Senate Study Bill 3165 - Introduced SENATE/HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED SECRETARY OF STATE BILL) A BILL FOR An Act providing for certain business entities acting under 1 the jurisdiction of the secretary of state by providing 2 for the removal of information from a filing based on a 3 sworn affidavit and administrative dissolution based on the 4 response to interrogatories. 5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 6 TLSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ DIVISION I 1 PARTNERSHIPS 2 Section 1. Section 486A.1205, subsection 1, Code 2026, is 3 amended to read as follows: 4 1. If Except as provided in subsection 5, if a document 5 delivered to the office of the secretary of state for filing 6 satisfies the requirements of section 486A.1201 , the secretary 7 of state shall file it and issue any necessary certificate. 8 Sec. 2. Section 486A.1205, Code 2026, is amended by adding 9 the following new subsection: 10 NEW SUBSECTION . 5. a. The secretary of state may require a 11 document to be delivered by mail or in person if the secretary 12 of state receives credible information that the document is 13 being submitted for filing fraudulently or may be used to 14 accomplish a fraudulent, criminal, or unlawful purpose. 15 b. As used in paragraph “a” , “credible information” means 16 any of the following: 17 (1) An affidavit of unauthorized use as provided in section 18 486A.1214A. 19 (2) Information provided to the secretary of state by 20 another government agency. 21 (3) Information collected by the secretary of state from a 22 credible third-party data set. 23 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 486A.1214A Statement of removal —— 24 removal of information not authorized to be provided. 25 1. a. A person whose name, street address, mailing address, 26 or email address has, without that person’s authorization, been 27 provided to the secretary of state as that of the registered 28 agent or of the principal office in a partnership’s filing may 29 deliver to the secretary of state a notarized, sworn affidavit 30 of unauthorized use that does all of the following: 31 (1) Identifies the partnership registration by name and 32 business number. 33 (2) Indicates the affiant’s mailing address. 34 (3) States that neither the affiant nor any agent of the 35 -1- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 1/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ affiant has authorized the filing identifying the affiant as 1 the registered agent, providing the affiant’s street address 2 or mailing address as an address of the registered agent or 3 principal office, or providing the affiant’s email address as 4 that of the registered agent. 5 b. The affiant shall specify in the affidavit of 6 unauthorized use the information that was not authorized to be 7 provided. 8 c. The secretary of state may reject an affidavit that 9 is incomplete or that the secretary of state believes was 10 delivered to the secretary of state with the intent to harass 11 or defraud the partnership or the individual named as affiant. 12 d. The office of the secretary of state shall adopt an 13 affidavit of unauthorized use form in accordance with this 14 section. 15 2. The secretary of state shall conduct an administrative 16 review to determine whether the filing was authorized to 17 identify the stated information as applicable. 18 3. If the secretary of state concludes that the filing 19 was not authorized to provide the information identified 20 in the affidavit, the secretary of state shall promptly 21 file a statement of removal with respect to the identified 22 information, and shall promptly cause the identified 23 information to cease to be listed as identified for the 24 partnership. 25 4. The secretary of state shall not charge a fee for the 26 filing of an affidavit of unauthorized use under subsection 27 1 or a statement of removal under subsection 3. The filing 28 office shall not return any fee paid for filing the partnership 29 filing identified in the affidavit. 30 5. Upon filing a statement of removal, the secretary of 31 state shall send to the principal office address or registered 32 agent’s mailing address on record for the partnership, if any, 33 a notice stating that the statement of removal has been filed 34 and is effective immediately. The notice shall also state that 35 -2- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 2/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ the partnership is without a registered agent or registered 1 agent address, as applicable. 2 6. The secretary of state shall adopt rules pursuant to 3 chapter 17A necessary or desirable to administer this section. 4 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION . 486A.1214B Interrogatories. 5 1. a. The secretary of state may serve one or more written 6 interrogatories regarding any matter that pertains to a 7 partnership and that is within the purview of the secretary of 8 state if the secretary of state receives credible information 9 that a partnership is being used to accomplish a fraudulent, 10 criminal, or unlawful purpose. 11 b. As used in paragraph “a” , “credible information” means 12 any of the following: 13 (1) An affidavit of unauthorized use as provided in section 14 486A.1214A. 15 (2) Information provided to the secretary of state by 16 another government agency. 17 (3) Information collected by the secretary of state from a 18 credible third-party data set. 19 2. The secretary of state shall serve such interrogatories 20 on the partnership that is the subject of the interrogatories 21 by mail at the address of the registered agent that appears on 22 the secretary of state’s records at the time the information 23 required by subsection 1 is received, or if the partnership 24 has no registered agent, at the partnership’s principal office 25 address shown on the partnership’s most recent filing. 26 3. The interrogatories must be answered by a person with 27 the authority to answer on behalf of the partnership that 28 is the subject of the interrogatories. Each interrogatory 29 must be answered in writing separately and in a manner that 30 is responsive to the interrogatory. The declaration on the 31 completed interrogatories form must be signed by a person with 32 the authority to sign on behalf of the partnership. 33 4. To be considered responsive, the completed and signed 34 interrogatories form must be received by the secretary of state 35 -3- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 3/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ by mail or in-person delivery within twenty-one calendar days 1 after the form was mailed. 2 5. A response to any interrogatory that indicates to the 3 secretary of state that the partnership violated any provision 4 of this chapter constitutes the partnership’s concession to 5 such violation. 6 6. A failure to respond to any interrogatory within the 7 allotted time constitutes the partnership’s concession that the 8 partnership violated a provision or provisions of this chapter 9 that are the subjects of the interrogatories. 10 7. If the secretary of state receives a response to each 11 interrogatory that indicates to the secretary of state that the 12 partnership has not violated any provision of this chapter, the 13 secretary of state shall take no action. 14 8. The secretary of state shall adopt rules pursuant to 15 chapter 17A necessary or desirable to administer this section. 16 DIVISION II 17 LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS 18 Sec. 5. Section 488.206, subsection 1, unnumbered paragraph 19 1, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows: 20 A record authorized or required to be delivered to the 21 secretary of state for filing under this chapter must be 22 captioned to describe the record’s purpose, contain the 23 information required by this chapter but may include other 24 information as well, and be in a medium permitted by the 25 secretary of state. The document must be typewritten or 26 printed. If the document is electronically transmitted, it 27 must be in a format that can be retrieved or reproduced in 28 typewritten or printed form. The document must be delivered 29 to the office of the secretary of state for filing. Delivery 30 may be made by electronic transmission if and to the extent 31 permitted by the secretary of state. The secretary of state 32 may adopt rules for the electronic filing of documents and 33 the certification of electronically filed documents. If it 34 is filed in typewritten or printed form and not transmitted 35 -4- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 4/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ electronically, the secretary of state may require an exact 1 or conformed copy to be delivered with the document. Unless 2 Except as provided in subsection 6, unless the secretary of 3 state determines that a record does not comply with the filing 4 requirements of this chapter , and if all filing fees have been 5 paid, the secretary of state shall file the record and perform 6 all of the following: 7 Sec. 6. Section 488.206, Code 2026, is amended by adding the 8 following new subsection: 9 NEW SUBSECTION . 6. a. The secretary of state may require 10 a record to be delivered by mail or in person if the secretary 11 of state receives credible information that the record is being 12 submitted for filing fraudulently or may be used to accomplish 13 a fraudulent, criminal, or unlawful purpose. 14 b. As used in paragraph “a” , “credible information” means 15 any of the following: 16 (1) An affidavit of unauthorized use as provided in section 17 488.210A. 18 (2) Information provided to the secretary of state by 19 another government agency. 20 (3) Information collected by the secretary of state from a 21 credible third-party data set. 22 Sec. 7. NEW SECTION . 488.210A Statement of removal —— 23 removal of information not authorized to be provided. 24 1. a. A person whose name, street address, mailing address, 25 or email address has, without that person’s authorization, been 26 provided to the secretary of state as that of the registered 27 agent or of the principal office in a limited partnership’s 28 filing may deliver to the secretary of state a notarized, sworn 29 affidavit of unauthorized use that does all of the following: 30 (1) Identifies the limited partnership registration by name 31 and business number. 32 (2) Indicates the affiant’s mailing address. 33 (3) States that neither the affiant nor any agent of the 34 affiant has authorized the filing identifying the affiant as 35 -5- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 5/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ the registered agent, providing the affiant’s street address 1 or mailing address as an address of the registered agent or 2 principal office, or providing the affiant’s email address as 3 that of the registered agent. 4 b. The affiant shall specify in the affidavit of 5 unauthorized use the information that was not authorized to be 6 provided. 7 c. The secretary of state may reject an affidavit of 8 unauthorized use that is incomplete or that the secretary of 9 state believes was delivered to the secretary of state with 10 the intent to harass or defraud the limited partnership or the 11 individual named as affiant. 12 d. The office of the secretary of state shall adopt an 13 affidavit of unauthorized use form in accordance with this 14 section. 15 2. The secretary of state shall conduct an administrative 16 review to determine whether the filing was authorized to 17 identify the stated information as applicable. 18 3. If the secretary of state concludes that the filing 19 was not authorized to provide the information identified 20 in the affidavit, the secretary of state shall promptly 21 file a statement of removal with respect to the identified 22 information, and shall promptly cause the identified 23 information to cease to be listed as identified for the limited 24 partnership. 25 4. The secretary of state shall not charge a fee for the 26 filing of an affidavit of unauthorized use under subsection 27 1 or a statement of removal under subsection 3. The filing 28 office shall not return any fee paid for filing the limited 29 partnership filing identified in the affidavit. 30 5. Upon filing a statement of removal, the secretary of 31 state shall send to the principal office address or registered 32 agent’s mailing address on record for the limited partnership, 33 if any, a notice stating that the statement of removal has been 34 filed and is effective immediately. The notice shall also 35 -6- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 6/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ state that the limited partnership is without a registered 1 agent or registered agent address, as applicable. 2 6. The secretary of state shall adopt rules pursuant to 3 chapter 17A necessary or desirable to administer this section. 4 Sec. 8. NEW SECTION . 488.210B Interrogatories. 5 1. a. The secretary of state may serve one or more written 6 interrogatories regarding any matter that pertains to a limited 7 partnership and that is within the purview of the secretary of 8 state if the secretary of state receives credible information 9 that a limited partnership is being used to accomplish a 10 fraudulent, criminal, or unlawful purpose. 11 b. As used in paragraph “a” , “credible information” means 12 any of the following: 13 (1) An affidavit of unauthorized use as provided in section 14 488.210A. 15 (2) Information provided to the secretary of state by 16 another government agency. 17 (3) Information collected by the secretary of state from a 18 credible third-party data set. 19 2. The secretary of state shall serve such interrogatories 20 on the limited partnership that is the subject of the 21 interrogatories by mail at the address of the registered agent 22 that appears on the secretary of state’s records at the time 23 the information required by subsection 1 is received, or if the 24 limited partnership has no registered agent, at the limited 25 partnership’s principal office address shown on the limited 26 partnership’s most recent biennial report filed with the 27 secretary of state. 28 3. The interrogatories must be answered by a person with 29 the authority to answer on behalf of the limited partnership 30 that is the subject of the interrogatories. Each interrogatory 31 must be answered in writing separately and in a manner that 32 is responsive to the interrogatory. The declaration on the 33 completed interrogatories form must be signed by a person with 34 the authority to sign on behalf of the limited partnership. 35 -7- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 7/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ 4. To be considered responsive, the completed and signed 1 interrogatories form must be received by the secretary of state 2 by mail or in-person delivery within twenty-one calendar days 3 after the form was mailed. 4 5. A response to any interrogatory that indicates to the 5 secretary of state that the limited partnership violated any 6 provision of this chapter constitutes the limited partnership’s 7 concession to such violation. 8 6. A failure to respond to any interrogatory within the 9 allotted time constitutes the limited partnership’s concession 10 that the partnership violated a provision or provisions of this 11 chapter that are the subjects of the interrogatories. 12 7. If the secretary of state receives a response to each 13 interrogatory that indicates to the secretary of state that 14 the limited partnership has not violated any provision of any 15 chapter, the secretary of state shall take no action. 16 8. The secretary of state shall adopt rules pursuant to 17 chapter 17A necessary or desirable to administer this section. 18 Sec. 9. Section 488.809, subsections 1, 2, and 3, Code 2026, 19 are amended to read as follows: 20 1. The Except as provided in subsection 6, the secretary of 21 state may dissolve a limited partnership administratively if 22 the limited partnership does not, within sixty days after the 23 due date, do any of the following: 24 a. Pay any fee, tax, or penalty under this chapter or other 25 law due the secretary of state. 26 b. Deliver its biennial report to the secretary of state. 27 2. If Except as provided in subsection 6, if the secretary 28 of state determines that a ground exists for administratively 29 dissolving a limited partnership, the secretary of state shall 30 file a record of the determination and serve the limited 31 partnership with a copy of the filed record. 32 3. If Except as provided in subsection 6, if within sixty 33 days after service of the copy the limited partnership does 34 not correct each ground for dissolution or demonstrate to the 35 -8- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 8/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ reasonable satisfaction of the secretary of state that each 1 ground determined by the secretary of state does not exist, the 2 secretary of state shall administratively dissolve the limited 3 partnership by preparing, signing, and filing a declaration 4 of dissolution that states the grounds for dissolution. The 5 secretary of state shall serve the limited partnership with a 6 copy of the filed declaration. 7 Sec. 10. Section 488.809, Code 2026, is amended by adding 8 the following new subsection: 9 NEW SUBSECTION . 6. If the limited partnership concedes that 10 the limited partnership has violated a provision or provisions 11 of this chapter that are the subjects of interrogatories served 12 on the limited partnership pursuant to section 488.210B, 13 the secretary of state may immediately dissolve the limited 14 partnership administratively by preparing, signing, and filing 15 a declaration of dissolution that states the grounds for the 16 dissolution. The secretary of state shall serve the limited 17 partnership with a copy of the filed declaration. 18 DIVISION III 19 LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANIES 20 Sec. 11. Section 489.210, subsection 1, Code 2026, is 21 amended to read as follows: 22 1. The Except as provided in subsection 7, the secretary 23 of state shall file a record delivered to the secretary of 24 state for filing which satisfies this chapter . The duty of the 25 secretary of state under this section is ministerial. 26 Sec. 12. Section 489.210, Code 2026, is amended by adding 27 the following new subsection: 28 NEW SUBSECTION . 7. a. The secretary of state may require 29 a record to be delivered by mail or in person if the secretary 30 of state receives credible information that the record is being 31 submitted for filing fraudulently or may be used to accomplish 32 a fraudulent, criminal, or unlawful purpose. 33 b. As used in paragraph “a” , “credible information” means 34 any of the following: 35 -9- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 9/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ (1) An affidavit of unauthorized use as provided in section 1 489.212A. 2 (2) Information provided to the secretary of state by 3 another government agency. 4 (3) Information collected by the secretary of state from a 5 credible third-party data set. 6 Sec. 13. NEW SECTION . 489.212A Statement of removal —— 7 removal of information not authorized to be provided. 8 1. a. A person whose name, street address, mailing address, 9 or email address has, without that person’s authorization, been 10 provided to the secretary of state as that of the registered 11 agent or of the principal office in a limited liability company 12 or foreign limited liability company filing may deliver to the 13 secretary of state a notarized, sworn affidavit of unauthorized 14 use that does all of the following: 15 (1) Identifies the limited liability company or foreign 16 limited liability company registration by name and business 17 number. 18 (2) Indicates the affiant’s mailing address. 19 (3) States that neither the affiant nor any agent of the 20 affiant has authorized the filing identifying the affiant as 21 the registered agent, providing the affiant’s street address 22 or mailing address as an address of the registered agent or 23 principal office, or providing the affiant’s email address as 24 that of the registered agent. 25 b. The affiant shall specify in the affidavit of 26 unauthorized use the information that was not authorized to be 27 provided. 28 c. The secretary of state may reject an affidavit of 29 unauthorized use that is incomplete or that the secretary of 30 state believes was delivered to the secretary of state with the 31 intent to harass or defraud the limited liability company or 32 foreign limited liability company or the individual named as 33 affiant. 34 d. The office of the secretary of state shall adopt an 35 -10- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 10/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ affidavit of unauthorized use form in accordance with this 1 section. 2 2. The secretary of state shall conduct an administrative 3 review to determine whether the filing was authorized to 4 identify the stated information as applicable. 5 3. If the secretary of state concludes that the filing 6 was not authorized to provide the information identified 7 in the affidavit, the secretary of state shall promptly 8 file a statement of removal with respect to the identified 9 information, and shall promptly cause the identified 10 information to cease to be listed as identified for the limited 11 liability company or foreign limited liability company. 12 4. The secretary of state shall not charge a fee for the 13 filing of an affidavit of unauthorized use under subsection 14 1 or a statement of removal under subsection 3. The filing 15 office shall not return any fee paid for filing the limited 16 liability company or foreign limited liability company filing 17 identified in the affidavit. 18 5. Upon filing a statement of removal, the secretary of 19 state shall send to the principal office address or registered 20 agent’s mailing address on record for the limited liability 21 company or foreign limited liability company, if any, a notice 22 stating that the statement of removal has been filed and is 23 effective immediately. The notice shall also state that the 24 company is without a registered agent or registered agent 25 address, as applicable. 26 6. The secretary of state shall adopt rules pursuant to 27 chapter 17A necessary or desirable to administer this section. 28 Sec. 14. NEW SECTION . 489.212B Interrogatories. 29 1. a. The secretary of state may serve one or more written 30 interrogatories regarding any matter that pertains to a limited 31 liability company or foreign limited liability company and 32 that is within the purview of the secretary of state if the 33 secretary of state receives credible information that a company 34 is being used to accomplish a fraudulent, criminal, or unlawful 35 -11- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 11/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ purpose. 1 b. As used in paragraph “a” , “credible information” means 2 any of the following: 3 (1) An affidavit of unauthorized use as provided in section 4 488.212A. 5 (2) Information provided to the secretary of state by 6 another government agency. 7 (3) Information collected by the secretary of state from a 8 credible third-party data set. 9 2. The secretary of state shall serve such interrogatories 10 on the limited liability company or foreign limited liability 11 company that is the subject of the interrogatories by mail 12 at the address of the registered agent that appears on the 13 secretary of state’s records at the time the information 14 required by subsection 1 is received, or if the company has no 15 registered agent, at the company’s principal office address 16 shown on the company’s most recent biennial report filed with 17 the secretary of state. 18 3. The interrogatories must be answered by a person with 19 the authority to answer on behalf of the limited liability 20 company or foreign limited liability company that is the 21 subject of the interrogatories. Each interrogatory must 22 be answered in writing separately and in a manner that is 23 responsive to the interrogatory. The declaration on the 24 completed interrogatories form must be signed by a person with 25 the authority to sign on behalf of the company. 26 4. To be considered responsive, the completed and signed 27 interrogatories form must be received by the secretary of state 28 by mail or in-person delivery within twenty-one calendar days 29 after the form was mailed. 30 5. A response to any interrogatory that indicates to the 31 secretary of state that the limited liability company or 32 foreign limited liability company violated any provision of 33 this chapter constitutes the company’s concession to such 34 violation. 35 -12- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 12/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ 6. A failure to respond to any interrogatory within the 1 allotted time constitutes the limited liability company’s or 2 foreign limited liability company’s concession that the company 3 violated a provision or provisions of this chapter that are the 4 subjects of the interrogatories. 5 7. If the secretary of state receives a response to each 6 interrogatory that indicates to the secretary of state that the 7 limited liability company or foreign limited liability company 8 has not violated any provision of this chapter, the secretary 9 of state shall take no action. 10 8. The secretary of state shall adopt rules pursuant to 11 chapter 17A necessary or desirable to administer this section. 12 Sec. 15. Section 489.708, Code 2026, is amended by adding 13 the following new subsection: 14 NEW SUBSECTION . 6. The limited liability company or 15 foreign limited liability company concedes that the company has 16 violated a provision or provisions of this chapter that are the 17 subjects of the interrogatories served on the company pursuant 18 to section 489.212B. 19 Sec. 16. Section 489.709, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2026, 20 are amended to read as follows: 21 1. If the secretary of state determines that one or more 22 grounds exist under section 489.708 , subsections 1 through 23 5, for dissolving a limited liability company, the secretary 24 of state shall serve the company with written notice of such 25 determination under section 489.119 . 26 2. If Except as specified in subsection 5, if the limited 27 liability company does not correct each ground for dissolution 28 or demonstrate to the reasonable satisfaction of the secretary 29 of state that each ground determined by the secretary of 30 state does not exist within sixty days after service of 31 the notice under section 489.119 , the secretary of state 32 shall administratively dissolve the company by signing a 33 certificate of dissolution that recites the ground or grounds 34 for dissolution and its effective date. The secretary of state 35 -13- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 13/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ shall file the original of the certificate and serve a copy on 1 the company under section 489.119 . 2 Sec. 17. Section 489.709, Code 2026, is amended by adding 3 the following new subsection: 4 NEW SUBSECTION . 5. If the limited liability company or 5 foreign limited liability company concedes that the company 6 has violated a provision or provisions of this chapter that 7 are the subjects of the interrogatories served on the company 8 pursuant to section 489.212B, the secretary of state may 9 immediately administratively dissolve the company by signing a 10 certificate of dissolution that recites the ground or grounds 11 for dissolution and its effective date. The secretary of state 12 shall file the original of the certificate and serve a copy on 13 the company under section 489.119. 14 DIVISION IV 15 BUSINESS CORPORATIONS 16 Sec. 18. Section 490.125, subsection 1, Code 2026, is 17 amended to read as follows: 18 1. If Except as provided in subsection 5, if a document 19 delivered to the office of the secretary of state for filing 20 satisfies the requirements of section 490.120 , the secretary 21 of state shall file it. 22 Sec. 19. Section 490.125, Code 2026, is amended by adding 23 the following new subsection: 24 NEW SUBSECTION . 5. a. The secretary of state may require a 25 record to be delivered by mail or in person if the secretary of 26 state receives credible information that the document is being 27 submitted for filing fraudulently or may be used to accomplish 28 a fraudulent, criminal, or unlawful purpose. 29 b. As used in paragraph “a” , “credible information” means 30 any of the following: 31 (1) An affidavit of unauthorized use as provided in section 32 490.1621A. 33 (2) Information provided to the secretary of state by 34 another government agency. 35 -14- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 14/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ (3) Information collected by the secretary of state from a 1 credible third-party data set. 2 Sec. 20. Section 490.1420, Code 2026, is amended by adding 3 the following new subsection: 4 NEW SUBSECTION . 6. The corporation concedes that the 5 corporation has violated a provision or provisions of this 6 chapter that are the subjects of the interrogatories served on 7 the corporation pursuant to section 490.1621B. 8 Sec. 21. Section 490.1421, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2026, 9 are amended to read as follows: 10 1. If the secretary of state determines that one or more 11 grounds exist under section 490.1420 , subsections 1 through 12 5, for dissolving a corporation, the secretary of state shall 13 serve the corporation with written notice of such determination 14 under section 490.504 . 15 2. If Except as specified in subsection 5, the corporation 16 does not correct each ground for dissolution or demonstrate 17 to the reasonable satisfaction of the secretary of state that 18 each ground determined by the secretary of state does not exist 19 within sixty days after service of the notice under section 20 490.504 , the secretary of state shall administratively dissolve 21 the corporation by signing a certificate of dissolution that 22 recites the ground or grounds for dissolution and its effective 23 date. The secretary of state shall file the original of the 24 certificate and serve a copy on the corporation under section 25 490.504 . 26 Sec. 22. Section 490.1421, Code 2026, is amended by adding 27 the following new subsection: 28 NEW SUBSECTION . 5. If the corporation concedes that the 29 corporation has violated a provision or provisions of this 30 chapter that are the subject of the interrogatories served on 31 the corporation pursuant to section 490.1621B, the secretary of 32 state may immediately administratively dissolve the corporation 33 by signing a certificate of dissolution that recites the 34 ground or grounds for dissolution and its effective date. The 35 -15- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 15/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ secretary of state shall file the original of the certificate 1 and serve a copy on the corporation under section 490.504. 2 Sec. 23. NEW SECTION . 490.1621A Statement of removal —— 3 removal of information not authorized to be provided. 4 1. a. A person whose name, street address, mailing address, 5 or email address has, without that person’s authorization, been 6 provided to the secretary of state as that of the registered 7 agent or of the principal office in a domestic or foreign 8 corporation filing may deliver to the secretary of state a 9 notarized, sworn affidavit of unauthorized use that does all 10 of the following: 11 (1) Identifies the domestic or foreign corporation 12 registration by name and business number. 13 (2) Indicates the affiant’s mailing address. 14 (3) States that neither the affiant nor any agent of the 15 affiant has authorized the filing identifying the affiant as 16 the registered agent, providing the affiant’s street address 17 or mailing address as an address of the registered agent or 18 principal office, or providing the affiant’s email address as 19 that of the registered agent. 20 b. The affiant shall specify in the affidavit of 21 unauthorized use the information that was not authorized to be 22 provided. 23 c. The secretary of state may reject an affidavit of 24 unauthorized use that is incomplete or that the secretary of 25 state believes was delivered to the secretary of state with the 26 intent to harass or defraud the domestic or foreign corporation 27 or the individual named as affiant. 28 d. The office of the secretary of state shall adopt an 29 affidavit of unauthorized use form in accordance with this 30 section. 31 2. The secretary of state shall conduct an administrative 32 review to determine whether the filing was authorized to 33 identify the stated information as applicable. 34 3. If the secretary of state concludes that the filing 35 -16- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 16/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ was not authorized to provide the information identified 1 in the affidavit, the secretary of state shall promptly 2 file a statement of removal with respect to the identified 3 information, and shall promptly cause the identified 4 information to cease to be listed as identified for the 5 domestic or foreign corporation. 6 4. The secretary of state shall not charge a fee for the 7 filing of an affidavit of unauthorized use under subsection 8 1 or a statement of removal under subsection 3. The filing 9 office shall not return any fee paid for filing the domestic or 10 foreign corporation filing identified in the affidavit. 11 5. Upon filing a statement of removal, the secretary of 12 state shall send to the principal office address or registered 13 agent’s mailing address on record for the domestic or foreign 14 corporation, if any, a notice stating that the statement of 15 removal has been filed and is effective immediately. The 16 notice shall also state that the corporation is without a 17 registered agent or registered agent address, as applicable. 18 6. The secretary of state shall adopt rules pursuant to 19 chapter 17A necessary or desirable to administer this section. 20 Sec. 24. NEW SECTION . 490.1621B Interrogatories. 21 1. a. The secretary of state may serve one or more 22 written interrogatories regarding any matter that pertains 23 to a domestic or foreign corporation and that is within the 24 purview of the secretary of state if the secretary of state 25 receives credible information that a corporation is being used 26 to accomplish a fraudulent, criminal, or unlawful purpose. 27 b. As used in paragraph “a” , “credible information” means 28 any of the following: 29 (1) An affidavit of unauthorized use as provided in section 30 490.1621A. 31 (2) Information provided to the secretary of state by 32 another government agency. 33 (3) Information collected by the secretary of state from a 34 credible third-party data set. 35 -17- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 17/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ 2. The secretary of state shall serve such interrogatories 1 on the domestic or foreign corporation that is the subject of 2 the interrogatories by mail at the address of the registered 3 agent that appears on the secretary of state’s records 4 at the time the information required by subsection 1 is 5 received, or if the corporation has no registered agent, 6 at the corporation’s principal office address shown on the 7 corporation’s most recent biennial report filed with the 8 secretary of state. 9 3. The interrogatories must be answered by a person with 10 the authority to answer on behalf of the domestic or foreign 11 corporation that is the subject of the interrogatories. Each 12 interrogatory must be answered in writing separately and 13 in a manner that is responsive to the interrogatory. The 14 declaration on the completed interrogatories form must be 15 signed by a person with the authority to sign on behalf of the 16 corporation. 17 4. To be considered responsive, the completed and signed 18 interrogatories form must be received by the secretary of state 19 by mail or in-person delivery within twenty-one calendar days 20 after the form was mailed. 21 5. A response to any interrogatory that indicates to the 22 secretary of state that the domestic or foreign corporation 23 violated any provision of this chapter constitutes the 24 corporation’s concession to such violation. 25 6. A failure to respond to any interrogatory within the 26 allotted time constitutes the domestic or foreign corporation’s 27 concession that the corporation violated a provision or 28 provisions of this chapter that are the subjects of the 29 interrogatories. 30 7. If the secretary of state receives a response to each 31 interrogatory that indicates to the secretary of state that the 32 domestic or foreign corporation has not violated any provision 33 of this chapter, the secretary of state shall take no action. 34 8. The secretary of state shall adopt rules pursuant to 35 -18- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 18/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ chapter 17A necessary or desirable to administer this section. 1 DIVISION V 2 TRADITIONAL COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATIONS 3 Sec. 25. Section 499.44, subsection 1, Code 2026, is amended 4 to read as follows: 5 1. The Except as provided in subsection 6, the secretary of 6 state shall record all documents submitted to and required to 7 be filed with the secretary of state under this chapter . 8 Sec. 26. Section 499.44, Code 2026, is amended by adding the 9 following new subsection: 10 NEW SUBSECTION . 6. a. The secretary of state may require a 11 document to be delivered by mail or in person if the secretary 12 of state receives credible information that the document is 13 being submitted for filing fraudulently or may be used to 14 accomplish a fraudulent, criminal, or unlawful purpose. 15 b. As used in paragraph “a” , “credible information” means 16 any of the following: 17 (1) An affidavit of unauthorized use as provided in section 18 499.50. 19 (2) Information provided to the secretary of state by 20 another government agency. 21 (3) Information collected by the secretary of state from a 22 credible third-party data set. 23 Sec. 27. NEW SECTION . 499.50 Statement of removal —— 24 removal of information not authorized to be provided. 25 1. a. A person whose name, street address, mailing address, 26 or email address has, without that person’s authorization, been 27 provided to the secretary of state as that of the registered 28 agent or of the principal office in an association filing may 29 deliver to the secretary of state a notarized, sworn affidavit 30 of unauthorized use that does all of the following: 31 (1) Identifies the association registration by name and 32 business number. 33 (2) Indicates the affiant’s mailing address. 34 (3) States that neither the affiant nor any agent of the 35 -19- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 19/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ affiant has authorized the filing identifying the affiant as 1 the registered agent, providing the affiant’s street address 2 or mailing address as an address of the registered agent or 3 principal office, or providing the affiant’s email address as 4 that of the registered agent. 5 b. The affiant shall specify in the affidavit the 6 information of unauthorized use that was not authorized to be 7 provided. 8 c. The secretary of state may reject an affidavit of 9 unauthorized use that is incomplete or that the secretary of 10 state believes was delivered to the secretary of state with the 11 intent to harass or defraud the association or the individual 12 named as affiant. 13 d. The office of the secretary of state shall adopt an 14 affidavit of unauthorized use form in accordance with this 15 section. 16 2. The secretary of state shall conduct an administrative 17 review to determine whether the filing was authorized to 18 identify the stated information as applicable. 19 3. If the secretary of state concludes that the filing 20 was not authorized to provide the information identified 21 in the affidavit, the secretary of state shall promptly 22 file a statement of removal with respect to the identified 23 information, and shall promptly cause the identified 24 information to cease to be listed as identified for the 25 association. 26 4. The secretary of state shall not charge a fee for the 27 filing of an affidavit of unauthorized use under subsection 28 1 or a statement of removal under subsection 3. The filing 29 office shall not return any fee paid for filing the association 30 filing identified in the affidavit. 31 5. Upon filing a statement of removal, the secretary of 32 state shall send to the principal office address or registered 33 agent’s mailing address on record for the association, if any, 34 a notice stating that the statement of removal has been filed 35 -20- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 20/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ and is effective immediately. The notice shall also state that 1 the association is without a registered agent or registered 2 agent address, as applicable. 3 6. The secretary of state shall adopt rules pursuant to 4 chapter 17A necessary or desirable to administer this section. 5 Sec. 28. NEW SECTION . 499.51 Interrogatories. 6 1. a. The secretary of state may serve one or more written 7 interrogatories regarding any matter that pertains to an 8 association and that is within the purview of the secretary of 9 state if the secretary of state receives credible information 10 that an association is being used to accomplish a fraudulent, 11 criminal, or unlawful purpose. 12 b. As used in paragraph “a” , “credible information” means 13 any of the following: 14 (1) An affidavit of unauthorized use as provided in section 15 499.50. 16 (2) Information provided to the secretary of state by 17 another government agency. 18 (3) Information collected by the secretary of state from a 19 credible third-party data set. 20 2. The secretary of state shall serve such interrogatories 21 on the association that is the subject of the interrogatories 22 by mail at the address of the registered agent that appears on 23 the secretary of state’s records at the time the information 24 required by subsection 1 is received, or if the association 25 has no registered agent, at the association’s principal office 26 address shown on the association’s most recent biennial report 27 filed with the secretary of state. 28 3. The interrogatories must be answered by a person with 29 the authority to answer on behalf of the association that 30 is the subject of the interrogatories. Each interrogatory 31 must be answered in writing separately and in a manner that 32 is responsive to the interrogatory. The declaration on the 33 completed interrogatories form must be signed by a person with 34 the authority to sign on behalf of the association. 35 -21- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 21/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ 4. To be considered responsive, the completed and signed 1 interrogatories form must be received by the secretary of state 2 by mail or in-person delivery within twenty-one calendar days 3 after the form was mailed. 4 5. A response to any interrogatory that indicates to the 5 secretary of state that the association violated any provision 6 of this chapter constitutes the association’s concession to 7 such violation. 8 6. A failure to respond to any interrogatory within the 9 allotted time constitutes the association’s concession that the 10 association violated a provision or provisions of this chapter 11 that are the subjects of the interrogatories. 12 7. If the secretary of state receives a response to each 13 interrogatory that indicates to the secretary of state that the 14 association has not violated any provision of this chapter, the 15 secretary of state shall take no action. 16 8. The secretary of state shall adopt rules pursuant to 17 chapter 17A necessary or desirable to administer this section. 18 Sec. 29. Section 499.76, Code 2026, is amended by adding the 19 following new subsection: 20 NEW SUBSECTION . 5. The association concedes that the 21 association has violated a provision or provisions of this 22 chapter that are the subjects of the interrogatories served on 23 the association pursuant to section 599.51. 24 Sec. 30. Section 499.77, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2026, are 25 amended to read as follows: 26 1. If the secretary of state determines that one or more 27 grounds exist under section 499.76 , subsections 1 through 4, 28 for dissolving an association, the secretary of state shall 29 serve the association by ordinary mail with written notice of 30 the secretary of state’s determination pursuant to section 31 499.75 . 32 2. If Except as specified in subsection 5, if the 33 association does not correct each ground for dissolution or 34 demonstrate to the reasonable satisfaction of the secretary of 35 -22- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 22/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ state that each ground determined by the secretary of state 1 does not exist within sixty days after service of the notice is 2 perfected pursuant to section 499.75 , the secretary of state 3 shall administratively dissolve the association by signing a 4 certificate of dissolution that recites the ground or grounds 5 for dissolution and its effective date. The secretary of state 6 shall file the original of the certificate and serve a copy on 7 the association pursuant to section 499.75 . 8 Sec. 31. Section 499.77, Code 2026, is amended by adding the 9 following new subsection: 10 NEW SUBSECTION . 5. If the association concedes that 11 it has violated a provision or provisions of this chapter 12 that are the subjects of the interrogatories served on the 13 association pursuant to section 499.51, the secretary of state 14 may immediately administratively dissolve the association by 15 signing a certificate of dissolution that recites the ground or 16 grounds for dissolution and its effective date. The secretary 17 of state shall file the original of the certificate and serve a 18 copy on the association under section 499.75. 19 DIVISION VI 20 MULTIPLE HOUSING COOPERATIVES 21 Sec. 32. Section 499A.1, Code 2026, is amended by adding the 22 following new subsection: 23 NEW SUBSECTION . 3. a. The secretary of state may require a 24 document to be delivered by mail or in person if the secretary 25 of state receives credible information that the document is 26 being submitted for filing fraudulently or may be used to 27 accomplish a fraudulent, criminal, or unlawful purpose. 28 b. As used in paragraph “a” , “credible information” means 29 any of the following: 30 (1) An affidavit of unauthorized use. The secretary of 31 state shall accept and review an affidavit of unauthorized use 32 completed and submitted to the secretary of state under this 33 section in the same manner as the secretary of state accepts 34 and reviews a submitted affidavit of unauthorized use under 35 -23- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 23/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ section 499.50. 1 (2) Information provided to the secretary of state by 2 another government agency. 3 (3) Information collected by the secretary of state from a 4 credible third-party data set. 5 DIVISION VII 6 CLOSE COOPERATIVES 7 Sec. 33. Section 501.105, Code 2026, is amended by adding 8 the following new subsection: 9 NEW SUBSECTION . 7. a. The secretary of state may require a 10 document to be delivered by mail or in person if the secretary 11 of state receives credible information that the document is 12 being submitted for filing fraudulently or may be used to 13 accomplish a fraudulent, criminal, or unlawful purpose. 14 b. As used in paragraph “a” , “credible information” means 15 any of the following: 16 (1) An affidavit of unauthorized use as provided in section 17 501.713A. 18 (2) Information provided to the secretary of state by 19 another government agency. 20 (3) Information collected by the secretary of state from a 21 credible third-party data set. 22 Sec. 34. NEW SECTION . 501.713A Statement of removal —— 23 removal of information not authorized to be provided. 24 1. a. A person whose name, street address, mailing address, 25 or email address has, without that person’s authorization, been 26 provided to the secretary of state as that of the registered 27 agent or of the principal office in a cooperative filing may 28 deliver to the secretary of state a notarized, sworn affidavit 29 of unauthorized use that does all of the following: 30 (1) Identifies the cooperative registration by name and 31 business number. 32 (2) Indicates the affiant’s mailing address. 33 (3) States that neither the affiant nor any agent of the 34 affiant has authorized the filing identifying the affiant as 35 -24- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 24/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ the registered agent, providing the affiant’s street address 1 or mailing address as an address of the registered agent or 2 principal office, or providing the affiant’s email address as 3 that of the registered agent. 4 b. The affiant shall specify in the affidavit of 5 unauthorized use the information that was not authorized to be 6 provided. 7 c. The secretary of state may reject an affidavit of 8 unauthorized use that is incomplete or that the secretary of 9 state believes was delivered to the secretary of state with the 10 intent to harass or defraud the cooperative or the individual 11 named as affiant. 12 d. The office of the secretary of state shall adopt an 13 affidavit of unauthorized use form in accordance with this 14 section. 15 2. The secretary of state shall conduct an administrative 16 review to determine whether the filing was authorized to 17 identify the stated information as applicable. 18 3. If the secretary of state concludes that the filing 19 was not authorized to provide the information identified 20 in the affidavit, the secretary of state shall promptly 21 file a statement of removal with respect to the identified 22 information, and shall promptly cause the identified 23 information to cease to be listed as identified for the 24 cooperative. 25 4. The secretary of state shall not charge a fee for the 26 filing of an affidavit of unauthorized use under subsection 27 1 or a statement of removal under subsection 3. The filing 28 office shall not return any fee paid for filing the cooperative 29 filing identified in the affidavit. 30 5. Upon filing a statement of removal, the secretary of 31 state shall send to the principal office address or registered 32 agent’s mailing address on record for the cooperative, if any, 33 a notice stating that the statement of removal has been filed 34 and is effective immediately. The notice shall also state that 35 -25- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 25/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ the cooperative is without a registered agent or registered 1 agent address, as applicable. 2 6. The secretary of state shall adopt rules pursuant to 3 chapter 17A necessary or desirable to administer this section. 4 Sec. 35. NEW SECTION . 501.713B Interrogatories. 5 1. a. The secretary of state may serve one or more written 6 interrogatories regarding any matter that pertains to a 7 cooperative and that is within the purview of the secretary of 8 state if the secretary of state receives credible information 9 that a cooperative is being used to accomplish a fraudulent, 10 criminal, or unlawful purpose. 11 b. As used in paragraph “a” , “credible information” means 12 any of the following: 13 (1) An affidavit of unauthorized use as provided in section 14 501.713A. 15 (2) Information provided to the secretary of state by 16 another government agency. 17 (3) Information collected by the secretary of state from a 18 credible third-party data set. 19 2. The secretary of state shall serve such interrogatories 20 on the cooperative that is the subject of the interrogatories 21 by mail at the address of the registered agent that appears on 22 the secretary of state’s records at the time the information 23 required by subsection 1 is received, or if the cooperative 24 has no registered agent, at the cooperative’s principal office 25 address shown on the cooperative’s most recent biennial report 26 filed with the secretary of state. 27 3. The interrogatories must be answered by a person with 28 the authority to answer on behalf of the cooperative that 29 is the subject of the interrogatories. Each interrogatory 30 must be answered in writing separately and in a manner that 31 is responsive to the interrogatory. The declaration on the 32 completed interrogatories form must be signed by a person with 33 the authority to sign on behalf of the cooperative. 34 4. To be considered responsive, the completed and signed 35 -26- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 26/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ interrogatories form must be received by the secretary of state 1 by mail or in-person delivery within twenty-one calendar days 2 after the form was mailed. 3 5. A response to any interrogatory that indicates to the 4 secretary of state that the cooperative violated any provision 5 of this chapter constitutes the cooperative concession to such 6 violation. 7 6. A failure to respond to any interrogatory within the 8 allotted time constitutes the cooperative’s concession that the 9 cooperative violated a provision or provisions of this chapter 10 that are the subjects of the interrogatories. 11 7. If the secretary of state receives a response to each 12 interrogatory that indicates to the secretary of state that the 13 cooperative has not violated any provision of this chapter, the 14 secretary shall take no action. 15 8. The secretary of state shall adopt rules pursuant to 16 chapter 17A necessary or desirable to administer this section. 17 Sec. 36. Section 501.811, Code 2026, is amended by adding 18 the following new subsection: 19 NEW SUBSECTION . 5. The cooperative concedes that the 20 cooperative has violated a provision or provisions of this 21 chapter that are the subjects of the interrogatories served on 22 the cooperative pursuant to section 501.713B. 23 Sec. 37. Section 501.812, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2026, 24 are amended to read as follows: 25 1. If the secretary of state determines that one or more 26 grounds exist under section 501.811 , subsections 1 through 4, 27 for dissolving a cooperative, the secretary of state shall 28 serve the cooperative with written notice of the secretary of 29 state’s determination under section 501.106 . 30 2. If Except as provided in subsection 6, if the cooperative 31 does not correct each ground for dissolution or demonstrate 32 to the reasonable satisfaction of the secretary of state 33 that each ground determined by the secretary of state does 34 not exist within sixty days after service of the notice 35 -27- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 27/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ is perfected under section 501.106 , the secretary of state 1 shall administratively dissolve the cooperative by signing a 2 certificate of dissolution that recites the ground or grounds 3 for dissolution and its effective date. The secretary of state 4 shall file the original of the certificate and serve a copy on 5 the cooperative under section 501.106 . 6 Sec. 38. Section 501.812, Code 2026, is amended by adding 7 the following new subsection: 8 NEW SUBSECTION . 6. If the cooperative concedes that the 9 cooperative has violated a provision or provisions of this 10 chapter that are the subjects of the interrogatories served on 11 the cooperative pursuant to section 501.713B, the secretary of 12 state may immediately administratively dissolve the cooperative 13 by signing a certificate of dissolution that recites the 14 ground or grounds for dissolution and its effective date. The 15 secretary of state shall file the original of the certificate 16 and serve a copy on the cooperative under section 501.106. 17 DIVISION VIII 18 501A CLOSE COOPERATIVES 19 Sec. 39. Section 501A.202, subsection 1, Code 2026, is 20 amended to read as follows: 21 1. If Except as provided in subsection 5, if a document 22 delivered to the secretary of state for filing satisfies the 23 requirements of section 501A.201 , the secretary of state shall 24 file it and issue any necessary certificate. 25 Sec. 40. Section 501A.202, Code 2026, is amended by adding 26 the following new subsection: 27 NEW SUBSECTION . 5. a. The secretary of state may require a 28 document to be delivered by mail or in person if the secretary 29 of state receives credible information that the document is 30 being submitted for filing fraudulently or may be used to 31 accomplish a fraudulent, criminal, or unlawful purpose. 32 b. As used in paragraph “a” , “credible information” means 33 any of the following: 34 (1) An affidavit of unauthorized use as provided in section 35 -28- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 28/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ 501A.231A. 1 (2) Information provided to the secretary of state by 2 another government agency. 3 (3) Information collected by the secretary of state from a 4 credible third-party data set. 5 Sec. 41. NEW SECTION . 501A.231A Statement of removal —— 6 removal of information not authorized to be provided. 7 1. a. A person whose name, street address, mailing address, 8 or email address has, without that person’s authorization, been 9 provided to the secretary of state as that of the registered 10 agent or of the principal office in a cooperative filing may 11 deliver to the secretary of state a notarized, sworn affidavit 12 of unauthorized use that does all of the following: 13 (1) Identifies the cooperative registration by name and 14 business number. 15 (2) Indicates the affiant’s mailing address. 16 (3) States that neither the affiant nor any agent of the 17 affiant has authorized the filing identifying the affiant as 18 the registered agent, providing the affiant’s street address 19 or mailing address as an address of the registered agent or 20 principal office, or providing the affiant’s email address as 21 that of the registered agent. 22 b. The affiant shall specify in the affidavit of 23 unauthorized use the information that was not authorized to be 24 provided. 25 c. The secretary of state may reject an affidavit of 26 unauthorized use that is incomplete or that the secretary of 27 state believes was delivered to the secretary of state with the 28 intent to harass or defraud the cooperative or the individual 29 named as affiant. 30 d. The office of the secretary of state shall adopt an 31 affidavit of unauthorized use form in accordance with this 32 section. 33 2. The secretary of state shall conduct an administrative 34 review to determine whether the filing was authorized to 35 -29- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 29/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ identify the stated information as applicable. 1 3. If the secretary of state concludes that the filing 2 was not authorized to provide the information identified 3 in the affidavit, the secretary of state shall promptly 4 file a statement of removal with respect to the identified 5 information, and shall promptly cause the identified 6 information to cease to be listed as identified for the 7 cooperative. 8 4. The secretary of state shall not charge a fee for the 9 filing of an affidavit of unauthorized use under subsection 10 1 or a statement of removal under subsection 3. The filing 11 office shall not return any fee paid for filing the cooperative 12 filing identified in the affidavit. 13 5. Upon filing a statement of removal, the secretary of 14 state shall send to the principal office address or registered 15 agent’s mailing address on record for the cooperative, if any, 16 a notice stating that the statement of removal has been filed 17 and is effective immediately. The notice shall also state that 18 the cooperative is without a registered agent or registered 19 agent address, as applicable. 20 6. The secretary of state shall adopt rules pursuant to 21 chapter 17A necessary or desirable to administer this section. 22 Sec. 42. NEW SECTION . 501A.231B Interrogatories. 23 1. a. The secretary of state may serve one or more written 24 interrogatories regarding any matter that pertains to a 25 cooperative and that is within the purview of the secretary of 26 state if the secretary of state receives credible information 27 that a cooperative is being used to accomplish a fraudulent, 28 criminal, or unlawful purpose. 29 b. As used in paragraph “a” , “credible information” means 30 any of the following: 31 (1) An affidavit of unauthorized use as provided in section 32 501A.231A. 33 (2) Information provided to the secretary of state by 34 another government agency. 35 -30- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 30/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ (3) Information collected by the secretary of state from a 1 credible third-party data set. 2 2. The secretary of state shall serve such interrogatories 3 on the cooperative that is the subject of the interrogatories 4 by mail at the address of the registered agent that appears on 5 the secretary of state’s records at the time the information 6 required by subsection 1 is received, or if the cooperative 7 has no registered agent, at the cooperative’s principal office 8 address shown on the cooperative’s most recent biennial report 9 filed with the secretary of state. 10 3. The interrogatories must be answered by a person with 11 the authority to answer on behalf of the cooperative that 12 is the subject of the interrogatories. Each interrogatory 13 must be answered in writing separately and in a manner that 14 is responsive to the interrogatory. The declaration on the 15 completed interrogatories form must be signed by a person with 16 the authority to sign on behalf of the cooperative. 17 4. To be considered responsive, the completed and signed 18 interrogatories form must be received by the secretary of state 19 by mail or in-person delivery within twenty-one calendar days 20 after the form was mailed. 21 5. A response to any interrogatory that indicates to the 22 secretary of state that the cooperative violated any provision 23 of this chapter constitutes the cooperative concession to such 24 violation. 25 6. A failure to respond to any interrogatory within the 26 allotted time constitutes the cooperative’s concession that the 27 cooperative violated a provision or provisions of this chapter 28 that are the subjects of the interrogatories. 29 7. If the secretary of state receives a response to each 30 interrogatory that indicates to the secretary of state that the 31 cooperative has not violated any provision of this chapter, the 32 secretary of state shall take no action. 33 8. The secretary of state shall adopt rules pursuant to 34 chapter 17A necessary or desirable to administer this section. 35 -31- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 31/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ DIVISION IX 1 NONPROFIT CORPORATIONS 2 Sec. 43. Section 504.116, subsection 1, Code 2026, is 3 amended to read as follows: 4 1. If Except as provided in subsection 5, if a document 5 delivered to the office of the secretary of state for filing 6 satisfies the requirements of section 504.111 , the secretary 7 of state shall file it. 8 Sec. 44. Section 504.116, Code 2026, is amended by adding 9 the following new subsection: 10 NEW SUBSECTION . 5. a. The secretary of state may require a 11 document to be delivered by mail or in person if the secretary 12 of state receives credible information that the document is 13 being submitted for filing fraudulently or may be used to 14 accomplish a fraudulent, criminal, or unlawful purpose. 15 b. As used in paragraph “a” , “credible information” means 16 any of the following: 17 (1) An affidavit of unauthorized use as provided in section 18 504.1621A. 19 (2) Information provided to the secretary of state by 20 another government agency. 21 (3) Information collected by the secretary of state from a 22 credible third-party data set. 23 Sec. 45. Section 504.1421, Code 2026, is amended by adding 24 the following new subsection: 25 NEW SUBSECTION . 5. The corporation concedes that the 26 corporation has violated a provision or provisions of this 27 chapter that are the subjects of the interrogatories served on 28 the corporation pursuant to section 504.1621B. 29 Sec. 46. Section 504.1422, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2026, 30 are amended to read as follows: 31 1. Upon determining that one or more grounds exist under 32 section 504.1421 , subsections 1 through 4, for dissolving a 33 corporation, the secretary of state shall serve the corporation 34 with written notice of that determination under section 35 -32- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 32/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ 504.504 . 1 2. If Except as specified in subsection 6, the corporation 2 does not correct each ground for dissolution or demonstrate 3 to the reasonable satisfaction of the secretary of state 4 that each ground determined by the secretary of state does 5 not exist within at least sixty days after service of notice 6 is perfected under section 504.504 , the secretary of state 7 may administratively dissolve the corporation by signing a 8 certificate of dissolution that recites the ground or grounds 9 for dissolution and its effective date. The secretary of state 10 shall file the original of the certificate of dissolution and 11 serve a copy on the corporation under section 504.504 . 12 Sec. 47. Section 504.1422, Code 2026, is amended by adding 13 the following new subsection: 14 NEW SUBSECTION . 6. If the corporation concedes that the 15 corporation has violated a provision or provisions of this 16 chapter that are the subjects of the interrogatories served on 17 the corporation pursuant to section 504.1621B, the secretary of 18 state may immediately administratively dissolve the corporation 19 by signing a certificate of dissolution that recites the 20 ground or grounds for dissolution and its effective date. The 21 secretary of state shall file the original of the certificate 22 and serve a copy on the corporation under section 504.504. 23 Sec. 48. NEW SECTION . 504.1621A Statement of removal —— 24 removal of information not authorized to be provided. 25 1. a. A person whose name, street address, mailing address, 26 or email address has, without that person’s authorization, been 27 provided to the secretary of state as that of the registered 28 agent or of the principal office in a domestic or foreign 29 corporation filing may deliver to the secretary of state a 30 notarized, sworn affidavit of unauthorized use that does all 31 of the following: 32 (1) Identifies the domestic or foreign corporation 33 registration by name and business number. 34 (2) Indicates the affiant’s mailing address. 35 -33- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 33/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ (3) States that neither the affiant nor any agent of the 1 affiant has authorized the filing identifying the affiant as 2 the registered agent, providing the affiant’s street address 3 or mailing address as an address of the registered agent or 4 principal office, or providing the affiant’s email address as 5 that of the registered agent. 6 b. The affiant shall specify in the affidavit of 7 unauthorized use the information that was not authorized to be 8 provided. 9 c. The secretary of state may reject an affidavit of 10 unauthorized use that is incomplete or that the secretary of 11 state believes was delivered to the secretary of state with the 12 intent to harass or defraud the domestic or foreign corporation 13 or the individual named as affiant. 14 d. The office of the secretary of state shall adopt an 15 affidavit of unauthorized use form in accordance with this 16 section. 17 2. The secretary of state shall conduct an administrative 18 review to determine whether the filing was authorized to 19 identify the stated information as applicable. 20 3. If the secretary of state concludes that the filing 21 was not authorized to provide the information identified 22 in the affidavit, the secretary of state shall promptly 23 file a statement of removal with respect to the identified 24 information, and shall promptly cause the identified 25 information to cease to be listed as identified for the 26 domestic or foreign corporation. 27 4. The secretary of state shall not charge a fee for the 28 filing of an affidavit of unauthorized use under subsection 29 1 or a statement of removal under subsection 3. The filing 30 office shall not return any fee paid for filing the domestic or 31 foreign corporation filing identified in the affidavit. 32 5. Upon filing a statement of removal, the secretary of 33 state shall send to the principal office address or registered 34 agent’s mailing address on record for the domestic or foreign 35 -34- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 34/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ corporation, if any, a notice stating that the statement of 1 removal has been filed and is effective immediately. The 2 notice shall also state that the corporation is without a 3 registered agent or registered agent address, as applicable. 4 6. The secretary of state shall adopt rules pursuant to 5 chapter 17A necessary or desirable to administer this section. 6 Sec. 49. NEW SECTION . 504.1621B Interrogatories. 7 1. a. The secretary of state may serve one or more 8 written interrogatories regarding any matter that pertains 9 to a domestic or foreign corporation and that is within the 10 purview of the secretary of state if the secretary of state 11 receives credible information that a corporation is being used 12 to accomplish a fraudulent, criminal, or unlawful purpose. 13 b. As used in paragraph “a” , “credible information” means 14 any of the following: 15 (1) An affidavit of unauthorized use as provided in section 16 504.1621A. 17 (2) Information provided to the secretary of state by 18 another government agency. 19 (3) Information collected by the secretary of state from a 20 credible third-party data set. 21 2. The secretary of state shall serve such interrogatories 22 on the domestic or foreign corporation that is the subject of 23 the interrogatories by mail at the address of the registered 24 agent that appears on the secretary of state’s records 25 at the time the information required by subsection 1 is 26 received, or if the corporation has no registered agent, 27 at the corporation’s principal office address shown on the 28 corporation’s most recent biennial report filed with the 29 secretary of state. 30 3. The interrogatories must be answered by a person with 31 the authority to answer on behalf of the domestic or foreign 32 corporation that is the subject of the interrogatories. Each 33 interrogatory must be answered in writing separately and in 34 a manner that is responsive to the interrogatories. The 35 -35- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 35/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ declaration on the completed interrogatories form must be 1 signed by a person with the authority to sign on behalf of the 2 corporation. 3 4. To be considered responsive, the completed and signed 4 interrogatories form must be received by the secretary of state 5 by mail or in-person delivery within twenty-one calendar days 6 after the form was mailed. 7 5. A response to any interrogatory that indicates to the 8 secretary of state that the domestic or foreign corporation 9 violated any provision of this chapter constitutes the 10 corporation’s concession to such violation. 11 6. A failure to respond to any interrogatory within the 12 allotted time constitutes the domestic or foreign corporation’s 13 concession that the corporation violated a provision or 14 provisions of this chapter that are the subjects of the 15 interrogatories. 16 7. If the secretary of state receives a response to each 17 interrogatory that indicates to the secretary of state that the 18 domestic or foreign corporation has not violated any provision 19 of this chapter, the secretary of state shall take no action. 20 8. The secretary of state shall adopt rules pursuant to 21 chapter 17A necessary or desirable to administer this section. 22 Sec. 50. DIRECTIONS TO CODE EDITOR. The Code editor shall 23 organize sections 504.1621 through 504.1630 as a new part of 24 chapter 504, subchapter XVI. 25 EXPLANATION 26 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 27 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 28 BACKGROUND. This bill amends or enacts provisions relating 29 to different types of business entities existing under the 30 jurisdiction of the secretary of state (secretary), and 31 specifically the secretary’s filing office. A business 32 entity is composed of one or more persons holding a legal 33 interest in a for-profit business entity, cooperative interest 34 in a cooperative association, or beneficial interest in a 35 -36- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 36/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ nonprofit business entity, with the interest holders pooling 1 capital, and being shielded from personal liability from the 2 acts or omissions of the business entity. Specifically, the 3 bill provides for business entities formed in this state 4 (domestic) or formed outside this state and authorized to do or 5 transact business in this state (foreign) as provided in their 6 respective governing Code chapters. These business entities 7 include partnerships (Code chapter 486A), including limited 8 liability partnerships; limited partnerships (Code chapter 9 488); limited liability companies (Code chapter 489); business 10 corporations (Code chapter 490); traditional cooperative 11 associations (Code chapter 499); housing cooperatives (Code 12 chapter 499A); closed cooperatives (Code chapter 501); 13 cooperative associations (Code chapter 501A); and nonprofit 14 corporations (Code chapter 504). Generally, to be recognized 15 as a business entity, the entity must comply with a number of 16 requirements as set forth in its governing Code chapter. It 17 must file a number of specified documents or records relating 18 to the organization or management of the entity, including a 19 document or record establishing its existence (e.g., for a 20 domestic business corporation, articles of incorporation and 21 for a foreign business corporation, a foreign registration 22 statement). A business entity must maintain a registered agent 23 in the state who may accept service of process. The business 24 entity may also be subject to administrative dissolution 25 proceedings by the secretary under certain circumstances (e.g., 26 a failure to pay taxes, a failure to deliver a biennial report, 27 or a failure to retain a registered agent). 28 BILL’S PROVISIONS —— GENERAL. The bill amends provisions 29 governing business entities in two ways: (1) by providing 30 for the removal of false information in a filing, and (2) by 31 providing for the administrative dissolution of the business 32 entity based on the responses to interrogatories served on 33 the business entity indicating the business entity’s wrongful 34 conduct. 35 -37- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 37/ 38
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ BILL’S PROVISIONS —— STATEMENT OF REMOVAL. The bill 1 authorizes the secretary to file a statement of removal 2 (statement) which removes information from a filing. The 3 secretary files the statement based on a review of an affidavit 4 of unauthorized use submitted by a person (affiant) swearing 5 that personal information regarding the affiant was wrongfully 6 included in the filing, including by identifying the affiant 7 as the business entity’s registered agent, providing the 8 affiant’s street address, mailing address, or email address as 9 the address of the registered agent or the business entity’s 10 principal office. Upon filing a statement of removal, the 11 secretary must send a notice to the business entity informing 12 the business entity of the secretary’s decision that the 13 statement is immediately effective. 14 BILL’S PROVISIONS —— INTERROGATORIES. The bill authorizes 15 the secretary to commence administrative dissolution 16 proceedings against a business entity based on a determination 17 by the secretary that the business entity is being used to 18 commit a fraudulent, criminal, or unlawful purpose. The 19 secretary’s determination is based on a review of responses to 20 interrogatories served by the secretary on the business entity. 21 The secretary serves the interrogatories based on credible 22 information which includes an affidavit of unauthorized use, 23 information provided by a government agency, or information 24 collected by the secretary from a credible third-party data 25 set. To be considered responsive, a completed and signed 26 interrogatories form must be received by the secretary within 27 21 calendar days after the form was mailed. 28 -38- LSB 5534XD (5) 91 da/jh 38/ 38