H.F. 285 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 68A.507 Disclosures related to 1 political telephone communications —— legislative findings —— 2 definitions. 3 1. The general assembly finds that political telephone 4 communication is increasingly used in political campaigns in 5 this state in a deceptive manner, including but not limited 6 to the use of political telemarketing, also known as push- 7 polling, where an anonymous telephone communication is 8 designed to appear as a legitimate poll, but is in fact used 9 to communicate certain negative information related to a 10 candidate or ballot issue. The general assembly declares that 11 a compelling public interest exists to identify the source of 12 funding of telephone communications related to elections in 13 order to prevent corruption and deceit at the expense of the 14 electorate and to preserve accountability for expenditures made 15 in connection with political campaigns. 16 2. For the purposes of this section, unless the context 17 otherwise requires: 18 a. “Legitimate poll” means a telephone communication 19 conducted by a polling firm for the purpose of a scientific 20 poll of respondents in order to gauge public opinion concerning 21 a candidate, public office holder, or ballot issue that is part 22 of a series of like telephone communications that utilizes a 23 scientific sampling technique to produce a random sample of 24 respondents. 25 b. “Political telemarketing” means the canvassing of persons 26 under the guise of performing a legitimate poll, with the 27 purpose of encouraging support of, or opposition to, a clearly 28 identified candidate for public office or the passage or defeat 29 of a clearly identified ballot issue. 30 3. A candidate, an authorized representative of a 31 candidate, a candidate’s committee, or a political committee 32 that engages either in a telephone communication for the 33 purpose of soliciting contributions or in a telephone 34 communication that has the effect of promoting or opposing the 35 -1- LSB 2146YH (2) 88 ss/jh 1/ 6

H.F. 285 nomination or election of a candidate for public office or the 1 passage of a ballot issue shall disclose all of the following 2 by the end of the telephone communication: 3 a. The identity of the individual who is communicating and 4 the entity with which the individual is affiliated, if any. 5 b. The individual or entity that paid for the telephone 6 communication. If a candidate’s committee or political 7 committee has paid for or authorized the telephone 8 communication, the name of the candidate’s committee or 9 political committee shall be disclosed. If any person other 10 than a candidate’s committee or political committee has 11 paid for or authorized the telephone communication, the 12 communication shall also state whether or not the communication 13 has been authorized by the candidate intended to benefit from 14 the communication and shall state whether the communication is 15 an independent expenditure. 16 c. The name, telephone number, and address of an individual 17 whom the communication recipient can contact for further 18 information regarding the telephone communication. 19 4. An individual who, on behalf of, at the direction of, 20 or in cooperation with a political committee, engages either 21 in a telephone communication for the purpose of soliciting 22 contributions or in a telephone communication that has the 23 effect of promoting or opposing the nomination or election of a 24 candidate for public office or the passage of a ballot issue 25 shall disclose all of the following at the commencement of the 26 telephone communication: 27 a. The identity of the individual who is communicating and 28 the entity with which the individual is affiliated, if any. 29 b. The individual or entity that paid for the telephone 30 communication. If a political committee has paid for or 31 authorized the telephone communication, the name of the 32 political committee shall be disclosed. If any person 33 other than the candidate, a candidate’s committee, or a 34 political committee has paid for or authorized the telephone 35 -2- LSB 2146YH (2) 88 ss/jh 2/ 6

H.F. 285 communication, the communication shall also state whether or 1 not the communication has been authorized by the candidate 2 intended to benefit from the communication. 3 c. The name, telephone number, and address of an individual 4 whom the communication recipient can contact for further 5 information regarding the telephone communication. 6 5. The board shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A 7 establishing procedures to administer this section. 8 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 68A.508 Publication of certain false 9 statements of fact concerning candidate prohibited —— remedies. 10 1. The general assembly finds that the increasing use of 11 false statements of fact aimed at candidates for public office 12 impedes campaigns and diminishes the trust and confidence of 13 the public in the electoral process. It is not the intent 14 of the general assembly to lessen political debate that 15 furthers the ability of the public to understand the issues 16 and positions of candidates for public office. The general 17 assembly declares that a compelling state interest exists in 18 prohibiting the use of false statements of fact that impede 19 campaigns for public office in Iowa and diminish the public's 20 trust and confidence in the electoral process. 21 2. As used in this section: 22 a. “Actual malice” means knowledge of the falsity of a 23 statement or reckless disregard for whether a statement is true 24 or false. 25 b. “Public office” means any state, county, city, school, or 26 other office of a political subdivision of this state filled 27 by election. 28 c. “Publish” means the act of printing, posting, 29 broadcasting, mailing, speaking, or otherwise disseminating. 30 3. A person shall not, with actual malice, cause to be 31 published a false statement of fact concerning a candidate for 32 public office involving any of the following: 33 a. The education or training of the candidate. 34 b. The current profession or occupation of the candidate or 35 -3- LSB 2146YH (2) 88 ss/jh 3/ 6

H.F. 285 any former profession or occupation of the candidate. 1 c. Whether the candidate committed, was indicted for 2 committing, or was convicted of committing a crime punishable 3 by law. 4 d. Whether the candidate was subject to discipline 5 or sanction by any body of the federal government, state 6 government, or political subdivision of the state. 7 e. Whether the candidate has received treatment for a mental 8 illness. 9 f. Whether another person endorses or opposes the candidate. 10 g. The record of voting of a candidate if the candidate 11 serves or formerly served in an elected office. 12 4. A candidate for public office who alleges that a false 13 statement of fact concerning the candidate has been published 14 in violation of this section may file a complaint with the 15 board. The board shall give priority consideration to any 16 complaint filed under this section over all other matters 17 pending before the board. 18 5. If the board determines that a violation did occur, the 19 board may impose any of the recommended actions under section 20 68B.32D, except that the board shall not refer any complaint or 21 supporting information of a violation of this section to the 22 attorney general or any county attorney for prosecution. 23 6. This section shall not preclude the filing of a civil 24 action based on the same facts or event giving rise to a 25 complaint filed with the board under this section. 26 7. Section 68A.701, which otherwise applies criminal 27 penalties for violations of this chapter, shall not apply to 28 violations of this section. 29 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 68A.509 Statement of fair campaign 30 practices for state offices. 31 The board shall prepare a statement of fair campaign 32 practices to assist candidates in the proper conduct of 33 political campaigns in accordance with this chapter. A 34 copy of the statement shall be mailed to any incumbent state 35 -4- LSB 2146YH (2) 88 ss/jh 4/ 6

H.F. 285 officeholder running for reelection to that office and to any 1 other individual running for elected state office that has 2 filed a statement of organization for that office pursuant to 3 section 68A.201. Any individual running for elected office 4 for a county, city, school, or other political subdivision may 5 request a copy of the statement. Candidates choosing to abide 6 by the statement shall sign and return the statement to the 7 board. Compliance with the provisions of the statement shall 8 be voluntary on the part of any candidate choosing to sign and 9 return the statement to the board. The statement prepared by 10 the board shall be adopted by rule pursuant to chapter 17A. 11 EXPLANATION 12 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 13 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 14 This bill relates to certain political telephone calls and 15 voluntary ethics statements. The bill requires a caller that 16 makes a telephone call soliciting a contribution or advocating 17 for or against a candidate or ballot issue to disclose the name 18 and affiliation of the caller, the name of the entity that paid 19 for the telephone call, whether a candidate has authorized 20 the call, and the name, address, and telephone number of an 21 individual whom the person can contact to receive further 22 information regarding the call. A person engaging in such 23 telephone calls must submit to the Iowa ethics and campaign 24 disclosure board, at least 24 hours prior to the first call, 25 all information required to be disclosed during the call and 26 the script that the caller will use. By operation of law, 27 a person who willfully violates this section of the bill is 28 guilty of a serious misdemeanor. A serious misdemeanor is 29 punishable by confinement for no more than one year and a fine 30 of at least $315 but not more than $1,875. 31 The bill prohibits a person from publishing certain false 32 statements about a candidate for public officer with actual 33 malice. The bill allows a candidate who believes that a 34 prohibited false statement has been published to make a report 35 -5- LSB 2146YH (2) 88 ss/jh 5/ 6

H.F. 285 to the Iowa ethics and campaign disclosure board for possible 1 investigation and penalties pursuant to Code section 68B.32D. 2 The bill directs the board to give such reports priority over 3 other matters. A violation of this Code section is not subject 4 to a criminal penalty pursuant to Code section 68A.701. 5 The bill directs the Iowa ethics and campaign disclosure 6 board to create a statement of fair campaign finances and mail 7 it to any incumbent state officeholder running for reelection 8 and to any other candidate for state office that has filed an 9 organization statement. A person running for any other officer 10 may request a copy of the statement. A candidate may choose to 11 abide by the statement by signing it and returning it to the 12 board. Compliance with the statement is voluntary. 13 -6- LSB 2146YH (2) 88 ss/jh 6/ 6