House Study Bill 160 - IntroducedA Bill ForAn Act 1relating to electronic filing requirements for
2statements and reports filed with the ethics and campaign
3disclosure board.
4BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1   Section 1.  Section 68A.201A, subsection 6, Code 2017, is
2amended to read as follows:
   36.  Effective January 1, 2011, the The verified statement
4shall be filed in an electronic format by 4:30 p.m.of the day
5the filing is due.
6   Sec. 2.  Section 68A.401, subsection 1, Code 2017, is amended
7to read as follows:
   81.  All statements and reports required to be filed under
9this chapter shall be filed with the board as provided in this
10section and section 68A.402, subsection 1. The board shall
11post on its internet site all statements and reports filed
12under this chapter. For purposes of this section, the term
13“statement” does not include a bank statement.
   14a.  A state statutory political committee, a county statutory
15political committee, a political committee expressly advocating
16for or against the nomination, election, or defeat of a
17candidate for statewide office or the general assembly
, and a
18candidate’s committee of a candidate for statewide office or
19the general assembly
shall file all statements and reports in
20an electronic format by 4:30 p.m.of the day the filing is due
21and according to rules adopted by the board.
   22b.   Any other candidate or committee involved in a county,
23city, school, or other political subdivision election that
24accepts monetary or in-kind contributions in excess of two
25thousand dollars, or incurs indebtedness in excess of two
26thousand dollars in the aggregate in a calendar year, or makes
27expenditures in excess of two thousand dollars in a calendar
28year to expressly advocate for or against a clearly identified
29candidate or ballot issue shall file all statements and reports
30in an electronic format by 4:30 p.m.of the day the filing is
31due and according to rules adopted by the board. The committee
32shall continue to file subsequent statements and reports in
33an electronic format until being certified as dissolved under
34section 68A.402B.
   35c.   Effective January 1, 2016, any other candidate or
-1-1political committee not described in paragraphs “a” and “b”
2 shall file all statements and reports in an electronic format
3by 4:30 p.m.of the day the filing is due according to rules
4adopted by the board pursuant to chapter 17A.
   5d.    b.  If the board determines that a violation of this
6subsection has occurred, the board may impose any of the
7remedies or penalties provided for under section 68B.32D,
8except that the board shall not refer any complaint or
9supporting information of a violation of this section to the
10attorney general or any county attorney for prosecution.
11   Sec. 3.  Section 68A.402, subsection 1, Code 2017, is amended
12to read as follows:
   131.  Filing methods.  Each committee shall electronically file
14with the board reports disclosing information required under
15this section on forms prescribed by rule. Except as set out
16in section 68A.401, reports shall be filed on or before the
17required due dates by using any of the following methods: mail
18bearing a United States postal service postmark, hand-delivery,
19facsimile transmission, electronic mail attachment, or
20electronic filing as prescribed by rule. Any report that is
21required to be filed five days or less prior to an election
22must be physically received by the board to be considered
23timely filed. For purposes of this section, “physically
24received”
means the report is either electronically filed using
25the board’s electronic filing system or is received by the
26board prior to 4:30 p.m.on the report due date.

27   Sec. 4.  Section 68A.403, Code 2017, is amended to read as
28follows:
   2968A.403  Reports signed and preserved.
   301.  Unless filed in an electronic format, a report or
31statement required to be filed under this chapter shall be
32signed by the person filing the report.
   332.  A copy of every report or statement shall be preserved
34by the person filing it or the person’s successor for at least
35three years following the filing of the report or statement.
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1EXPLANATION
2The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
3the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   4This bill makes changes related to electronic filing
5requirements for statements and reports filed with the Iowa
6ethics and campaign disclosure board (board).
   7The bill makes technical changes to provisions requiring
8state statutory political committees, county statutory
9political committees, political committees, and candidate’s
10committees to file all statements and reports with the board in
11an electronic format. Since January 1, 2016, all candidates
12and committees have been required to file statements and
13reports in an electronic format.
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aw/jh/rj