HOUSE FILE 222

BY  COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT

(SUCCESSOR TO HF 12)

A BILL FOR

An Act to prohibit political telephone calls during the nighttime hours and making penalties applicable.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

   Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  68A.507  Restrictions on telephone calls made for campaign purposes.
   1.  A person shall not make a telephone call intended to urge the recipient to expressly advocate, as defined in section 68A.102, subsection 14, paragraph “b”, the election or defeat of a candidate or the passage or defeat of a ballot issue beginning at ten p.m. and ending at eight a.m., central standard time or central daylight saving time, as appropriate, the next day.
   2.  “Telephone call” means a call made using or received on a telecommunications service or voice over internet protocol service.
   3.  A person who violates this section is subject to sections 68A.701 and 68B.32D.
EXPLANATION
   This bill would prohibit telephone calls intended to urge the recipient to expressly advocate the election or defeat of a candidate or the passage or defeat of a ballot issue between the hours of 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.
   As provided in Code section 68A.701, a willful violation of any provision of the campaign finance chapter is a serious misdemeanor punishable by confinement for up to one year and a fine of at least $315 but not more than $1,875. A variety of civil remedies are also available in Code section 68B.32D for a violation of Code chapter 68A or rules of the ethics and campaign disclosure board, ranging from a reprimand to a civil penalty of not more than $2,000.