Senate Study Bill 1033 - Introduced SENATE/HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED ETHICS AND CAMPAIGN DISCLOSURE BOARD BILL) A BILL FOR An Act relating to consent for recurring contributions made 1 to a political or candidate’s committee, making penalties 2 applicable, and including applicability provisions. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 1224DP (4) 90 ss/ns

S.F. _____ H.F. _____ Section 1. NEW SECTION . 68A.507 Recurring contributions —— 1 consent required. 2 1. a. A solicitation by a committee for a recurring 3 contribution, directly or through an agent or intermediary, 4 shall be in a form that requires affirmative consent from the 5 person making the recurring contribution. 6 b. A committee shall not accept a recurring contribution 7 from a person unless the committee receives the affirmative 8 consent of the person to make a recurring contribution at the 9 time of the initial contribution. 10 2. A committee that accepts a recurring contribution shall 11 immediately cancel a recurring contribution upon request of the 12 person making the contribution. 13 3. A recurring contribution made in response to a 14 solicitation that did not require affirmative consent shall 15 be returned to the person making the contribution within 16 fourteen days of receipt of a request from the person making 17 the contribution to return the contribution or the date on 18 which the committee becomes aware that the solicitation of 19 the recurring contribution was in violation of subsection 1, 20 whichever is earlier. 21 4. This section does not apply to a political committee 22 soliciting or accepting a contribution from an employee or 23 shareholder. 24 5. For the purposes of this section: 25 a. “Affirmative consent” does not include passive action 26 by the person making the contribution, such as by failing to 27 uncheck a prechecked box authorizing a recurring contribution. 28 b. “Recurring contribution” means a contribution from a 29 person to a committee that is automatically charged to the 30 person’s bank account, credit card, or other payment account on 31 a repeated basis without approval or other affirmative consent 32 by the person after the initial contribution to the committee. 33 Sec. 2. APPLICABILITY. 34 1. Except as provided in subsection 2, this Act applies 35 -1- LSB 1224DP (4) 90 ss/ns 1/ 2

S.F. _____ H.F. _____ to a recurring contribution created before, on, or after the 1 effective date of this Act. 2 2. Section 68A.507, subsection 3, as enacted in this Act, 3 applies to a recurring contribution made on or after the 4 effective date of this Act. 5 EXPLANATION 6 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 7 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 8 This bill relates to recurring contributions made to a 9 political committee or a candidate’s committee. The bill 10 prohibits a committee from accepting a recurring contribution 11 from a person unless the committee has received the affirmative 12 consent of the person to make a recurring contribution. 13 Affirmative consent does not include passive action by the 14 person making the contribution. The bill defines “recurring 15 contribution”. 16 The bill requires a committee to immediately cancel a 17 recurring contribution upon request of the person making the 18 contribution. The bill also requires a committee to return 19 a recurring contribution made in response to a solicitation 20 that violates the provisions of the bill to the person within 21 14 days of receipt of a request from the person or the date 22 on which the committee becomes aware that the solicitation 23 violated the provisions of the bill, whichever is sooner, 24 unless the recurring contribution was made prior to the 25 effective date of the bill. Otherwise, the bill applies to 26 recurring contributions created before, on, or after the 27 effective date of the bill. The bill does not apply to a 28 political committee soliciting or accepting a contribution from 29 an employee or shareholder. 30 By operation of law, a person who willfully violates a 31 provision of the bill is guilty of a serious misdemeanor. A 32 serious misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more 33 than one year and a fine of at least $430 but not more than 34 $2,560. 35 -2- LSB 1224DP (4) 90 ss/ns 2/ 2