HOUSE FILE 250

BY  ISENHART

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to certain campaign communications, providing for fees, and making a penalty applicable.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

   Section 1.  Section 68A.405, subsection 1, paragraph a, subparagraph (3), Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   (3)  “Published material” means any newspaper, magazine, shopper, outdoor advertising facility, poster, direct mailing, brochure, internet website site, campaign sign, or any other form of printed general public political advertising. “Published material” includes television, radio, video, or motion picture advertising.
   Sec. 2.  Section 68A.405, subsection 1, paragraph b, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   b.
  (1)  Except as set out in subsection 2, published material or automated or live telephone calls designed to expressly advocate the nomination, election, or defeat of a candidate for public office or the passage or defeat of a ballot issue shall include on the published material an attribution statement disclosing who is responsible for the published material.
   (2)  Automated or live telephone calls made by a person or organization for the purpose of gathering information to inform or influence a public election campaign shall include a disclaimer clearly identifying the name of the caller, the name of the person or organization sponsoring the communication, and the name and telephone number of an authorized person responsible for the communication.
   (2)  (3)  The person who is responsible for the published material has the sole responsibility and liability for the attribution statement required by this section.
   Sec. 3.  Section 68A.405, subsection 2, paragraph a, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  The editorials or news articles of a newspaper, magazine, television or radio station, or other print or electronic media that are not paid political advertisements.
   Sec. 4.  Section 68A.405, subsection 3, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  For television, video, radio, or motion picture advertising, the attribution statement shall be displayed on the screen in a clearly readable manner for at least four seconds.  For radio, the attribution statement shall be read at the conclusion of the advertisement at a volume and with enunciation to make the statement easily understandable.
   Sec. 5.  NEW SECTION.  68A.407  Certain communications provided to the board.
   1.  Any communication intended for audio or video broadcast, cable or internet transmission, or any automated or live telephone call that is made to influence a public election, and paid for as a direct, in-kind or independent expenditure by a person, a candidate, or political committee, shall be supplied to the board in an electronic format according to specifications established by the board. 
   2.  The communication shall be supplied by noon on the same day that the transmission first occurs or by noon on the previous Friday if the first transmission occurs on a Saturday or Sunday.
   3.  The communication shall be supplied to the board eleven days before the day of the election if the transmission will first occur within eleven days preceding the election. The communication shall be supplied to the board seven days before the day of the election if the communication responds to a communication that will first occur within eleven days preceding the election. The material supplied to the board shall include a specific listing of each radio, television, cable, internet, or other outlet used to transmit the communication, and the total of expenditures associated with the communication. 
   4.  An audio or video broadcast, cable or internet transmission, or automated or live telephone call made to influence a public election, and paid for as a direct, in-kind or independent expenditure by a person or by a candidate or political committee may not be made if it has not been supplied to the board as required in this section.
   5.  Any communication supplied to the board which directly or indirectly refers to a vote or position taken by a candidate for public office, or portrays the view of a candidate for office, shall include documentation of that vote, position, or view in a form required by the board. The documentation shall include but not be limited to the date, place, and manner that the candidate cast such vote, took such a position or expressed such views and shall reference a public source of information at which the citation can be verified. In addition, the filing shall include the name, address, telephone number, and electronic mail address of the person who is taking legal responsibility for the truthfulness of the information.
   6.  A communication supplied to the board, and its associated documentation, shall be permanently posted by the board on an internet site accessible by the public in an easily identifiable format as soon as technically and reasonably possible.
   7.  The board may establish reasonable fees to cover the costs associated with implementation of this section, payable by the persons, candidate committees, political committees, or other entities submitting a communication.
   8.  In addition to the penalty set out in section 68A.701, a person who violates this section shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed the total amount of the expenditures made to produce and transmit the communication.
EXPLANATION
   This bill regulates audio or video broadcasts, cable or internet transmissions, or automated or live telephone calls which are used in political campaigns. The bill expands current attribution statement requirements to include radio advertisements and automated or live telephone calls.
   The bill enacts new Code section 68A.407 to require that the contents of a campaign-related audio or video broadcast, cable or internet transmission, or automated or live telephone call must be provided to the ethics and campaign finance disclosure board. The bill sets out specific timelines when these communications must be provided. These communications are prohibited unless they have been supplied to the board as required by the bill.
   The bill requires that any communication which directly or indirectly refers to a vote, position, or viewpoint taken by a candidate shall include documentation of that vote, position, or viewpoint in a form required by the board. 
   Communications supplied to the board under new Code section 68A.407 shall be permanently posted on an internet site accessible by the public.
   The bill empowers the board to establish reasonable fees to cover the costs associated with implementation of new Code section 68A.407.
   The bill provides that in addition to the penalty set out in current Code section 68A.701, a person who violates new Code section 68A.407 shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed the total amount of the expenditures made to produce and transmit the communication.