Senate File 479 - Introduced SENATE FILE 479 BY TRONE GARRIOTT A BILL FOR An Act relating to documents filed with the secretary of state 1 by business entities, including by authorizing the secretary 2 of state to refuse to file documents or remove information 3 from documents. 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 5 TLSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh
S.F. 479 DIVISION I 1 DOCUMENT FILINGS —— GENERAL 2 Section 1. Section 9.11, subsection 1, unnumbered paragraph 3 1, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows: 4 “Document” means a document or record for filing by the 5 secretary as provided in the relevant filing statute as 6 follows: 7 Sec. 2. Section 9.11, subsection 1, paragraph h, Code 2025, 8 is amended to read as follows: 9 h. Chapter 501A , including as provided in section 501A.201A 10 501.201 , and as stated in section 501A.205 or as otherwise 11 described in sections 501A.231 , 501A.302 , 501A.1101 , and 12 501A.1104 . 13 Sec. 3. Section 9.14, subsection 4, paragraph b, unnumbered 14 paragraph 1, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows: 15 The secretary of state is not required to provide a four-day 16 or more period of service. 17 DIVISION II 18 DOCUMENT FILINGS —— PARTNERSHIPS 19 Sec. 4. Section 486A.101, subsection 13, Code 2025, is 20 amended to read as follows: 21 13. “Statement” means a statement of partnership authority 22 under section 486A.303 , a statement of denial under section 23 486A.304 , a statement of dissociation under section 486A.704 , a 24 statement of dissolution under section 486A.805 , a statement 25 of merger under section 486A.907 , a statement of qualification 26 under section 486A.1001 , a statement of foreign qualification 27 under section 486A.1102 , a statement to remove unauthorized use 28 information under sections 486A.1206A through 486A.1206D, or an 29 amendment or cancellation of any of the foregoing. 30 Sec. 5. Section 486A.1204, Code 2025, is amended by adding 31 the following new subsection: 32 NEW SUBSECTION . 4. The secretary of state may provide a 33 separate procedure for correcting an incorrect statement in a 34 registered filing that has been removed by the secretary of 35 -1- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 1/ 50
S.F. 479 state pursuant to section 486A.1206C. 1 Sec. 6. Section 486A.1205, Code 2025, is amended by adding 2 the following new subsection: 3 NEW SUBSECTION . 2A. a. The secretary of state shall refuse 4 to file a document, if the secretary of state determines that 5 any of the following may apply: 6 (1) The document is materially false or fraudulent. 7 (2) The document may be used to accomplish a fraudulent, 8 criminal, or otherwise unlawful purpose. 9 b. Paragraph “a” does not create a duty upon the secretary 10 of state to inspect, evaluate, or investigate a document that 11 is presented for filing. 12 Sec. 7. Section 486A.1205, subsection 4, Code 2025, is 13 amended to read as follows: 14 4. a. The secretary of state’s duty to file documents under 15 this section is ministerial. Filing or refusing to file a 16 document does not do any of the following: 17 a. (1) Affect the validity or invalidity of the document 18 in whole or part. 19 b. (2) Relate to the correctness or incorrectness of 20 information contained in the document. 21 c. (3) Create a presumption that the document is valid 22 or invalid or that information contained in the document is 23 correct or incorrect. 24 b. Paragraph “a” does not apply to the secretary of state’s 25 refusal to file a document under subsection 2A. 26 Sec. 8. NEW SECTION . 486A.1206A Registered filing —— 27 general. 28 1. As used in sections 486A.1206B through 486A.1206D, 29 “registered filing” means a document that includes identifying 30 information regarding a registered agent, registered office, 31 or chief executive office, including as provided or described 32 in sections 486A.303, 486A.1001, 486A.1102, 486A.1212, and 33 486A.1213. 34 2. The secretary of state shall adopt rules as the secretary 35 -2- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 2/ 50
S.F. 479 of state deems necessary or desirable to administer this 1 section, and sections 486A.1206B through 486A.1206D. 2 3. The secretary of state shall produce and publish one 3 or more forms as the secretary of state deems necessary or 4 desirable to administer this section, and sections 486A.1206B 5 through 486A.1206D. 6 4. This section, and sections 486A.1206B through 7 486A.1206D, do not create a duty upon the secretary of state to 8 inspect, evaluate, or investigate a record that is presented 9 for filing until the record is identified in a notarized 10 affidavit to remove unauthorized use information delivered to 11 the secretary of state. 12 Sec. 9. NEW SECTION . 486A.1206B Registered filing —— 13 notarized affidavit. 14 1. The secretary of state shall conduct an administrative 15 review of a notarized affidavit to remove unauthorized use 16 information from a registered filing. The affiant shall swear 17 to all of the following: 18 a. The registered filing contains information identifying 19 any of the following: 20 (1) The affiant as a registered agent. 21 (2) The affiant’s mailing address as the mailing address 22 of a registered agent, registered office, or chief executive 23 office. 24 (3) The affiant’s electronic mail address as the electronic 25 mail address of a registered agent, registered office, or chief 26 executive office. 27 b. Neither the affiant, nor an agent of the affiant, has 28 authorized the use of information described in paragraph “a” . 29 2. A notarized affidavit for unauthorized use information 30 must include facts required by the secretary of state including 31 all of the following: 32 a. Information identifying the affiant, which shall at least 33 include all of the following: 34 (1) The affiant’s legal name. 35 -3- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 3/ 50
S.F. 479 (2) The affiant’s mailing address, and electronic mail 1 address, if any. 2 b. Information in the registered filing alleged to 3 include unauthorized use of information, including all of the 4 following: 5 (1) The legal name of the partnership or foreign 6 partnership, including a limited liability partnership subject 7 to section 486A.1102. 8 (2) The number assigned by the secretary of state to the 9 registered filing that includes alleged unauthorized use 10 information. 11 (3) A description of the alleged unauthorized use 12 information. 13 Sec. 10. NEW SECTION . 486A.1206C Registered filing —— 14 notarized affidavit and filed statement. 15 1. a. The secretary of state shall reject a notarized 16 affidavit to remove unauthorized use information from a 17 registered filing, if the secretary of state reasonably 18 determines that any of the following apply: 19 (1) The notarized affidavit is illegible, incomplete, 20 misleading, or includes factual errors. 21 (2) The notarized affidavit’s purpose is to harass or 22 defraud a person, including the filer of the record or a person 23 named in the filed record. 24 b. The secretary of state’s rejection of a notarized 25 affidavit to remove unauthorized use information under 26 paragraph “a” constitutes final agency action without further 27 judicial review under section 17A.19. 28 2. The secretary of state shall promptly file a statement 29 to remove unauthorized use information if the secretary 30 of state determines that the allegations in the notarized 31 affidavit for unauthorized use information are true. Upon 32 filing the statement, the secretary of state shall do all of 33 the following: 34 a. Remove unauthorized use information from the registered 35 -4- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 4/ 50
S.F. 479 filings. 1 b. (1) Deliver a notice of the statement to remove 2 unauthorized use information to the partnership or foreign 3 partnership. The notice shall do the following: 4 (a) Identify the unauthorized use information included in 5 the registered filings. 6 (b) State the consequences of not complying with the 7 requirements of the relevant registered filing statutes. 8 (c) State that the secretary of state may act as the agent 9 for service of process in this state. 10 (2) If the secretary of state determines that it is not 11 feasible to deliver the statement, the secretary of state shall 12 publish the notice on its internet site. 13 3. The secretary of state may allow a partnership, or 14 foreign partnership, to correct a registered filing under 15 section 486A.1204, if the secretary of state determines that 16 the unauthorized use information was mistakenly included in the 17 registered filing. 18 4. a. The secretary of state shall not charge a fee 19 for accepting or reviewing a notarized affidavit to remove 20 unauthorized use information, filing a statement to remove 21 unauthorized use information, or for removing unauthorized use 22 information from any registered filing. 23 b. The secretary of state shall not return any fee paid for 24 a registered filing that includes unauthorized use information 25 that has been removed as unauthorized use information. 26 5. The secretary of state may act as an agent of the limited 27 liability partnership or foreign limited liability, and the 28 office of secretary of state may act as a registered office for 29 the limited liability partnership or foreign limited liability 30 partnership, as provided in section 486A.1214A. 31 Sec. 11. NEW SECTION . 486A.1206D Registered filing —— 32 appeal. 33 1. The secretary of state’s filing of a statement to 34 remove unauthorized use information from a registered filing 35 -5- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 5/ 50
S.F. 479 under section 486A.1206C constitutes final agency action. A 1 partnership or a foreign partnership may appeal the action 2 within thirty days after the secretary of state delivers to the 3 partnership or foreign partnership the notice of the statement 4 or alternatively publishes the notice on its internet site. 5 The appeal shall be heard by the district court for the county 6 in which the chief executive office of the partnership, or a 7 foreign partnership, is located or, if none is located in this 8 state, for the county in which its registered office is or will 9 be located. The appeal is commenced by petitioning the court 10 to terminate the statement and restore the removed information. 11 A copy of the statement shall be attached to the petition. 12 2. The court may summarily deny the petition, order the 13 secretary of state to terminate the statement and restore the 14 removed information, or take other action the court considers 15 appropriate. 16 3. The court’s final decision may be appealed as in other 17 civil proceedings. 18 Sec. 12. NEW SECTION . 486A.1214A Service of process by 19 secretary of state —— removal of unauthorized use information. 20 If the secretary of state’s removal of unauthorized use 21 information under section 486A.1206C would prohibit a person 22 from serving any process, notice, or demand required or 23 permitted by law, the partnership or foreign partnership shall 24 be deemed to have failed to appoint or maintain a registered 25 agent or maintain a registered office. Until the registered 26 agent or registered office is changed as provided in section 27 486A.1212, the secretary of state shall act as the registered 28 agent, and the secretary of state’s office shall act as the 29 registered office, for the partnership or foreign partnership. 30 DIVISION III 31 RECORD FILINGS —— LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS 32 Sec. 13. Section 488.117A, subsection 1, paragraph p, Code 33 2025, is amended to read as follows: 34 p. Any other document record required or 35 -6- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 6/ 50
S.F. 479 permitted to be filed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 5 1 Sec. 14. Section 488.117A, subsection 3, unnumbered 2 paragraph 1, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows: 3 The secretary of state shall collect the following fees 4 for copying and certifying the copy of any filed document 5 record relating to a limited partnership or foreign limited 6 partnership: 7 Sec. 15. NEW SECTION . 488.117B Service of process by 8 secretary of state —— removal of unauthorized use information. 9 If the secretary of state’s removal of unauthorized use 10 information would prohibit a person from serving any process, 11 notice, or demand required or permitted by law, the limited 12 partnership or foreign limited partnership shall be deemed 13 to have failed to appoint or maintain a registered agent or 14 maintain a registered office. Until the registered agent 15 or registered office is changed as provided in section 16 488.115, the secretary of state shall act as the registered 17 agent, and the office of secretary of state shall act as the 18 registered office of the limited partnership or foreign limited 19 partnership. 20 Sec. 16. Section 488.206, subsection 1, unnumbered 21 paragraph 1, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows: 22 A record authorized or required to be delivered to the 23 secretary of state for filing under this chapter must be 24 captioned to describe the record’s purpose, contain the 25 information required by this chapter but may include other 26 information as well, and be in a medium permitted by the 27 secretary of state. The document record must be typewritten or 28 printed. If the document record is electronically transmitted, 29 it must be in a format that can be retrieved or reproduced in 30 typewritten or printed form. The document must be delivered 31 to the office of the secretary of state for filing. Delivery 32 may be made by electronic transmission if and to the extent 33 permitted by the secretary of state. The secretary of state 34 may adopt rules for the electronic filing of documents and 35 -7- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 7/ 50
S.F. 479 the certification of electronically filed documents. If it 1 is filed in typewritten or printed form and not transmitted 2 electronically, the secretary of state may require an exact 3 or conformed copy to be delivered with the document record . 4 Unless the secretary of state determines that a record does not 5 comply with the filing requirements of this chapter , and if all 6 filing fees have been paid, the secretary of state shall file 7 the record and perform all of the following: 8 Sec. 17. Section 488.206, Code 2025, is amended by adding 9 the following new subsection: 10 NEW SUBSECTION . 3A. a. The secretary of state shall refuse 11 to file a record, if the secretary reasonably determines that 12 any of the following may apply: 13 (1) The record is materially false or fraudulent. 14 (2) The record may be used to accomplish a fraudulent, 15 criminal, or otherwise unlawful purpose. 16 b. Paragraph “a” does not create a duty upon the secretary 17 of state to inspect, evaluate, or investigate a record that is 18 presented for filing. 19 Sec. 18. Section 488.206, subsections 4 and 5, Code 2025, 20 are amended to read as follows: 21 4. If the secretary of state refuses to file a document 22 record , the secretary of state shall return it to the 23 limited partnership or foreign limited partnership or its 24 representative, within ten days after the record was received 25 by the secretary of state, together with a brief, written 26 explanation of the reason for the refusal. 27 5. a. The secretary of state’s duty to file documents a 28 record under this section is ministerial. Filing or refusing 29 to file a document record does not do any of the following: 30 a. (1) Affect the validity or invalidity of the document 31 record in whole or part. 32 b. (2) Relate to the correctness or incorrectness of 33 information contained in the document record . 34 c. (3) Create a presumption that the document record is 35 -8- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 8/ 50
S.F. 479 valid or invalid or that information contained in the document 1 record is correct or incorrect. 2 b. Paragraph “a” does not apply to the secretary of state’s 3 refusal to file a document under subsection 3A. 4 Sec. 19. NEW SECTION . 488.206B Appeal from secretary of 5 state’s refusal to file document. 6 1. If the secretary of state refuses to file a document 7 delivered to the secretary of state’s office for filing, 8 the limited partnership or foreign limited partnership may 9 appeal the refusal, within thirty days after the return of 10 the document, to the district court for the county in which 11 the limited partnership’s principal office is located or, 12 if none is located in this state, for the county in which 13 its registered office is or will be located. The appeal 14 is commenced by petitioning the court to compel filing the 15 document and by attaching to the petition the document and the 16 secretary of state’s explanation of the refusal to file. 17 2. The court may summarily order the secretary of state 18 to file the document or take other action the court considers 19 appropriate. 20 3. The court’s final decision may be appealed as in other 21 civil proceedings. 22 Sec. 20. NEW SECTION . 488.206C Registered filing —— 23 general. 24 1. As used in sections 488.206D through 488.206F, 25 “registered filing” means a record that includes identifying 26 information regarding a registered agent a registered office, 27 or a principal office, including as provided or described in 28 sections 488.115, 488.116, 488.201, 488.210, and 488.902. 29 2. The secretary of state shall adopt rules as the secretary 30 of state deems necessary or desirable to administer this 31 section, and sections 488.206D through 488.206F. 32 3. The secretary of state shall produce and publish one 33 or more forms as the secretary of state deems necessary or 34 desirable to administer this section, and sections 488.206D 35 -9- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 9/ 50
S.F. 479 through 488.206F. 1 4. This section, and sections 488.206D through 488.206F 2 do not create a duty upon the secretary of state to inspect, 3 evaluate, or investigate a record that is presented for filing 4 until the record is identified in a notarized affidavit to 5 remove unauthorized use information delivered to the secretary 6 of state. 7 Sec. 21. NEW SECTION . 488.206D Registered filing —— 8 notarized affidavit. 9 1. The secretary of state shall conduct an administrative 10 review of a notarized affidavit to remove unauthorized use 11 information from a registered filing. The affiant shall swear 12 to all of the following: 13 a. The registered filing contains information identifying 14 any of the following: 15 (1) The affiant as a registered agent. 16 (2) The affiant’s mailing address as the mailing address of 17 a registered agent, registered office, or principal office. 18 (3) The affiant’s electronic mail address as the electronic 19 mail address of a registered agent, registered office, or 20 principal office. 21 b. Neither the affiant, nor an agent of the affiant, has 22 authorized the use of information described in paragraph “a” . 23 2. A notarized affidavit for unauthorized use information 24 must include facts required by the secretary of state including 25 all of the following: 26 a. Information identifying the affiant, which shall at least 27 include all of the following: 28 (1) The affiant’s legal name. 29 (2) The affiant’s mailing address, and electronic mail 30 address, if any. 31 b. Information in the registered filing alleged to 32 include unauthorized use of information, including all of the 33 following: 34 (1) The legal name of the limited partnership or foreign 35 -10- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 10/ 50
S.F. 479 limited partnership subject to section 488.108. 1 (2) The number assigned by the secretary of state to the 2 registered filing that includes alleged unauthorized use 3 information. 4 (3) The description of the alleged unauthorized use 5 information. 6 Sec. 22. NEW SECTION . 488.206E Registered filing —— 7 notarized affidavit and filed statement. 8 1. a. The secretary of state shall reject a notarized 9 affidavit to remove unauthorized use information from a 10 registered filing, if the secretary of state reasonably 11 determines that any of the following apply: 12 (1) The notarized affidavit is illegible, incomplete, 13 misleading, or includes factual errors. 14 (2) The notarized affidavit’s purpose is to harass or 15 defraud a person, including the filer of the record or a person 16 named in the filed record. 17 b. The secretary of states’s rejection of a notarized 18 affidavit to remove unauthorized use information under 19 paragraph “a” constitutes final agency action without further 20 judicial review under section 17A.19. 21 2. The secretary of state shall promptly file a statement to 22 remove unauthorized use information if the secretary of state 23 determines that the allegations in the notarized affidavit 24 for unauthorized use information are true. Upon filing the 25 statement the secretary of state shall do all of the following: 26 a. Remove unauthorized use information from the registered 27 filings. 28 b. (1) Deliver a notice of the statement to remove 29 unauthorized use information to the limited partnership 30 or foreign limited partnership. The notice shall do the 31 following: 32 (a) Identify the unauthorized use information included in 33 the register filings. 34 (b) State the consequences of not complying with the 35 -11- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 11/ 50
S.F. 479 requirements of the relevant register filing statutes. 1 (c) State that the secretary of state may act as the agent 2 for service of process in this state. 3 (d) State that the filing of the statement may be grounds 4 for administrative dissolution as provided in section 488.809. 5 (2) If the secretary of state determines that it is not 6 feasible to deliver the statement, the secretary of state shall 7 publish the notice on its internet site. 8 3. The secretary of state may allow a limited partnership, 9 or foreign limited partnership, to correct a registered filing 10 under section 488.207, if the secretary of state determines 11 that the unauthorized use information was mistakenly included 12 in the registered filing. 13 4. a. The secretary of state shall not charge a fee 14 for accepting or reviewing a notarized affidavit to remove 15 unauthorized use information, filing a statement to remove 16 unauthorized use information, or for removing unauthorized use 17 information from any registered filing. 18 b. The secretary of state shall not return any fee paid for 19 a registered filing that includes unauthorized use information 20 that has been removed as unauthorized use information. 21 5. The secretary of state may act as an agent of the limited 22 partnership or foreign limited partnership, and the office 23 of secretary of state may act as a registered office or the 24 limited partnership or foreign limited partnership, as provided 25 in section 488.206B. 26 Sec. 23. NEW SECTION . 488.206F Registered filing —— appeal. 27 1. The secretary of state’s filing of a statement to 28 remove unauthorized use information from a registered filing 29 under section 488.206E constitutes final agency action. A 30 limited partnership or foreign limited partnership may appeal 31 the action, within thirty days after the secretary of state 32 delivers to the limited partnership or foreign partnership 33 the notice of the statement or alternatively publishes the 34 notice on its internet site. The appeal shall be heard by the 35 -12- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 12/ 50
S.F. 479 district court for the county in which the principal office 1 of the limited partnership or foreign limited partnership is 2 located or, if none is located in this state, for the county 3 in which its registered office is or will be located. The 4 appeal is commenced by petitioning the court to terminate the 5 statement and restore the removed information. A copy of the 6 statement shall be attached to the petition. 7 2. The court may summarily deny the petition, order the 8 secretary of state to terminate the statement and restore the 9 removed information, or take other action the court considers 10 appropriate. 11 3. The court’s final decision may be appealed as in other 12 civil proceedings. 13 Sec. 24. Section 488.207, Code 2025, is amended by adding 14 the following new subsection: 15 NEW SUBSECTION . 4. The secretary of state may provide a 16 separate procedure for correcting an incorrect statement in a 17 registered filing that has been removed by the secretary of 18 state pursuant to section 488.206E. 19 Sec. 25. Section 488.809, subsection 1, Code 2025, is 20 amended by adding the following new paragraph: 21 NEW PARAGRAPH . 0b. Maintain a registered agent or maintain 22 registered office in this state for sixty days or more. 23 DIVISION IV 24 RECORD FILINGS —— LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANIES 25 Sec. 26. NEW SECTION . 489.119A Service of process by 26 secretary of state —— removal of unauthorized use information. 27 If the secretary of state’s removal of unauthorized use 28 information from a registered filing under section 489.210C 29 would prohibit a person from serving any process, notice, or 30 demand required or permitted by law, the limited liability 31 company or foreign limited liability company shall be deemed 32 to have failed to appoint or maintain a registered agent or 33 maintain a registered office. Until the registered agent or 34 registered office is changed as provided in section 489.118, 35 -13- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 13/ 50
S.F. 479 the secretary of state shall act as the registered agent, and 1 the office of secretary of state shall act as the registered 2 office, for the limited liability company or foreign limited 3 liability company. 4 Sec. 27. Section 489.122, subsection 1, paragraph y, Code 5 2025, is amended to read as follows: 6 y. Any other document record required or 7 permitted to be filed by this chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 5 8 Sec. 28. Section 489.122, subsection 3, unnumbered 9 paragraph 1, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows: 10 The secretary of state shall collect the following fees for 11 copying and certifying the copy of any filed document record 12 relating to a limited liability company or foreign limited 13 liability company as follows: 14 Sec. 29. Section 489.202, subsection 3, paragraph c, Code 15 2025, is amended to read as follows: 16 c. A statement that the restated certificate consolidates 17 all amendments into a single document record . 18 Sec. 30. Section 489.209, Code 2025, is amended by adding 19 the following new subsection: 20 NEW SUBSECTION . 5. The secretary of state may provide a 21 separate procedure for correcting an incorrect statement in a 22 registered filing that has been removed by the secretary of 23 state pursuant to section 489.210C. 24 Sec. 31. Section 489.210, subsection 1, Code 2025, is 25 amended to read as follows: 26 1. The secretary of state shall file a record delivered 27 to the secretary of state for filing which satisfies this 28 chapter . The duty of the secretary of state under this section 29 is ministerial. 30 Sec. 32. Section 489.210, Code 2025, is amended by adding 31 the following new subsection: 32 NEW SUBSECTION . 2A. a. The secretary of state shall 33 refuse to file a record, if the secretary of state reasonably 34 determines that any of the following may apply: 35 -14- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 14/ 50
S.F. 479 (1) The record is materially false or fraudulent. 1 (2) The record may be used to accomplish a fraudulent, 2 criminal, or otherwise unlawful purpose. 3 b. Paragraph “a” does not create a duty upon the secretary 4 of state to inspect, evaluate, or investigate a record that is 5 presented for filing. 6 Sec. 33. Section 489.210, subsection 5, Code 2025, is 7 amended to read as follows: 8 5. a. The duty of the secretary of state under this section 9 is ministerial. The filing of or refusal to file a record does 10 not do any of the following: 11 a. (1) Affect the validity or invalidity of the record in 12 whole or in part. 13 b. (2) Create a presumption that the information contained 14 in the record is correct or incorrect. 15 b. Paragraph “a” does not apply to the secretary of state’s 16 refusal to file a record under subsection 2A. 17 Sec. 34. NEW SECTION . 489.210A Registered filing —— 18 general. 19 1. As used in sections 489.210B through 489.210D, 20 “registered filing” means a record that includes identifying 21 information regarding a registered agent, registered office, or 22 principal office including as provided or described in sections 23 489.116, 489.117, 489.118, 489.201, 489.202, 489.212, 489.302, 24 489.903, 489.904, 489.907, 489.909, 489.910, and 489.14203. 25 2. The secretary of state shall adopt rules as the secretary 26 of state deems necessary or desirable to administer this 27 section, and sections 489.210B through 489.210D. 28 3. The secretary of state shall produce and publish one 29 or more forms as the secretary of state deems necessary or 30 desirable to administer this section, and sections 489.210B 31 through 489.210D. 32 4. This section, and sections 489.210B through 489.210D 33 do not create a duty upon the secretary of state to inspect, 34 evaluate, or investigate a record that is presented for filing 35 -15- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 15/ 50
S.F. 479 until the record is identified in a notarized affidavit to 1 remove unauthorized use information delivered to the secretary 2 of state. 3 Sec. 35. NEW SECTION . 489.210B Registered filing —— 4 notarized affidavit. 5 1. The secretary of state shall conduct an administrative 6 review of a notarized affidavit to remove unauthorized use 7 information from a registered filing. The affiant shall swear 8 to all of the following: 9 a. The registered filing contains information identifying 10 any of the following: 11 (1) The affiant as a registered agent. 12 (2) The affiant’s mailing address as the mailing address of 13 a registered agent, registered office, or principal office. 14 (3) The affiant’s electronic mail address as the electronic 15 mail address of a registered agent, registered office, or 16 principal office. 17 b. Neither the affiant, nor an agent of the affiant, has 18 authorized the use of information described in paragraph “a” . 19 2. A notarized affidavit for unauthorized use information 20 must include facts required by the secretary of state including 21 all of the following: 22 a. Information identifying the affiant, which shall at least 23 include all of the following: 24 (1) The affiant’s legal name. 25 (2) The affiant’s mailing address, and electronic mail 26 address, if any. 27 b. Information in the registered filing alleged to 28 include unauthorized use of information, including all of the 29 following: 30 (1) The legal name of the limited liability company or 31 foreign limited liability company subject to sections 489.112, 32 489.113, 489.1103, and 489.14202. 33 (2) The number assigned by the secretary of state to the 34 registered filing that includes alleged unauthorized use 35 -16- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 16/ 50
S.F. 479 information. 1 (3) A description of the alleged unauthorized use 2 information. 3 Sec. 36. NEW SECTION . 489.210C Registered filing —— 4 notarized affidavit and filed statement. 5 1. a. The secretary of state shall reject a notarized 6 affidavit to remove unauthorized use information from a 7 registered filing, if the secretary of state reasonably 8 determines that any of the following apply: 9 (1) The notarized affidavit is illegible, incomplete, 10 misleading, or includes factual errors. 11 (2) The notarized affidavit’s purpose is to harass or 12 defraud a person, including the filer of the record or a person 13 named in the filed record. 14 b. The secretary of state’s rejection of a notarized 15 affidavit to remove unauthorized use information under 16 paragraph “a” constitutes final agency action without further 17 judicial review under section 17A.19. 18 2. The secretary of state shall promptly file a statement to 19 remove unauthorized use information if the secretary of state 20 determines that the allegations in the notarized affidavit 21 for unauthorized use information are true. Upon filing the 22 statement the secretary of state shall do all of the following: 23 a. Remove unauthorized use information from the registered 24 filings. 25 b. (1) Deliver a notice of the statement to remove 26 unauthorized use information to the limited liability company 27 or foreign limited liability company. The notice shall do the 28 following: 29 (a) Identify the unauthorized use information included in 30 the registered filings. 31 (b) State the consequences of not complying with the 32 requirements of the relevant registered filing statutes. 33 (c) State that the secretary of state may act as the agent 34 for service of process in this state. 35 -17- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 17/ 50
S.F. 479 (d) State that the filing of the statement may be grounds 1 for administrative dissolution as provided in section 489.708. 2 (2) If the secretary of state determines that it is not 3 feasible to deliver the statement, the secretary of state shall 4 publish the notice on its internet site. 5 3. The secretary of state may allow a limited liability 6 company or foreign limited liability company to correct a 7 registered filing under section 489.209, if the secretary of 8 state determines that the unauthorized use information was 9 mistakenly included in the registered filing. 10 4. a. The secretary of state shall not charge a fee 11 for accepting or reviewing a notarized affidavit to remove 12 unauthorized use information, filing a statement to remove 13 unauthorized use information, or for removing unauthorized use 14 information from any registered filing. 15 b. The secretary of state shall not return any fee paid for 16 a registered filing that includes unauthorized use information 17 that has been removed as unauthorized use information. 18 5. The secretary of state may act as an agent of the limited 19 liability company or foreign limited liability company, and the 20 office of secretary of state may act as the registered office 21 for the limited liability company or foreign limited liability 22 company, as provided in section 489.119A. 23 Sec. 37. NEW SECTION . 489.210D Registered filing —— appeal. 24 1. The secretary of state’s filing of a statement to remove 25 unauthorized use information from a registered filing under 26 section 489.210C constitutes final agency action. A limited 27 liability company or a foreign limited liability company may 28 appeal the action, within thirty days after the secretary of 29 state delivers to the limited liability company or foreign 30 limited liability company the notice of the statement or 31 alternatively publishes the notice on its internet site. The 32 appeal shall be heard by the district court for the county in 33 which the principal office of the limited liability company or 34 a foreign limited liability company is located or, if none is 35 -18- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 18/ 50
S.F. 479 located in this state, for the county in which its registered 1 office is or will be located. The appeal is commenced by 2 petitioning the court to terminate the statement and restore 3 the removed information. A copy of the statement shall be 4 attached to the petition. 5 2. The court may summarily deny the petition, order the 6 secretary of state to terminate the statement and restore the 7 removed information, or take other action the court considers 8 appropriate. 9 3. The court’s final decision may be appealed as in other 10 civil proceedings. 11 Sec. 38. Section 489.903, subsection 2, Code 2025, is 12 amended to read as follows: 13 2. The foreign limited liability company shall deliver the 14 completed foreign registration statement to the secretary of 15 state, and also deliver to the secretary of state a certificate 16 of existence or a document record of similar import duly 17 authenticated by the secretary of state or other official 18 having custody of corporate records in the state or country 19 under whose law it is incorporated which is dated no earlier 20 than ninety days prior to the date the application is filed by 21 the secretary of state. 22 DIVISION V 23 DOCUMENT FILINGS —— FOR-PROFIT CORPORATIONS 24 Sec. 39. Section 490.124, Code 2025, is amended by adding 25 the following new subsection: 26 NEW SUBSECTION . 4. The secretary of state may provide a 27 separate procedure for correcting an incorrect statement in a 28 registered filing that has been removed by the secretary of 29 state pursuant to section 490.126C. 30 Sec. 40. Section 490.125, Code 2025, is amended by adding 31 the following new subsection: 32 NEW SUBSECTION . 2A. a. The secretary of state shall 33 refuse to file a document, if the secretary of state reasonably 34 determines that any of the following may apply: 35 -19- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 19/ 50
S.F. 479 (1) The document is materially false or fraudulent. 1 (2) The document may be used to accomplish a fraudulent, 2 criminal, or otherwise unlawful purpose. 3 b. Paragraph “a” does not create a duty upon the secretary 4 of state to inspect, evaluate, or investigate a document that 5 is presented for filing. 6 Sec. 41. Section 490.125, subsection 4, Code 2025, is 7 amended to read as follows: 8 4. a. The secretary of state’s duty to file documents under 9 this section is ministerial. The secretary of state’s filing 10 or refusing to file a document does not create a presumption 11 of any of the following: 12 a. (1) The document does or does not conform to the 13 requirements of this chapter . 14 b. (2) The information contained in the document is correct 15 or incorrect. 16 b. Paragraph “a” does not apply to the secretary of state’s 17 refusal to file a document under subsection 2A. 18 Sec. 42. NEW SECTION . 490.126A Registered filing —— 19 general. 20 1. As used in sections 490.126B through 490.126D, 21 “registered filing” means a document that includes identifying 22 information, including as provided or described in sections 23 490.202, 490.502, 490.1005, 490.1503, 490.1504, 490.1510, and 24 490.1621. 25 2. The secretary of state shall adopt rules as the secretary 26 of state deems necessary or desirable to administer this 27 section, and sections 490.126B through 490.126D. 28 3. The secretary of state shall produce and publish one 29 or more forms as the secretary of state deems necessary or 30 desirable to administer this section, and sections 490.126B 31 through 490.126D. 32 4. This section, and sections 490.126B through 490.126D 33 do not create a duty upon the secretary of state to inspect, 34 evaluate, or investigate a document that is presented for 35 -20- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 20/ 50
S.F. 479 filing until the document is identified in a notarized 1 affidavit to remove unauthorized use information delivered to 2 the secretary of state. 3 Sec. 43. NEW SECTION . 490.126B Registered filing —— 4 notarized affidavit. 5 1. The secretary of state shall conduct an administrative 6 review of a notarized affidavit to remove unauthorized use 7 information from a registered filing. The affiant shall swear 8 to all of the following: 9 a. The registered filing contains information identifying 10 any of the following: 11 (1) The affiant as a registered agent. 12 (2) The affiant’s mailing address as the mailing address of 13 a registered agent, registered office, or principal office. 14 (3) The affiant’s electronic mail address as the electronic 15 mail address of a registered agent, registered office, or 16 principal office. 17 b. Neither the affiant, nor an agent of the affiant, has 18 authorized the use of information described in paragraph “a” . 19 2. A notarized affidavit for unauthorized use information 20 must include facts required by the secretary of state including 21 all of the following: 22 a. Information identifying the affiant, which shall at least 23 include all of the following: 24 (1) The affiant’s legal name. 25 (2) The affiant’s mailing address, and electronic mail 26 address, if any. 27 b. Information in the registered filing alleged to 28 include unauthorized use of information, including all of the 29 following: 30 (1) The legal name of the corporation or foreign corporation 31 subject to section 490.401, 490.402, 490.403, 490.1702, or 32 496C.5. 33 (2) The number assigned by the secretary of state to the 34 registered filing that includes alleged unauthorized use 35 -21- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 21/ 50
S.F. 479 information. 1 (3) A description of the alleged unauthorized use 2 information. 3 Sec. 44. NEW SECTION . 490.126C Registered filing —— 4 notarized affidavit and filed statement. 5 1. a. The secretary of state shall reject a notarized 6 affidavit to remove unauthorized use information from a 7 registered filing, if the secretary of state reasonably 8 determines that any of the following apply: 9 (1) The notarized affidavit is illegible, incomplete, 10 misleading, or includes factual errors. 11 (2) The notarized affidavit’s purpose is to harass or 12 defraud a person, including the filer of the record or a person 13 named in the filed record. 14 b. The secretary of state’s rejection of a notarized 15 affidavit to remove unauthorized use information under 16 paragraph “a” constitutes final agency action without further 17 judicial review under section 17A.19. 18 2. The secretary of state shall promptly file a statement to 19 remove unauthorized use information if the secretary of state 20 determines that the allegations in the notarized affidavit 21 for unauthorized use information are true. Upon filing the 22 statement the secretary of state shall do all of the following: 23 a. Remove unauthorized use information from the registered 24 filings. 25 b. (1) Deliver a notice of the statement to remove 26 unauthorized use information to the corporation or foreign 27 corporation. The notice shall do the following: 28 (a) Identify the unauthorized use information included in 29 the registered filings. 30 (b) State the consequences of not complying with the 31 requirements of the relevant registered filing statutes. 32 (c) State that the secretary of state may act as the agent 33 for service of process in this state. 34 (d) State that the filing of the statement may be grounds 35 -22- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 22/ 50
S.F. 479 for administrative dissolution as provided in section 490.1420. 1 (2) If the secretary of state determines that it is not 2 feasible to deliver the statement, the secretary of state shall 3 publish the notice on its internet site. 4 3. The secretary of state may allow a corporation or 5 foreign corporation to correct a registered filing under 6 section 490.124, if the secretary of state determines that the 7 unauthorized use information was mistakenly included in the 8 registered filing. 9 4. a. The secretary of state shall not charge a fee 10 for accepting or reviewing a notarized affidavit to remove 11 unauthorized use information, filing a statement to remove 12 unauthorized use information, or for removing unauthorized use 13 information from any registered filing. 14 b. The secretary of state shall not return any fee paid for 15 a registered filing that includes unauthorized use information 16 that has been removed as unauthorized use information. 17 5. The secretary of state may act as an agent of the 18 corporation or foreign corporation, and the office of secretary 19 of state may act as a registered office for the corporation or 20 foreign corporation, as provided in section 490.504A. 21 Sec. 45. NEW SECTION . 490.126D Registered filing —— appeal. 22 1. The secretary of state’s filing of a statement to 23 remove unauthorized use information from a registered filing 24 under section 490.126C constitutes final agency action. A 25 corporation or a foreign corporation may appeal the action, 26 within thirty days after the secretary of state delivers to the 27 corporation or foreign corporation the notice of the statement 28 or alternatively publishes the notice on its internet site. 29 The appeal shall be heard by the district court for the county 30 in which the principal office of the corporation or foreign 31 corporation is located or, if none is located in this state, 32 for the county in which its registered office is or will be 33 located. The appeal is commenced by petitioning the court to 34 terminate the statement and restore the removed information. A 35 -23- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 23/ 50
S.F. 479 copy of the statement shall be attached to the petition. 1 2. The court may summarily deny the petition, order the 2 secretary of state to terminate the statement and restore the 3 removed information, or take other action the court considers 4 appropriate. 5 3. The court’s final decision may be appealed as in other 6 civil proceedings. 7 Sec. 46. NEW SECTION . 490.504A Service of process by 8 secretary of state —— removal of unauthorized use information. 9 If the secretary of state’s removal of unauthorized use 10 information from a registered filing under section 490.126C 11 would prohibit a person from serving any process, notice, 12 or demand required or permitted by law, the corporation or 13 foreign corporation shall be deemed to have failed to appoint 14 or maintain a registered agent or maintain a registered office. 15 Until the registered agent or registered office is changed as 16 provided in section 490.502, the secretary of state shall act 17 as the registered agent, and the office of secretary of state 18 shall act as the registered office, for the corporation or 19 foreign corporation. 20 DIVISION VI 21 DOCUMENT FILINGS —— ASSOCIATIONS 22 Sec. 47. Section 499.44, Code 2025, is amended by adding the 23 following new subsections: 24 NEW SUBSECTION . 3A. a. The secretary of state shall 25 refuse to file a document, if the secretary of state reasonably 26 determines that any of the following may apply: 27 (1) The document is materially false or fraudulent. 28 (2) The document may be used to accomplish a fraudulent, 29 criminal, or otherwise unlawful purpose. 30 b. Paragraph “a” does not create a duty upon the secretary 31 of state to inspect, evaluate, or investigate a document that 32 is presented for filing. 33 NEW SUBSECTION . 3B. If the secretary of state refuses to 34 file a document, the secretary of state shall, not later than 35 -24- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 24/ 50
S.F. 479 fifteen business days after the record is delivered, do all of 1 the following: 2 a. Return the record or notify the person that submitted the 3 record of the refusal. 4 b. Provide a brief explanation in a record of the reason for 5 the refusal. 6 NEW SUBSECTION . 3C. a. The secretary of state’s duty 7 to file documents under this section is ministerial. The 8 filing of or refusal to file a document does not do any of the 9 following: 10 (1) Affect the validity or invalidity of the document in 11 whole or in part. 12 (2) Create a presumption that the information contained in 13 the record is correct or incorrect. 14 b. This paragraph does not apply to the secretary of state’s 15 refusal to file a document under subsection 3A. 16 Sec. 48. Section 499.44, subsection 5, Code 2025, is amended 17 by adding the following new paragraph: 18 NEW PARAGRAPH . c. The secretary of state may provide a 19 separate procedure for correcting an incorrect statement in a 20 registered filing that has been removed by the secretary of 21 state pursuant to section 499.44E. 22 Sec. 49. NEW SECTION . 499.44B Appeal from secretary of 23 state’s refusal to file document. 24 1. If the secretary of state refuses to file a document 25 delivered for filing, the person that delivered the document 26 for filing may petition the district court of the county 27 where the association’s principal office or, if none in this 28 state, its registered office is located to compel its filing. 29 The document and the explanation of the secretary of state’s 30 refusal to file must be attached to the petition. The court 31 may decide the matter in a summary proceeding. 32 2. The court may order the secretary of state to file the 33 document or take other action the court considers appropriate. 34 3. The court’s final decision may be appealed as in other 35 -25- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 25/ 50
S.F. 479 civil proceedings. 1 Sec. 50. NEW SECTION . 499.44C Registered filing —— general. 2 1. As used in sections 499.44D through 499.44F, “registered 3 filing” means a document that includes identifying information 4 regarding a registered agent, registered office, or principal 5 office including as provided or described in sections 499.40, 6 499.49, 499.54, 499.73, 499.73A, and 499.74. 7 2. The secretary of state shall adopt rules as the secretary 8 of state deems necessary or desirable to administer this 9 section, and sections 499.44D through 499.44F. 10 3. The secretary of state shall produce and publish one 11 or more forms as the secretary of state deems necessary or 12 desirable to administer this section, and sections 499.44D 13 through 499.44F. 14 4. This section, and sections 499.44D through 499.44F, 15 do not create a duty upon the secretary of state to inspect, 16 evaluate, or investigate a record that is presented for filing 17 until the record is identified in a notarized affidavit to 18 remove unauthorized use information delivered to the secretary 19 of state. 20 Sec. 51. NEW SECTION . 499.44D Registered filing —— 21 notarized affidavit. 22 1. The secretary of state shall conduct an administrative 23 review of a notarized affidavit to remove unauthorized use 24 information from a registered filing. The affiant shall swear 25 to all of the following: 26 a. The registered filing contains information identifying 27 any of the following: 28 (1) The affiant as a registered agent. 29 (2) The affiant’s mailing address as the mailing address of 30 a registered agent, registered office, or principal office. 31 (3) The affiant’s electronic mail address as the electronic 32 mail address of a registered agent, registered office, or 33 principal office. 34 b. Neither the affiant, nor an agent of the affiant, has 35 -26- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 26/ 50
S.F. 479 authorized the use of information described in paragraph “a” . 1 2. A notarized affidavit for unauthorized use information 2 must include facts required by the secretary of state including 3 all of the following: 4 a. Information identifying the affiant, which shall at least 5 include all of the following: 6 (1) The affiant’s legal name. 7 (2) The affiant’s mailing address, and electronic mail 8 address, if any. 9 b. Information in the registered filing alleged to 10 include unauthorized use of information, including all of the 11 following: 12 (1) The legal name of the association or foreign 13 association, subject to section 499.4. 14 (2) The number assigned by the secretary of state to the 15 registered filing that includes alleged unauthorized use 16 information. 17 (3) A description of the alleged unauthorized use 18 information. 19 Sec. 52. NEW SECTION . 499.44E Registered filing —— 20 notarized affidavit and filed statement. 21 1. a. The secretary of state shall reject a notarized 22 affidavit to remove unauthorized use information from a 23 registered filing, if the secretary of state reasonably 24 determines that any of the following apply: 25 (1) The notarized affidavit is illegible, incomplete, 26 misleading, or includes factual errors. 27 (2) The notarized affidavit’s purpose is to harass or 28 defraud a person, including the filer of the record or a person 29 named in the filed record. 30 b. The secretary of state’s rejection of a notarized 31 affidavit to remove unauthorized use information under 32 paragraph “a” constitutes final agency action without further 33 judicial review under section 17A.19. 34 2. The secretary of state shall promptly file a statement to 35 -27- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 27/ 50
S.F. 479 remove unauthorized use information if the secretary of state 1 determines that the allegations in the notarized affidavit 2 for unauthorized use information are true. Upon filing the 3 statement the secretary of state shall do all of the following: 4 a. Remove unauthorized use information from the registered 5 filings. 6 b. (1) Deliver a notice of the statement to remove 7 unauthorized use information to the association or foreign 8 association. The notice shall do the following: 9 (a) Identify the unauthorized use information included in 10 the registered filings. 11 (b) State the consequences of not complying with the 12 requirements of the relevant registered filing statutes. 13 (c) State that the secretary of state may act as the agent 14 for service of process in this state. 15 (d) State that the filing of the statement may be grounds 16 for administrative dissolution as provided in section 499.76. 17 (2) If the secretary of state determines that it is not 18 feasible to deliver the statement, the secretary of state shall 19 publish the notice on its internet site. 20 3. The secretary of state may allow an association or 21 foreign association to correct a registered filing, if the 22 secretary of state determines that the unauthorized use 23 information was mistakenly included in the registered filing. 24 4. a. The secretary of state shall not charge a fee 25 for accepting or reviewing a notarized affidavit to remove 26 unauthorized use information, filing a statement to remove 27 unauthorized use information, or for removing unauthorized use 28 information from any registered filing. 29 b. The secretary of state shall not return any fee paid for 30 a registered filing that includes unauthorized use information 31 that has been removed as unauthorized use information. 32 5. The secretary of state may act as an agent of the 33 association or foreign association, and the office of secretary 34 of state may act as a registered office for the association or 35 -28- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 28/ 50
S.F. 479 foreign association, as provided in section 499.75A. 1 Sec. 53. NEW SECTION . 499.44F Registered filing —— appeal. 2 1. The secretary of state’s filing of a statement to 3 remove unauthorized use information from a registered filing 4 under section 499.44E constitutes final agency action. An 5 association or a foreign association may appeal the action, 6 within thirty days after the secretary of state delivers to the 7 association or foreign association the notice of the statement 8 or alternatively publishes the notice on its internet site. 9 The appeal shall be heard by the district court for the county 10 in which the principal office of the association or foreign 11 association is located or, if none is located in this state, 12 for the county in which its registered office is or will be 13 located. The appeal is commenced by petitioning the court to 14 terminate the statement and restore the removed information. A 15 copy of the statement shall be attached to the petition. 16 2. The court may summarily deny the petition, order the 17 secretary of state to terminate the statement and restore the 18 removed information or take other action the court considers 19 appropriate. 20 3. The court’s final decision may be appealed as in other 21 civil proceedings. 22 Sec. 54. NEW SECTION . 499.75A Service of process by 23 secretary of state —— removal of unauthorized use information. 24 If the secretary of state’s removal of unauthorized use 25 information from a registered filing under section 499.44E 26 would prohibit a person from serving any process, notice, or 27 demand required or permitted by law, the association shall be 28 deemed to have failed to appoint or maintain a registered agent 29 or maintain a registered office. Until the registered agent 30 or registered office is changed as provided in section 499.73, 31 the secretary of state shall act as the registered agent, and 32 the office of secretary of state shall act as the registered 33 office, for the association or foreign association. 34 DIVISION VII 35 -29- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 29/ 50
S.F. 479 DOCUMENT FILINGS —— CLOSED COOPERATIVES 1 Sec. 55. Section 501.105, Code 2025, is amended by adding 2 the following new subsections: 3 NEW SUBSECTION . 2A. a. The secretary of state shall 4 refuse to file a document, if the secretary of state reasonably 5 determines that any of the following may apply: 6 (1) The document is materially false or fraudulent. 7 (2) The document may be used to accomplish a fraudulent, 8 criminal, or otherwise unlawful purpose. 9 b. Paragraph “a” does not create a duty upon the secretary 10 of state to inspect, evaluate, or investigate a document that 11 is presented for filing. 12 NEW SUBSECTION . 2B. If the secretary of state refuses to 13 file a document, the secretary of state shall, not later than 14 fifteen business days after the record is delivered, do all of 15 the following: 16 a. Return the record or notify the person that submitted the 17 record of the refusal. 18 b. Provide a brief explanation in a record of the reason for 19 the refusal. 20 NEW SUBSECTION . 2C. a. The secretary of state’s duty to 21 file documents under this section is ministerial. Filing or 22 refusing to file a document does not do any of the following: 23 (1) Affect the validity or invalidity of the document in 24 whole or in part. 25 (2) Relate to the correctness or incorrectness of 26 information contained in the document. 27 (3) Create a presumption that the document is valid or 28 invalid or that information contained in the document is 29 correct or incorrect. 30 b. Paragraph “a” does not apply to the secretary of state’s 31 refusal to file a document under subsection 2A. 32 Sec. 56. Section 501.105, subsection 5, Code 2025, is 33 amended to read as follows: 34 5. a. A document filed under this section may be 35 -30- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 30/ 50
S.F. 479 corrected if the document contains an incorrect statement 1 or the execution of the document was defective. A document 2 is corrected by filing with the secretary of state articles 3 of correction which describe the document to be corrected, 4 including its filing date or a copy of the document. The 5 articles must specify and correct the incorrect statement or 6 defective execution. 7 b. Articles of correction are effective on the effective 8 date of the document it corrects except as to persons relying 9 on the original document and adversely affected by the 10 correction. As to those persons, articles of correction are 11 effective when filed. 12 c. The secretary of state may provide a separate procedure 13 for correcting an incorrect statement in a registered filing 14 that has been removed by the secretary of state pursuant to 15 section 501.105E. 16 Sec. 57. NEW SECTION . 501.105B Appeal from secretary of 17 state’s refusal to file document. 18 1. If the secretary of state refuses to file a document 19 delivered for filing, the person that delivered the document 20 for filing may petition the district court of the county 21 where the cooperative’s principal office or, if none in this 22 state, its registered office is located to compel its filing. 23 The document and the explanation of the secretary of state’s 24 refusal to file must be attached to the petition. The court 25 may decide the matter in a summary proceeding. 26 2. The court may order the secretary of state to file the 27 document or take other action the court considers appropriate. 28 3. The court’s final decision may be appealed as in other 29 civil proceedings. 30 Sec. 58. NEW SECTION . 501.105C Registered filing —— 31 general. 32 1. As used in sections 501.105D through 501.105F, 33 “registered filing” means a document that includes identifying 34 information regarding a registered agent, registered office, or 35 -31- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 31/ 50
S.F. 479 principal office including as provided or described in sections 1 501.106, 501.202, and 501.713. 2 2. The secretary of state shall adopt rules as the secretary 3 of state deems necessary or desirable to administer this 4 section, and sections 501.105D through 501.105F. 5 3. The secretary of state shall produce and publish one 6 or more forms as the secretary of state deems necessary or 7 desirable to administer this section, and sections 501.105D 8 through 501.105F. 9 4. This section, and sections 501.105D through 501.105F, 10 do not create a duty upon the secretary of state to inspect, 11 evaluate, or investigate a record that is presented for filing 12 until the record is identified in a notarized affidavit to 13 remove unauthorized use information delivered to the secretary 14 of state. 15 Sec. 59. NEW SECTION . 501.105D Registered filing —— 16 notarized affidavit. 17 1. The secretary of state shall conduct an administrative 18 review of a notarized affidavit to remove unauthorized use 19 information from a registered filing. The affiant shall swear 20 to all of the following: 21 a. The registered filing contains information identifying 22 any of the following: 23 (1) The affiant as a registered agent. 24 (2) The affiant’s mailing address as the mailing address of 25 a registered agent, registered office, or principal office. 26 (3) The affiant’s electronic mail address as the electronic 27 mail address of a registered agent, registered office, or 28 principal office. 29 b. Neither the affiant, nor an agent of the affiant, has 30 authorized the use of information described in paragraph “a” . 31 2. A notarized affidavit for unauthorized use information 32 must include facts required by the secretary of state including 33 all of the following: 34 a. Information identifying the affiant, which shall at least 35 -32- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 32/ 50
S.F. 479 include all of the following: 1 (1) The affiant’s legal name. 2 (2) The affiant’s mailing address, and electronic mail 3 address, if any. 4 b. Information in the registered filing alleged to 5 include unauthorized use of information, including all of the 6 following: 7 (1) The legal name of the cooperative, subject to section 8 501.104. 9 (2) The number assigned by the secretary of state to the 10 registered filing that includes alleged unauthorized use 11 information. 12 (3) A description of the alleged unauthorized use 13 information. 14 Sec. 60. NEW SECTION . 501.105E Registered filing —— 15 notarized affidavit and filed statement. 16 1. a. The secretary of state shall reject a notarized 17 affidavit to remove unauthorized use information from a 18 registered filing, if the secretary of state reasonably 19 determines that any of the following apply: 20 (1) The notarized affidavit is illegible, incomplete, 21 misleading, or includes factual errors. 22 (2) The notarized affidavit’s purpose is to harass or 23 defraud a person, including the filer of the document or a 24 person named in the filed document. 25 b. The secretary of state’s rejection of a notarized 26 affidavit to remove unauthorized use information under 27 paragraph “a” constitutes final agency action without further 28 judicial review under section 17A.19. 29 2. The secretary of state shall promptly file a statement to 30 remove unauthorized use information if the secretary of state 31 determines that the allegations in the notarized affidavit 32 for unauthorized use information are true. Upon filing the 33 statement the secretary of state shall do all of the following: 34 a. Remove unauthorized use information from the registered 35 -33- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 33/ 50
S.F. 479 filings. 1 b. (1) Deliver a notice of the statement to remove 2 unauthorized use information to the cooperative. The notice 3 shall do the following: 4 (a) Identify the unauthorized use information included in 5 the registered filings. 6 (b) State the consequences of not complying with the 7 requirements of the relevant registered filing statutes. 8 (c) State that the secretary of state may act as the agent 9 for service of process in this state. 10 (d) State that the filing of the statement may be grounds 11 for administrative dissolution as provided in section 501.811. 12 (2) If the secretary of state determines that it is not 13 feasible to deliver the statement, the secretary of state shall 14 publish the notice on its internet site. 15 3. The secretary of state may allow a cooperative to correct 16 a registered filing, if the secretary of state determines that 17 the unauthorized use information was mistakenly included in the 18 registered filing. 19 4. a. The secretary of state shall not charge a fee 20 for accepting or reviewing a notarized affidavit to remove 21 unauthorized use information, filing a statement to remove 22 unauthorized use information, or for removing unauthorized use 23 information from any registered filing. 24 b. The secretary of state shall not return any fee paid for 25 a registered filing that includes unauthorized use information 26 that has been removed as unauthorized use information. 27 5. The secretary of state may act as an agent of the 28 cooperative, and the office of secretary of state may act as a 29 registered office for the cooperative, as provided in section 30 501.106A. 31 Sec. 61. NEW SECTION . 501.105F Registered filing —— appeal. 32 1. The secretary of state’s filing of a statement to 33 remove unauthorized use information from a registered filing 34 under section 501.105E constitutes final agency action. A 35 -34- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 34/ 50
S.F. 479 cooperative may appeal the action, within thirty days after 1 the secretary of state delivers to the cooperative the notice 2 of the statement or alternatively publishes the notice on its 3 internet site. The appeal shall be heard by the district court 4 for the county in which the principal office of the cooperative 5 is located or, if none is located in this state, for the county 6 in which its registered office is or will be located. The 7 appeal is commenced by petitioning the court to terminate the 8 statement and restore the removed information. A copy of the 9 statement shall be attached to the petition. 10 2. The court may summarily deny the petition, order the 11 secretary of state to terminate the statement and restore the 12 removed information, or take other action the court considers 13 appropriate. 14 3. The court’s final decision may be appealed as in other 15 civil proceedings. 16 Sec. 62. NEW SECTION . 501.106A Service of process by 17 secretary of state —— removal of unauthorized use information. 18 If the secretary of state’s removal of unauthorized use 19 information from a registered filing would prohibit a person 20 from serving any process, notice, or demand required or 21 permitted by law, the cooperative, or foreign cooperative, 22 shall be deemed to have failed to appoint or maintain a 23 registered agent or maintain a registered office. Until the 24 registered agent or registered office is changed as provided 25 in section 501.106, the secretary of state shall act as the 26 registered agent, and the office of secretary of state shall 27 act as the registered office, for the cooperative or foreign 28 cooperative. 29 DIVISION VIII 30 DOCUMENT FILINGS —— COOPERATIVES 31 Sec. 63. Section 501A.202, Code 2025, is amended by adding 32 the following new subsection: 33 NEW SUBSECTION . 2A. a. The secretary of state shall 34 refuse to file a document, if the secretary of state reasonably 35 -35- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 35/ 50
S.F. 479 determines that any of the following may apply: 1 (1) The document is materially false or fraudulent. 2 (2) The document may be used to accomplish a fraudulent, 3 criminal, or otherwise unlawful purpose. 4 b. Paragraph “a” does not create a duty upon the secretary 5 of state to inspect, evaluate, or investigate a document that 6 is presented for filing. 7 Sec. 64. Section 501A.202, subsection 4, Code 2025, is 8 amended to read as follows: 9 4. a. The secretary’s duty to file documents under this 10 section is ministerial. Filing or refusing to file a document 11 does not do any of the following: 12 a. (1) Affect the validity or invalidity of the document in 13 whole or in part. 14 b. (2) Relate to the correctness or incorrectness of 15 information contained in the document. 16 c. (3) Create a presumption that the document is valid 17 or invalid or that information contained in the document is 18 correct or incorrect. 19 b. Paragraph “a” does not apply to the secretary of state’s 20 refusal to file a record under subsection 2A. 21 Sec. 65. NEW SECTION . 501A.202A Registered filing —— 22 general. 23 1. As used in sections 501A.202B through 501A.202E, 24 “registered filing” means a document that includes identifying 25 information regarding a registered agent, registered office, or 26 principal office including as provided or described in sections 27 501A.221, 501A.222, 501A.231, and 501A.504. 28 2. The secretary of state shall adopt rules as the secretary 29 of state deems necessary or desirable to administer this 30 section, and sections 501A.202B through 501A.202E. 31 3. The secretary of state shall produce and publish one 32 or more forms as the secretary of state deems necessary or 33 desirable to administer this section, and sections 501A.202B 34 through 501A.202E. 35 -36- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 36/ 50
S.F. 479 4. This section, and sections 501A.202B through 501A.202E, 1 do not create a duty upon the secretary of state to inspect, 2 evaluate, or investigate a record that is presented for filing 3 until the record is identified in a notarized affidavit to 4 remove unauthorized use information delivered to the secretary 5 of state. 6 Sec. 66. NEW SECTION . 501A.202B Registered filing —— 7 notarized affidavit. 8 1. The secretary of state shall conduct an administrative 9 review of a notarized affidavit to remove unauthorized use 10 information from a registered filing. The affiant shall swear 11 to all of the following: 12 a. The registered filing contains information identifying 13 any of the following: 14 (1) The affiant as a registered agent. 15 (2) The affiant’s mailing address as the mailing address of 16 a registered agent, registered office, or principal office. 17 (3) The affiant’s electronic mail address as the electronic 18 mail address of a registered agent, registered office, or 19 principal office. 20 b. Neither the affiant, nor an agent of the affiant, has 21 authorized the use of information described in paragraph “a” . 22 2. A notarized affidavit for unauthorized use information 23 must include facts required by the secretary of state including 24 all of the following: 25 a. Information identifying the affiant, which shall at least 26 include all of the following: 27 (1) The affiant’s legal name. 28 (2) The affiant’s mailing address, and electronic mail 29 address, if any. 30 b. Information in the registered filing alleged to 31 include unauthorized use of information, including all of the 32 following: 33 (1) The legal name of the cooperative or foreign cooperative 34 subject to section 501A.301. 35 -37- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 37/ 50
S.F. 479 (2) The number assigned by the secretary of state to the 1 registered filing that includes alleged unauthorized use 2 information. 3 (3) A description of the alleged unauthorized use 4 information. 5 Sec. 67. NEW SECTION . 501A.202C Registered filing —— 6 notarized affidavit and filed statement. 7 1. a. The secretary of state shall reject a notarized 8 affidavit to remove unauthorized use information from a 9 registered filing, if the secretary of state reasonably 10 determines that any of the following apply: 11 (1) The notarized affidavit is illegible, incomplete, 12 misleading, or includes factual errors. 13 (2) The notarized affidavit’s purpose is to harass or 14 defraud a person, including the filer of the document or a 15 person named in the filed document. 16 b. The secretary of state’s rejection of a notarized 17 affidavit to remove unauthorized use information under 18 paragraph “a” constitutes final agency action without further 19 judicial review under section 17A.19. 20 2. The secretary of state shall promptly file a statement to 21 remove unauthorized use information if the secretary of state 22 determines that the allegations in the notarized affidavit 23 for unauthorized use information are true. Upon filing the 24 statement the secretary of state shall do all of the following: 25 a. Remove unauthorized use information from the registered 26 filings. 27 b. (1) Deliver a notice of the statement to remove 28 unauthorized use information to the cooperative association. 29 The notice shall do the following: 30 (a) Identify the unauthorized use information included in 31 the registered filings. 32 (b) State the consequences of not complying with the 33 requirements of the relevant registered filing statutes. 34 (c) State that the secretary of state may act as the agent 35 -38- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 38/ 50
S.F. 479 for service of process in this state. 1 (d) State that the filing of the statement may be grounds 2 for administrative dissolution as provided in section 3 501A.1210. 4 (2) If the secretary of state determines that it is not 5 feasible to deliver the statement, the secretary of state shall 6 publish the notice on its internet site. 7 3. The secretary of state may allow a cooperative 8 association to correct a registered filing, if the secretary 9 of state determines that the unauthorized use information was 10 mistakenly included in the registered filing. 11 4. a. The secretary of state shall not charge a fee 12 for accepting or reviewing a notarized affidavit to remove 13 unauthorized use information, filing a statement to remove 14 unauthorized use information, or for removing unauthorized use 15 information from any registered filing. 16 b. The secretary of state shall not return any fee paid for 17 a registered filing that includes unauthorized use information 18 that has been removed as unauthorized use information. 19 5. The secretary of state may act as an agent of the 20 cooperative or foreign cooperative, and the office of secretary 21 of state may act as a registered office for the corporation, as 22 provided in section 501A.403A. 23 Sec. 68. NEW SECTION . 501A.202D Registered filing —— 24 appeal. 25 1. The secretary of state’s filing of a statement to 26 remove unauthorized use information from a registered filing 27 under section 501A.202C constitutes final agency action. A 28 cooperative may appeal the action, within thirty days after 29 the secretary of state delivers to the cooperative or foreign 30 cooperative the notice of the statement or alternatively 31 publishes the notice on its internet site. The appeal shall 32 be heard by the district court for the county in which the 33 principal office of the cooperative is located or, if none is 34 located in this state, for the county in which its registered 35 -39- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 39/ 50
S.F. 479 office is or will be located. The appeal is commenced by 1 petitioning the court to terminate the statement and restore 2 the removed information. A copy of the statement shall be 3 attached to the petition. 4 2. The court may summarily deny the petition, order the 5 secretary of state to terminate the statement and restore the 6 removed information, or take other action the court considers 7 appropriate. 8 3. The court’s final decision may be appealed as in other 9 civil proceedings. 10 Sec. 69. Section 501A.204, Code 2025, is amended by adding 11 the following new subsection: 12 NEW SUBSECTION . 4. The secretary of state may provide a 13 separate procedure for correcting an incorrect statement in a 14 registered filing that has been removed by the secretary of 15 state pursuant to section 501A.202C. 16 Sec. 70. NEW SECTION . 501A.403A Service of process by 17 secretary of state —— removal of unauthorized use information. 18 If the secretary of state’s removal of unauthorized use 19 information from a registered filing would prohibit a person 20 from serving any process, notice, or demand required or 21 permitted by law, the cooperative, or foreign cooperative, 22 shall be deemed to have failed to appoint or maintain a 23 registered agent or maintain a registered office. Until the 24 registered agent or registered office is changed as provided 25 in section 501A.402, the secretary of state shall act as the 26 registered agent, and the office of secretary of state shall 27 act as the registered office, for the cooperative or foreign 28 cooperative. 29 DIVISION IX 30 DOCUMENT FILINGS —— NONPROFIT CORPORATIONS 31 Sec. 71. Section 504.115, Code 2025, is amended by adding 32 the following new subsection: 33 NEW SUBSECTION . 4. The secretary of state may provide a 34 separate procedure for correcting an incorrect statement in a 35 -40- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 40/ 50
S.F. 479 registered filing that has been removed by the secretary of 1 state pursuant to section 504.117C. 2 Sec. 72. Section 504.116, Code 2025, is amended by adding 3 the following new subsection: 4 NEW SUBSECTION . 2A. a. The secretary of state shall 5 refuse to file a document, if the secretary of state reasonably 6 determines that any of the following may apply: 7 (1) The document is materially false or fraudulent. 8 (2) The document may be used to accomplish a fraudulent, 9 criminal, or otherwise unlawful purpose. 10 b. Paragraph “a” does not create a duty upon the secretary 11 of state to inspect, evaluate, or investigate a document that 12 is presented for filing. 13 Sec. 73. NEW SECTION . 504.117A Registered filing —— 14 general. 15 1. As used in sections 504.117B through 504.117D, 16 “registered filing” means a document that includes identifying 17 information regarding a registered agent, registered office, or 18 principal office including as provided or described in sections 19 504.502, 504.503, 504.1002, 504.1503, 504.1508, 504.1509, 20 504.1521, and 504.1613. 21 2. The secretary of state shall adopt rules as the secretary 22 of state deems necessary or desirable to administer this 23 section, and sections 504.117B through 504.117D. 24 3. The secretary of state shall produce and publish one 25 or more forms as the secretary of state deems necessary or 26 desirable to administer this section, and sections 504.117B 27 through 504.117D. 28 4. This section, and sections 504.117B through 504.177D, 29 do not create a duty upon the secretary of state to inspect, 30 evaluate, or investigate a record that is presented for filing 31 until the record is identified in a notarized affidavit to 32 remove unauthorized use information delivered to the secretary 33 of state. 34 Sec. 74. NEW SECTION . 504.117B Registered filing —— 35 -41- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 41/ 50
S.F. 479 notarized affidavit. 1 1. The secretary of state shall conduct an administrative 2 review of a notarized affidavit to remove unauthorized use 3 information from a registered filing. The affiant shall swear 4 to all of the following: 5 a. The registered filing contains information identifying 6 any of the following: 7 (1) The affiant as a registered agent. 8 (2) The affiant’s mailing address as the mailing address of 9 a registered agent, registered office, or principal office. 10 (3) The affiant’s electronic mail address as the electronic 11 mail address of a registered agent, registered office, or 12 principal office. 13 b. Neither the affiant, nor an agent of the affiant, has 14 authorized the use of information described in paragraph “a” . 15 2. A notarized affidavit for unauthorized use information 16 must include facts required by the secretary of state including 17 all of the following: 18 a. Information identifying the affiant, which shall at least 19 include all of the following: 20 (1) The affiant’s legal name. 21 (2) The affiant’s mailing address, and electronic mail 22 address, if any. 23 b. Information in the registered filing alleged to 24 include unauthorized use of information, including all of the 25 following: 26 (1) The legal name of the corporation or foreign 27 corporation, subject to sections 504.401, 504.402, 504.403, and 28 504.1506. 29 (2) The number assigned by the secretary of state to the 30 registered filing that includes alleged unauthorized use 31 information. 32 (3) A description of the alleged unauthorized use 33 information. 34 Sec. 75. NEW SECTION . 504.117C Registered filing —— 35 -42- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 42/ 50
S.F. 479 notarized affidavit and filed statement. 1 1. a. The secretary of state shall reject a notarized 2 affidavit to remove unauthorized use information from a 3 registered filing, if the secretary of state reasonably 4 determines that any of the following apply: 5 (1) The notarized affidavit is illegible, incomplete, 6 misleading, or includes factual errors. 7 (2) The notarized affidavit’s purpose is to harass or 8 defraud a person, including the filer of the document or a 9 person named in the filed document. 10 b. The secretary of state’s rejection of a notarized 11 affidavit to remove unauthorized use information under 12 paragraph “a” constitutes final agency action without further 13 judicial review under section 17A.19. 14 2. The secretary of state shall promptly file a statement to 15 remove unauthorized use information if the secretary of state 16 determines that the allegations in the notarized affidavit 17 for unauthorized use information are true. Upon filing the 18 statement the secretary of state shall do all of the following: 19 a. Remove unauthorized use information from the registered 20 filings. 21 b. (1) Deliver a notice of the statement to remove 22 unauthorized use information to the corporation. The notice 23 shall do the following: 24 (a) Identify the unauthorized use information included in 25 the registered filings. 26 (b) State the consequences of not complying with the 27 requirements of the relevant registered filing statutes. 28 (c) State that the secretary of state may act as the agent 29 for service of process in this state. 30 (d) State that the filing of the statement may be grounds 31 for administrative dissolution as provided in section 504.1421. 32 (2) If the secretary of state determines that it is not 33 feasible to deliver the statement, the secretary of state shall 34 publish the notice on its internet site. 35 -43- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 43/ 50
S.F. 479 3. The secretary of state may allow a corporation to correct 1 a registered filing, if the secretary determines that the 2 unauthorized use information was mistakenly included in the 3 registered filing. 4 4. a. The secretary of state shall not charge a fee 5 for accepting or reviewing a notarized affidavit to remove 6 unauthorized use information, filing a statement to remove 7 unauthorized use information, or for removing unauthorized use 8 information from any registered filing. 9 b. The secretary of state shall not return any fee paid for 10 a registered filing that includes unauthorized use information 11 that has been removed as unauthorized use information. 12 5. The secretary of state may act as an agent of the 13 corporation or foreign corporation, and the office of secretary 14 of state may act as a registered office for the corporation, as 15 provided in section 504.504A. 16 Sec. 76. NEW SECTION . 504.117D Registered filing —— appeal. 17 1. The secretary of state’s filing of a statement to 18 remove unauthorized use information from a registered filing 19 under section 504.117C constitutes final agency action. A 20 corporation may appeal the action, within thirty days after 21 the secretary of state delivers to the corporation the notice 22 of the statement or alternatively publishes the notice on its 23 internet site. The appeal shall be heard by the district court 24 for the county in which the principal office of the corporation 25 is located or, if none is located in this state, for the county 26 in which its registered office is or will be located. The 27 appeal is commenced by petitioning the court to terminate the 28 statement and restore the removed information. A copy of the 29 statement shall be attached to the petition. 30 2. The court may summarily deny the petition, order the 31 secretary of state to terminate the statement and restore the 32 removed information, or take other action the court considers 33 appropriate. 34 3. The court’s final decision may be appealed as in other 35 -44- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 44/ 50
S.F. 479 civil proceedings. 1 Sec. 77. Section 504.401, subsection 2, paragraph a, Code 2 2025, is amended to read as follows: 3 a. The corporate name of any other nonprofit or business 4 corporation incorporated or authorized to do transact business 5 in this state. 6 Sec. 78. Section 504.401, subsection 4, unnumbered 7 paragraph 1, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows: 8 A corporation may use the name, including the fictitious 9 name, of another domestic or foreign business or nonprofit 10 corporation that is being used in this state if the other 11 corporation is incorporated or authorized to do transact 12 business in this state and the proposed user corporation 13 submits documentation to the satisfaction of the secretary of 14 state establishing any of the following conditions: 15 Sec. 79. Section 504.403, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 16 2025, is amended to read as follows: 17 a. The corporate name of a nonprofit or business corporation 18 incorporated or authorized to do transact business in this 19 state. 20 Sec. 80. NEW SECTION . 504.504A Service of process by 21 secretary of state —— removal of unauthorized use information. 22 If the secretary of state’s removal of unauthorized use 23 information from under section 504.117C would prohibit a 24 person from serving any process, notice, or demand required or 25 permitted by law, the corporation or foreign corporation shall 26 be deemed to have failed to appoint or maintain a registered 27 agent or maintain a registered office. Until the registered 28 agent or registered office is changed as provided in section 29 504.502, the secretary of state shall act as the registered 30 agent, and the secretary of state’s office shall act as the 31 registered office, for the corporation or foreign corporation. 32 Sec. 81. Section 504.1521, subsection 2, paragraph c, Code 33 2025, is amended to read as follows: 34 c. That it revokes the authority of its registered agent 35 -45- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 45/ 50
S.F. 479 to accept service on its behalf and appoints the secretary of 1 state as its agent for service of process in any proceeding 2 based on a cause of action arising during the time it was 3 authorized to do transact business in this state. 4 EXPLANATION 5 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 6 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 7 GENERAL. This bill amends current and enacts new 8 provisions relating to a number of different types of business 9 organizations (entities) existing on a for-profit, cooperative, 10 or nonprofit basis. An entity may be formed in this state as 11 a domestic entity or formed in another jurisdiction and doing 12 business in this state as a foreign entity. Generally, an 13 entity is recognized as a person operating in this state with 14 each type of entity governed under its own Code chapter. The 15 relevant chapters, other than for cooperative associations, 16 are based on model legislation prepared by the American bar 17 association. 18 BACKGROUND —— ORGANIZATION. The bill is comprised of a 19 number of divisions, including a division amending a chapter 20 establishing the office of secretary of state (SOS) and vesting 21 the SOS with powers and duties (Code chapter 9). The other 22 divisions address specific types of entities. A profit entity 23 includes either a partnership, including a limited liability 24 partnership, or a foreign limited liability partnership (Code 25 chapter 486A); either a limited partnership, including a 26 limited liability limited partnership, or a foreign limited 27 partnership, including a foreign limited liability limited 28 partnership (Code chapter 488); either a limited liability 29 company, including a professional limited liability company, 30 or a registered foreign limited liability company (Code 31 chapter 489); either a corporation or foreign corporation (Code 32 chapter 490), including a professional corporation or foreign 33 professional corporation (Code chapter (496C). An entity 34 formed on a cooperative basis includes either an association, 35 -46- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 46/ 50
S.F. 479 foreign association (Code chapter 499), or a cooperative 1 association (Code chapter 501); and either a cooperative or 2 foreign cooperative (Code chapter 501A). An entity organized on 3 a nonprofit basis includes either a corporation or a foreign 4 corporation (Code chapter 504). 5 BACKGROUND —— OPERATIONS. Each type of entity recognizes 6 one or more executives making managerial decisions and equity 7 holders, many of whom are voters making fundamental decisions 8 affecting the entity. Depending upon an entity’s type, an 9 executive may be referred to as a partner (Code chapter 486A), 10 general partner (Code chapter 486A or 488), manager (Code 11 chapter 489), or director (Code chapter 490, 499, 501, 501A, or 12 504). An equity holder may be referred to as a partner (Code 13 chapter 486A), limited partner (Code chapter 486A or 488), 14 shareholder (Code chapter 490), or member (Code chapter 489, 15 499, 501, 501A, or 504). Generally, an entity’s executives and 16 equity holders are shielded from personal liability for actions 17 attributable to the entity. The entity and its equity holders 18 may also be subject to special tax treatment. 19 BACKGROUND —— DOCUMENTS. Each entity is placed under the 20 general authority of the SOS and in order to be recognized or 21 authorized to carry out certain functions in this state, an 22 entity must file a number of designated documents (referred to 23 as records in Code chapters 488 and 489). The SOS’s function 24 is to file a document as a ministerial act (Code sections 25 486A.1205, 488.206, 489.210, 490.125, 501A.202, and 504.116). 26 Two Code chapters do not so prescribe the SOS’s authority 27 when filing a document (Code chapters 499 and 501). A number 28 of Code chapters do provide that the SOS may refuse to file 29 a document submitted by an entity (Code sections 486A.1205, 30 488.206, 489.210, 490.125, 501A.202, and 504.116). Two Code 31 chapters do not provide the SOS with that authority (Code 32 chapters 499 and 501). Other Code chapters that provide 33 the SOS authority to refuse a filing provide that an entity 34 may appeal the SOS decision with the district court (Code 35 -47- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 47/ 50
S.F. 479 sections 486A.1206, 489.210, 490.126, 501A.207, and 504.117). 1 One chapter provides for the right by the SOS to refuse a 2 filing but not a right of appeal (Code chapter 488). Two Code 3 chapters provide for neither a right by the SOS to refuse a 4 filing nor consequently the right of appeal by the entity (Code 5 chapters 499 and 501). 6 BACKGROUND —— REGISTERED FILINGS. Each entity must file 7 with the SOS certain documents referred to in the bill as a 8 registered filing that includes the name and address of a 9 registered agent and registered office for acceptance of legal 10 notices including service of process (Code sections 486A.1211, 11 488.114, 489.115, 490.501, 499.72, 501.106, 501A.401, and 12 504.501) in addition to a registered agent and registered 13 office, the registered filing must include the entity’s 14 principal (or executive) office. The failure to keep current 15 registered filing is grounds for administrative dissolution 16 (Code sections 488.809, 489.708, 490.1420, 499.76, 501.811, and 17 504.1421). Generally, a filer who has included an incorrect 18 statement in a filed document may correct the statement 19 (Code sections 486A.1204, 488.207, 489.209, 490.124, 501.105, 20 501A.204, and 504.115). 21 BILL’S PROVISIONS —— SECRETARY OF STATE’S AUTHORITY TO 22 FILE DOCUMENTS. The bill makes changes to each of the Code 23 chapters beginning with Code chapter 9 by amending provisions 24 by correcting citations or enhancing readability. 25 BILL’S PROVISIONS —— REFUSAL TO FILE A DOCUMENT. The bill 26 provides that when filing a document by an association or 27 foreign association under Code chapter 499 or a cooperative 28 under Code chapter 501, the entity and SOS are subject to 29 the same filing requirements as other entities. Under the 30 bill, the SOS’s filing of a document is also ministerial 31 (Code sections 499.44 and 501.105). The bill provides that 32 the SOS may refuse to file such a document (Code sections 33 499.44 and 501.105). The bill provides an appeal process 34 from a decision by the SOS not to file a document submitted 35 -48- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 48/ 50
S.F. 479 by a limited partnership or foreign limited partnership (Code 1 section 488.206B), an association (Code section 499.44B), or 2 a cooperative (Code section 501.105B). The bill includes a 3 number of new provisions applicable to all entities, including 4 a requirement that the SOS must refuse to file a document, 5 if the SOS determines that the document is materially false 6 or fraudulent or the document may be used to accomplish a 7 fraudulent, criminal, or otherwise unlawful purpose (Code 8 sections 486A.1205, 488.206, 489.210, 490.125, 499.44, 501.105, 9 501A.202, and 504.116). 10 BILL’S PROVISIONS —— NOTARIZED AFFIDAVIT TO REMOVE 11 UNAUTHORIZED USE INFORMATION FROM A REGISTERED FILING. 12 The bill provides for unauthorized use information that 13 misidentifies a registered agent, registered office, or 14 principle office in a registered filing (Code sections 15 486A.1206B, 488.206C, 489.210B, 490.126B, 499.44D, 501.105D, 16 501A.202B, and 504.117B). A person whose information has 17 been misidentified in a registered filing may submit to the 18 SOS a notarized affidavit to remove such information from 19 a registered filing (affidavit). The SOS must conduct an 20 administrative review of the affidavit to determine the 21 whether an asserted allegation is true. The SOS may reject an 22 affidavit after determining that it is illegible, incomplete, 23 misleading, or includes factual errors; or its purpose is to 24 defraud or harass a person, including the filer. 25 BILL’S PROVISIONS —— STATEMENT TO REMOVE UNAUTHORIZED USE 26 INFORMATION FROM A REGISTERED FILING. If the SOS determines 27 that an allegation of an affidavit is true, the SOS must file a 28 statement to remove unauthorized use information (statement) 29 and must then remove the unauthorized use information from 30 the registered filings (Code sections 486A.1206C, 488.206D, 31 489.210C, 490.126C, 499.44E, 501.105E, 501A.202C, and 32 504.117C). The SOS must also deliver a notice of the statement 33 to the entity explaining what information was removed and why 34 it was removed. The SOS may allow the entity to correct the 35 -49- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 49/ 50
S.F. 479 registered filing. The SOS is prohibited from charging a fee 1 for accepting or reviewing an affidavit, filing a statement, 2 or removing unauthorized use information from any registered 3 filing. The SOS cannot return a fee paid for a registered 4 filing. The SOS may act as an agent of the entity and the 5 office of the SOS may act as the registered office of the 6 entity. 7 BILL’S PROVISIONS —— STATEMENT TO REMOVE UNAUTHORIZED USE 8 INFORMATION FROM A REGISTERED FILING —— REGISTERED AGENT AND 9 OFFICE. If the SOS’s removal of unauthorized use information 10 from a registered filing would prohibit a person from serving 11 any process, notice, or demand required or permitted by 12 law, the SOS acts as the registered agent, and the SOS’s 13 office acts as the registered office for the entity until the 14 registered agent or registered office is changed (Code sections 15 486A.1214A, 488.117B, 489.119A, 490.504A, 499.75A, 501.106A, 16 501A.403A, and 504.504A). 17 BILL’S PROVISIONS —— APPEAL OF STATEMENT TO REMOVE 18 UNAUTHORIZED USE INFORMATION FROM A REGISTERED FILING. An 19 entity is entitled to appeal a decision by the SOS to file 20 a statement removing unauthorized use information from a 21 registered filing in a similar manner as an entity may appeal a 22 decision by the SOS refusing to file a document (Code sections 23 486A.1206D, 488.206E, 489.210D, 490.126D, 499.44F, 501.105F, 24 501A.202D, and 504.117D). 25 -50- LSB 1713XS (2) 91 da/jh 50/ 50