House File 863 - Introduced HOUSE FILE BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT (SUCCESSOR TO HF 68) Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays Approved A BILL FOR 1 An Act regulating certain political telephone communications, 2 applying a penalty, and providing an effective date. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 1756HV 82 5 jr/es/88 PAG LIN 1 1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 68A.407 PERSUASION POLLING AND 1 2 POLITICAL TELEPHONE SOLICITATION. 1 3 1. The general assembly finds that political telephone 1 4 communication is increasingly used in political campaigns in 1 5 this state in a deceitful manner, including but not limited to 1 6 the use of persuasion polling, which jeopardizes the integrity 1 7 of the electoral process and perpetuates a fraud on the 1 8 citizenry by masking persuasive telemarketing techniques in a 1 9 shroud of scientific sincerity. 1 10 The purpose of a legitimate poll or survey is to obtain 1 11 opinions; the goal of a persuasion poll is to influence the 1 12 voter's choice through innuendo or false or misleading 1 13 information about a candidate, the candidate's family, or the 1 14 candidate's position on issues. The general assembly declares 1 15 that persuasion polling is an appropriate subject for state 1 16 regulation in the same manner as written and broadcast 1 17 political advertisements are an appropriate subject for state 1 18 regulation. It is not the intent of the general assembly to 1 19 adversely impact legitimate scientific polling and surveying 1 20 or to infringe on the rights of candidates and others to 1 21 engage in robust, unfettered political speech. 1 22 2. As used in this section: 1 23 a. "Basic preference question" means a question that 1 24 provides a respondent with a nondescriptive list of 1 25 candidates' names and asks which candidate the respondent 1 26 supports in a particular election. 1 27 b. (1) "Persuasion poll" means a telephone survey 1 28 conducted by a pollster or polling organization, or series of 1 29 telephone surveys that are similar in nature, designed to 1 30 include or actually including more than one thousand calls, 1 31 that reference a candidate or group of candidates other than 1 32 in a basic preference question, and to which any one or more 1 33 of the following applies: 1 34 (a) A list or directory is used, exclusively or in part, 1 35 to select respondents belonging to a particular subset or 2 1 combination of subsets of the population, based on demographic 2 2 or political characteristics including but not limited to 2 3 race, sex, age, religion, ethnicity, or party affiliation. 2 4 (b) The telephone survey takes less than three minutes to 2 5 complete, excluding any sponsorship identification. 2 6 (c) The telephone survey does not make demographic 2 7 inquiries on factors such as age, household income, or status 2 8 as a likely voter, sufficient to allow for the tabulation of 2 9 results based on relevant subsets of the population consistent 2 10 with standard industry practice. 2 11 (d) The individual or organization conducting the 2 12 telephone survey does not collect or tabulate survey results. 2 13 (2) "Persuasion poll" does not include a telephone survey 2 14 supporting a particular candidate that does not reference 2 15 another candidate or candidates, other than in a basic 2 16 preference question. 2 17 c. "Political telephone solicitation" means a telephone 2 18 call to a residence, other than through a poll or survey, 2 19 supporting or opposing a candidate, elected official, 2 20 political party, or political organization. "Political 2 21 telephone solicitation" includes a solicitation made by an 2 22 automated dialing device providing a recorded message. 2 23 However, "political telephone solicitation" does not include a 2 24 solicitation personally made by a candidate relating to the 2 25 candidate's own election. 2 26 3. A person shall not authorize, commission, conduct, or 2 27 administer a persuasion poll or political telephone 2 28 solicitation by telephone or telephonic device unless, during 2 29 each call, the caller complies with all of the following: 2 30 a. The caller identifies all persons sponsoring or 2 31 authorizing the call by stating: "This is a paid political 2 32 advertisement by (name of persons)". 2 33 b. If a person identified as either sponsoring or 2 34 authorizing the call is not required to file any documents 2 35 with the board pursuant to this chapter, the person shall 3 1 disclose a valid, current, publicly listed telephone number 3 2 and address for the person or the person's organization. 3 3 c. If a person identified as either sponsoring or 3 4 authorizing the call is affiliated with a candidate, the 3 5 person shall disclose the candidate's name and the office 3 6 sought by the candidate. 3 7 d. If the call is an independent expenditure, the caller 3 8 shall state that no candidate has approved the call. 3 9 4. A person shall not state or imply false or fictitious 3 10 names or telephone numbers when providing the disclosures 3 11 under this section. 3 12 5. All oral disclosures required by this section shall be 3 13 made in a clear and intelligible manner within five seconds of 3 14 the conclusion of the call, and shall be repeated in such 3 15 manner at the request of the call recipient. Disclosures made 3 16 by any telephonic device must offer respondents a procedure to 3 17 have the disclosures repeated. 3 18 6. This section does not apply to a persuasion poll or 3 19 political telephone solicitation if the individuals 3 20 participating in the call are known to each other prior to the 3 21 call. 3 22 7. a. A person who conducts a persuasion poll or 3 23 political telephone solicitation, prior to conducting such 3 24 poll or solicitation, shall have and continuously maintain for 3 25 at least one hundred eighty days following the cessation of 3 26 business activities in this state, a registered agent for the 3 27 purpose of service of process, notice, or demand required or 3 28 permitted by law, and shall file with the board notice of such 3 29 registered agent, including the name, address, and telephone 3 30 number of the registered agent. The registered agent must be 3 31 an individual resident of this state, a domestic corporation, 3 32 or a foreign corporation authorized to do business in this 3 33 state. 3 34 b. Any changes in information provided to the board under 3 35 paragraph "a" shall be reported to the board immediately. 4 1 c. For purposes of this subsection, conducting a 4 2 persuasion poll or political telephone solicitation in this 4 3 state includes placing calls from a location in this state or 4 4 placing calls from outside this state to individuals located 4 5 within this state. 4 6 d. This subsection does not apply to a person already 4 7 lawfully registered to conduct business in this state. 4 8 8. The board shall adopt rules and create forms as 4 9 necessary to administer this section. 4 10 9. If the board determines that a violation has occurred, 4 11 the board may impose any of the remedies or penalties under 4 12 section 68B.32D. 4 13 10. The requirements of this section do not apply to the 4 14 following: 4 15 a. A legitimate poll conducted by a polling firm which has 4 16 registered with the board as a polling firm. A polling firm 4 17 must register with the board prior to conducting any poll. A 4 18 registration shall be valid for one hundred eighty days. 4 19 b. A telephone communication that is made to fewer than 4 20 one thousand persons, if the average time of each 4 21 communication is more than three minutes. 4 22 c. A telephone communication that is made with the written 4 23 approval of the candidate. 4 24 d. A telephone communication by a volunteer or the 4 25 candidate to the individual who is personally known to the 4 26 volunteer or the candidate. 4 27 Sec. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of 4 28 immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment. 4 29 EXPLANATION 4 30 This bill creates a new provision as part of Iowa's 4 31 campaign disclosure law. The bill regulates the use of 4 32 persuasion polling and political telephone solicitations by 4 33 requiring certain disclosures relating to the person who is 4 34 responsible for the poll or solicitation; both terms are 4 35 defined in the bill. A persuasion poll is an attempt to 5 1 influence the listener to either support or oppose a 5 2 candidate, under the guise of conducting a legitimate opinion 5 3 poll. A political telephone solicitation is a telephone 5 4 communication either supporting or opposing a candidate, 5 5 elected official, political party or organization. 5 6 The bill requires a person conducting a persuasion poll or 5 7 a political telephone solicitation to identify all persons 5 8 sponsoring or authorizing the call, along with an address and 5 9 telephone number and state whether a candidate has authorized 5 10 the call. The person conducting a persuasion poll or a 5 11 political telephone solicitation must also have a registered 5 12 agent within the state, for the purpose of service of process, 5 13 at the time the persuasion poll or political telephone 5 14 solicitation is conducted, and for the subsequent 180 days. 5 15 Violations of the bill are punishable by the ethics and 5 16 campaign disclosure board, including public reprimand, cease 5 17 and desist orders, and civil penalty, under Code section 5 18 68B.32D. Willful violation of the bill is punishable as a 5 19 serious misdemeanor under Code section 68A.701. 5 20 The bill is effective upon enactment. 5 21 LSB 1756HV 82 5 22 jr:rj/es/88.1