House Study Bill 589 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT BILL BY CHAIRPERSON RIZER) A BILL FOR An Act relating to the expenditure of public funds and funds 1 held in trust by statewide elected officials or local 2 officials on certain forms of advertisement and imposing 3 penalties. 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 5 TLSB 5210YC (3) 87 ss/rj

H.F. _____ Section 1. NEW SECTION . 68A.405A Certain advertising 1 expenditures prior to certain elections prohibited. 2 1. a. A statewide elected official or local official shall 3 not expend public moneys or moneys held in a private trust 4 fund as defined in section 8.2 or a trust fund controlled by 5 a political subdivision of the state on any advertisement, 6 including but not limited to a paid television advertisement, 7 paid mailing, brochure, or exhibit at a fair event as defined 8 in section 174.1, containing the name or likeness of the 9 statewide elected official or local official. For the purposes 10 of this section, “statewide elected official” and “local 11 official” mean as defined in section 68B.2. “Advertisement” 12 does not include any of the following: 13 (1) Maps, signs, or other materials produced in the 14 ordinary course of business by the department of transportation 15 containing the name or likeness of a statewide elected official 16 or local official. 17 (2) Public letterhead on an envelope or paper. 18 b. The board shall have the authority to determine whether 19 an item constitutes an advertisement or contains the likeness 20 of a statewide elected official or local official, except that 21 likeness shall not include the name of a statewide elected 22 official or local official when accompanied by the signature of 23 such an official and affixed to a letter. 24 2. A statewide elected official or local official using 25 public moneys or moneys held in a private trust fund as defined 26 in section 8.2 or a trust fund controlled by a political 27 subdivision of the state to pay for an advertisement not 28 containing the statewide elected official’s or local official’s 29 likeness shall include in the advertisement a statement 30 disclosing the source of the public moneys or moneys held in a 31 trust fund used to pay for the advertisement. 32 3. A person who violates this section shall be subject to a 33 civil penalty of an amount equal to the money withdrawn from a 34 public account, private trust fund as defined in section 8.2, 35 -1- LSB 5210YC (3) 87 ss/rj 1/ 3

H.F. _____ or trust fund controlled by a political subdivision of the 1 state, to be imposed by the board and paid into the account 2 from which the money was withdrawn, in addition to the criminal 3 penalty in section 68A.701 and the penalties established by the 4 board pursuant to section 68B.32A. 5 Sec. 2. Section 68A.505, subsection 1, Code 2018, is amended 6 to read as follows: 7 1. The state and the governing body of a county, city, or 8 other political subdivision of the state shall not expend or 9 permit the expenditure of public moneys for political purposes, 10 including expressly advocating the passage or defeat of a 11 ballot issue , and shall not expend or permit the expenditure of 12 public moneys or moneys held in a private trust fund as defined 13 in section 8.2 or a trust fund controlled by a political 14 subdivision of the state on any advertisement including but 15 not limited to a paid television advertisement, paid mailing, 16 brochure, or exhibit at a fair event as defined in section 17 174.1, containing the name or likeness as defined in section 18 68A.405A of a statewide elected official or local official as 19 defined in section 68B.2 . “Advertisement” does not include any 20 of the following: 21 a. Maps, signs, or other materials produced in the ordinary 22 course of business by the department of transportation 23 containing the name or likeness of a statewide elected official 24 or local official. 25 b. Public letterhead on an envelope or paper. 26 EXPLANATION 27 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 28 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 29 This bill prohibits a statewide elected official, defined 30 as the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, 31 treasurer of state, auditor of state, attorney general, or 32 secretary of agriculture, or local official from expending 33 public moneys or moneys held in a trust controlled by the state 34 or a political subdivision on advertisements in which that 35 -2- LSB 5210YC (3) 87 ss/rj 2/ 3

H.F. _____ statewide elected official’s name or likeness will appear. 1 The bill also requires advertisements paid for with public 2 moneys or moneys held in trust not containing the statewide 3 elected official’s or local official’s likeness to include 4 a statement disclosing the source of the moneys used to pay 5 for the advertisement. Advertisements do not include maps, 6 signs, or other materials produced in the normal course of 7 business by the department of transportation, public letterhead 8 on envelopes or papers, or stickers placed on gasoline pumps 9 pursuant to department of agriculture and land stewardship 10 rule. 11 A person who violates the section of the bill prohibiting 12 certain advertisement by state and local officials is subject 13 to penalties established pursuant to Code section 68B.32A, 14 subsections 9 and 19, and must repay the trust fund or public 15 account from which the money was withdrawn. Any person who 16 willfully violates either portion of this bill is also guilty 17 of a serious misdemeanor pursuant to Code section 68A.701. A 18 serious misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more 19 than one year and a fine of at least $315 but not more than 20 $1,875. 21 -3- LSB 5210YC (3) 87 ss/rj 3/ 3