HF 2601 (LSB 5420HV (2) 91)

HOUSE FILE 2601

BY  COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT

(SUCCESSOR TO HF 2044)

(COMPANION TO SF 2204 BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to campaign finance, including participation in ballot issue campaigns by foreign nationals and investigations of election misconduct, and making penalties applicable.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 68A.102, Code 2026, is amended by adding the following new subsections:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  12A.  “Directly or indirectly” means acting either independently or jointly with, through, or on behalf of a committee or other person.
   NEW SUBSECTION.  14A.  “Foreign national” means any of the following:
   a.  An individual who is not a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States.
   b.  A government or political subdivision of a foreign country.
   c.  A foreign political party.
   d.  An entity, such as a partnership, association, corporation, organization, or other combination of persons, that is organized under the laws of, or has its principal place of business in, a foreign country.
   e.  A United States entity, such as a partnership, association, corporation, or organization, that is wholly owned or majority-owned by a foreign national, unless both of the following apply:
   (1)  All contributions and expenditures made by the entity are derived entirely from funds generated by the entity’s operations in the United States.
   (2)  All decisions concerning contributions and expenditures are made by an individual who is a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States, except that a person who is not a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States may set overall budget amounts for the entity.
    Sec. 2.  Section 68A.203, subsection 3, Code 2026, is amended by adding the following new paragraph:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  f.  All affirmations obtained pursuant to subsection 5, if applicable.
    Sec. 3.  Section 68A.203, Code 2026, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  5.  Upon receipt of a contribution from a donor by a political committee expressly advocating the passage or defeat of a ballot issue, the treasurer shall obtain from the donor an affirmation that the donor is not a foreign national and has not knowingly or willfully accepted funds in excess of one hundred thousand dollars in aggregate from one or more foreign nationals within the four years immediately preceding the date the contribution is made.
    Sec. 4.  Section 68A.402, subsection 8, Code 2026, is amended by adding the following new paragraphs after unnumbered paragraph 1:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  a.  A report filed by a political committee pursuant to this subsection shall include an affirmation by the treasurer of the political committee that the political committee has not knowingly or willfully received, solicited, or accepted a contribution from a foreign national.
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  b.  A report filed by a political committee pursuant to this subsection shall include an affirmation by the treasurer of the political committee that no donor associated with a contribution covered by the report is a foreign national and that no donor associated with a contribution covered by the report has knowingly or willfully received, solicited, or accepted, whether directly or indirectly, funds in excess of one hundred thousand dollars in aggregate from one or more foreign nationals within the four years immediately preceding the date the contribution was made to the political committee.
    Sec. 5.  Section 68A.404, subsection 2, paragraph c, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   c.  A foreign national shall not make an independent expenditure, directly or indirectly, that advocates the nomination, election, or defeat of any candidate or the passage or defeat of any ballot issue. As used in this section, “foreign national” means a person who is not a citizen of the United States and who is not lawfully admitted for permanent residence. “Foreign national” includes a foreign principal, such as a government of a foreign country or a foreign political party, partnership, association, corporation, organization, or other combination of persons that has its primary place of business in or is organized under the laws of a foreign country. “Foreign national” does not include a person who is a citizen of the United States or who is a national of the United States.
    Sec. 6.  Section 68A.404, subsection 5, Code 2026, is amended by adding the following new paragraph:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  i.  For an independent expenditure statement for a communication which expressly advocates the passage or defeat of a ballot issue, an affirmation that the person making the independent expenditure has not knowingly or willfully accepted funds in excess of one hundred thousand dollars in aggregate from one or more foreign nationals within the four years immediately preceding the date the expenditure was made and will not do so through the date of the election in which the ballot issue will appear on the ballot.
    Sec. 7.  NEW SECTION.  68A.507  Influence by foreign national prohibited —— investigation.
   1.  A foreign national shall not direct, dictate, control, or directly or indirectly participate in the decision-making process of a person regarding the person’s activities to influence a ballot issue, including decisions concerning the making of contributions or expenditures to influence a ballot issue.
   2.  A foreign national shall not solicit, directly or indirectly, the making of a contribution or expenditure by another person to influence a ballot issue.
   3.  a.  An investigation of a violation of this section, section 68A.203, subsection 5, section 68A.402, subsection 8, section 68A.404, subsection 2, paragraph “c”, or section 68A.404, subsection 5, paragraph “i”, or an investigation undertaken pursuant to a court order issued following a complaint submitted under section 68B.32B, shall, to the greatest extent possible, shield the identity of lawful donors to a tax-exempt organization.
   b.  A governmental entity or employee of a governmental entity engaged in the investigation of a violation of this chapter shall not collect, or require the submission of, information concerning the identity of a donor to a tax-exempt organization other than those directly related to a violation of this chapter.
   c.  In addition to the penalty provided in section 68A.701, a person who knowingly or willfully violates this section, section 68A.203, subsection 5, section 68A.402, subsection 8, section 68A.404, subsection 2, paragraph “c”, or section 68A.404, subsection 5, paragraph “i”, shall be subject to a civil penalty of ten thousand dollars or three times the amount of the contribution or expenditure, whichever is greater, to be collected by the board and deposited in the general fund of the state.
   4.  A governmental entity or employee of a governmental entity shall not disclose information concerning the identity of a donor to a tax-exempt organization to the public or another governmental entity, other than to another governmental entity directly involved in an investigation described in subsection 3. This subsection does not apply to information concerning the identity of a donor after a final determination has been made that the donor violated a provision of this chapter.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to campaign finance. The bill defines the terms “directly or indirectly” and “foreign national” for purposes of the bill and for independent campaign expenditures and transfers of campaign funds under current law.
    The bill requires the treasurer of a political committee expressly advocating the passage or defeat of a ballot issue that receives a contribution from a donor to obtain an affirmation that the donor is not a foreign national and has not knowingly or willfully accepted funds in excess of $100,000 in aggregate from one or more foreign nationals within the four years immediately preceding the date the contribution is made.
   The bill also requires a political committee expressly advocating the passage or defeat of a ballot issue to include with its required reports to the Iowa ethics and campaign disclosure board affirmations that the political committee has not knowingly or willfully received, solicited, or accepted contributions from a foreign national, or from a donor that has knowingly or willfully accepted funds in excess of $100,000 in aggregate from one or more foreign nationals within the four years immediately preceding the date the contribution is made. A person required to file an independent expenditure report must also affirm that the person will not knowingly or willfully accept funds in excess of $100,000 in aggregate from one or more foreign nationals through the date of the election in which the ballot issue will appear on the ballot.
   The bill prohibits a foreign national from directly or indirectly participating in the decision-making process of a person regarding the person’s activities to influence a ballot issue. The bill requires a governmental entity conducting an investigation related to certain forms of election misconduct to, to the greatest extent possible, shield the identity of lawful donors to tax-exempt organizations. The bill prohibits a governmental entity from collecting information regarding the identity of a donor to a tax-exempt organization that is not directly related to a violation of Code chapter 68A (campaign finance). The bill also prohibits a governmental entity from disclosing information concerning the identity of a donor to a tax-exempt organization to the public or another governmental entity, other than to another governmental entity directly involved in an investigation, unless a final determination has been made that the donor violated a provision of Code chapter 68A.
   A person who knowingly or willfully violates a provision of the bill shall be subject to a civil penalty of $10,000 or three times the amount of the contribution or expenditure, whichever is greater, to be collected by the Iowa ethics and campaign disclosure board and deposited in the general fund of the state. By operation of law, a person who willfully violates a provision of the bill is also guilty of a serious misdemeanor. A serious misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than one year and a fine of at least $430 but not more than $2,560.