule.
Modifies the definition of "voting machine" to specifically include direct recording electronic devices.
Requires the State Commissioner of Elections to provide by rule that voting machines and electronic voting systems approved for use after April 9, 2003, shall meet the voting systems performance and test standards adopted by the Federal Election Commission. This codifies current practice and administrative rule of the commissioner.
Requires that a voting machine be so constructed as to provide the voter with an opportunity to change a vote before the ballot is recorded and counted and to remove information identifying the voter from the ballot before the ballot is recorded and counted.
Requires that a direct recording electronic device have the capability to separately store each ballot which may be reproduced on paper in the case of a recount, manual audit, or machine malfunction.
Strikes the provision that allows a voter to submit an absentee ballot application other than the application prepared by the State Commissioner of Elections.
Provides that absentee ballot applications delivered to, and received by, the county commissioner of elections more than 70 days before the election be retained by the county commissioner and processed in the same manner as applications received not more than 70 days before the election.
Requires that a completed application for an absentee ballot returned by a person acting on behalf of a political party, a candidate, or a political committee or a candidate's committee be returned to the county commissioner's office within 72 hours of the time the completed application was received from the applicant or no later than 5 p.m. on Friday before the election, whichever is earlier.
Provides that when an application for an absentee ballot is solicited by, and returned to the county commissioner's office by, a person acting on behalf of a political party, a candidate, or a political committee or a candidate's committee, the person soliciting and returning the application must give the applicant a receipt for the completed application.
Requires that each carrier envelope mailed along with an absentee ballot be marked "postage paid" by the county commissioner of elections.
Provides that a voted absentee ballot may be returned to the county commissioner's office only by the voter, or by the special precinct election officials designated to deliver and return absentee ballots on behalf of a person confined in a health facility, or by a person designated by the voter if the voter was confined in a health facility outside the voter's county of residence within three days of the election, or by absentee ballot courier.
Provides that a completed absentee ballot may be mailed to the county commissioner only by the voter, an immediate family member of the voter, or a person designated by the voter if the voter is confined in a health facility outside the voter's county of residence within three days of the election.
Requires that a person who acts as an actual or implied agent of a political party, candidate, or committee be registered with the county commissioner of elections as an absentee ballot courier in order to deliver completed absentee ballots to the county commissioner. A person wishing to be registered as an absentee ballot courier must complete a training course in the laws, procedures and penalties related to handling completed absentee ballots. The curriculum for the training course shall be established by rule by the State Commissioner of Elections.
Requires an absentee ballot courier to give the voter a receipt when retrieving a completed absentee ballot from the voter.
Requires that a completed absentee ballot retrieved by a courier be delivered to the county commissioner of elections within 72 hours or before the closing of the polls on election day, whichever is earlier.
Provides that a violation of the provisions relating to absentee ballot couriers is election misconduct in the first degree, which is a class "D" felony.

The Act takes effect April 16, 2004, and applies to elections held on or after September 15, 2004.

SENATE FILE 2279 - Satellite Absentee Voting Stations - Petition Requirements - VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT. This bill would have made changes to the petition requirements for establishment of satellite absentee voting stations.

Currently, the county commissioner of elections (county auditor) is required to establish a satellite absentee voting station upon petition signed by not less than 100 eligible electors. The bill would have provided that a petition to establish a satellite absentee voting station in the unincorporated area of a county must be signed by not less than 100 eligible electors. The bill would have further changed the petition signature requirements relative to the population of a city as follows:

In a city with a population of less than 10,000, 100 eligible electors.
In a city with a population of 10,000 or more but less than 50,000, 250 eligible electors.
In a city with a population of 50,000 or more but less than 100,000, 500 eligible electors.
In a city with a population of 100,000 or more, 750 eligible electors.

Currently, a satellite absentee voting station established by petition is required to be open at least one day for a minimum of six hours. The bill would have changed the minimum number of hours from six to four.

The bill also would have required that the petition requesting establishment of a satellite absentee voting station list the precincts for which the commissioner is to provide ballots at the satellite absentee voting station.

HOUSE FILE 593 - Election Law Changes - VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT. This bill would have made the following changes to the law relating to elections and voter registration:

Provided that election of township trustees and township clerks be on a nonpartisan basis.
Permitted a nomination petition to contain signatures on the front and back of a sheet of paper.
Removed the requirement that the names of judges standing for retention be rotated on the ballot if only one county is voting on retention of the judges named.
Removed the requirement that a majority of the members of the original precinct election board be present at the precinct polling place at all times during election day and required that only the chairperson of the precinct election board be present at the precinct polling place at all times during election day.
Removed the factors that a county commissioner of elections is to consider when determining whether, in an election for a city of 3,500 or less population or in a school district election, voting shall be by voting machine or paper ballot.
Provided that the polls may open at noon, rather than 7 a.m., for an election on a hotel and motel tax conducted in the unincorporated area of a county.
Changed the time for closing precinct polling places from 9 p.m. to 8 p.m. for all elections.
Provided that for all elections, other than elections for federal offices, ballots not voted or spoiled by voters and returned to the county commissioner may be destroyed the day after the last day to contest the election, or the day after final determination of any pending contest related to the election.
Provided that the abstract of votes in the general election may be made on one sheet for county offices, rather than a separate sheet for each county officer.
Allowed a voting machine to be used at satellite absentee voting stations or at the county commissioner's office for voting absentee ballots if the voting machine is a direct recording electronic voting system that is equipped with the ability to retrieve a ballot after the ballot has been voted and is constructed to remove information identifying the voter before the ballot is counted.
Allowed an observer from each of the political parties to be present when ballots are counted if the county chairperson of the party has designated an observer.
Allowed a voter to apply in person at the commissioner's office for an absentee ballot from 8 a.m. until 11 a.m. on the day of the election if it is an election at which the commissioner has directed that the polls shall open at noon.
Provided that if a person elected by write-in votes at a regular city election chooses not to serve, the person submit their resignation to the city clerk by 5 p.m. on the 10th day following the canvass of that election.
Provided that a person receiving write-in votes at city primary and city run-off elections must file an affidavit of candidacy or a resignation notice with the city clerk or commissioner of elections by 5 p.m. on the fourth day following the canvass of the election.

HOUSE FILE 2180 - Appointment of County Attorney - Residency Requirement (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT. This Act provides that if the county attorney position becomes vacant and the board of supervisors chooses to fill the vacancy by appointment pending the next election, the appointed attorney must be a resident of the county at the time of appointment. Current law provides that the appointed attorney must be a resident of the county 60 days prior to appointment.

HOUSE FILE 2318 - Campaign Finance - Committee Organization or Dissolution - Contributions (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT. This Act makes a series of changes to the campaign finance laws in Code Chapter 68A.

Code Section 68A.201 is amended by eliminating an outdated reference and by limiting the required disclosure to contributions in excess of $50 that are made by a committee which is not organized under that section.

Code Section 68A.202 is amended to exempt a permanent organization, making a one-time contribution over $750, from the prohibition against establishing a political committee to advocate the nomination, election or defeat of a single candidate.

Code Section 68A.301 is amended to state that a candidate's committee may neither receive nor make contributions to another candidate's committee. Current language defining the term "campaign funds" is stricken; the term is left undefined, thus allowing a broad interpretation of that term.

Code Section 68A.303 is amended to prohibit a candidate's committee from making a donation to a charitable organization that employs the candidate or a member of the candidate's immediate family.

Code Section 68A.403 is amended to allow any person to file reports required by Code Chapter 68A.

Code Section 68A.503 is amended to restructure current provisions relating to allowable activity by an insurance company, savings and loan association, bank, credit union, or corporation.

Code Section 68A.504 is amended to restructure current provisions relating to the prohibition of contributions during the legislative session.

HOUSE FILE 2319 - Regulation of Political Activities and Materials (full text of bill)

BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT. Current law sets out the filing deadlines for candidate's and political committee reports in narrative form in the Campaign Finance Law. This Act reorganizes that information in chart form. Separate provisions are made for statewide, legislative and local committees. The actual time periods covered by the reports are specified.

Current requirements relating to the contents of candidate's and political committee reports are expanded and moved to a new Code section. The Act also adds a new Code section relating to committee dissolutions.

A current Code section relating to political material and yard signs is divided into two Code sections, one specifically relating to attribution statements on political material and one relating specifically to placement of campaign signs.