SF 2204

Senate
File
2204
-
Introduced
SENATE
FILE
2204
BY
COMMITTEE
ON
STATE
GOVERNMENT
(SUCCESSOR
TO
SF
2078)
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
relating
to
campaign
finance,
including
participation
1
in
ballot
issue
campaigns
by
foreign
nationals
and
2
investigations
of
election
misconduct,
and
making
penalties
3
applicable.
4
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
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Section
1.
Section
68A.102,
Code
2026,
is
amended
by
adding
1
the
following
new
subsections:
2
NEW
SUBSECTION
.
12A.
“Directly
or
indirectly”
means
acting
3
either
independently
or
jointly
with,
through,
or
on
behalf
of
4
a
committee
or
other
person.
5
NEW
SUBSECTION
.
14A.
“Foreign
national”
means
any
of
the
6
following:
7
a.
An
individual
who
is
not
a
citizen
or
lawful
permanent
8
resident
of
the
United
States.
9
b.
A
government
or
political
subdivision
of
a
foreign
10
country.
11
c.
A
foreign
political
party.
12
d.
An
entity,
such
as
a
partnership,
association,
13
corporation,
organization,
or
other
combination
of
persons,
14
that
is
organized
under
the
laws
of,
or
has
its
principal
place
15
of
business
in,
a
foreign
country.
16
e.
A
United
States
entity,
such
as
a
partnership,
17
association,
corporation,
or
organization,
that
is
wholly
owned
18
or
majority-owned
by
a
foreign
national,
unless
both
of
the
19
following
apply:
20
(1)
All
contributions
and
expenditures
made
by
the
entity
21
are
derived
entirely
from
funds
generated
by
the
entity’s
22
operations
in
the
United
States.
23
(2)
All
decisions
concerning
contributions
and
expenditures
24
are
made
by
an
individual
who
is
a
citizen
or
lawful
permanent
25
resident
of
the
United
States,
except
that
a
person
who
is
not
26
a
citizen
or
lawful
permanent
resident
of
the
United
States
may
27
set
overall
budget
amounts
for
the
entity.
28
Sec.
2.
Section
68A.203,
subsection
3,
Code
2026,
is
amended
29
by
adding
the
following
new
paragraph:
30
NEW
PARAGRAPH
.
f.
All
affirmations
obtained
pursuant
to
31
subsection
5,
if
applicable.
32
Sec.
3.
Section
68A.203,
Code
2026,
is
amended
by
adding
the
33
following
new
subsection:
34
NEW
SUBSECTION
.
5.
Upon
receipt
of
a
contribution
from
35
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a
donor
by
a
political
committee
expressly
advocating
the
1
passage
or
defeat
of
a
ballot
issue,
the
treasurer
shall
obtain
2
from
the
donor
an
affirmation
that
the
donor
is
not
a
foreign
3
national
and
has
not
knowingly
or
willfully
accepted
funds
in
4
excess
of
one
hundred
thousand
dollars
in
aggregate
from
one
5
or
more
foreign
nationals
within
the
four
years
immediately
6
preceding
the
date
the
contribution
is
made.
7
Sec.
4.
Section
68A.402,
subsection
8,
Code
2026,
is
8
amended
by
adding
the
following
new
paragraphs
after
unnumbered
9
paragraph
1:
10
NEW
PARAGRAPH
.
a.
A
report
filed
by
a
political
committee
11
pursuant
to
this
subsection
shall
include
an
affirmation
by
12
the
treasurer
of
the
political
committee
that
the
political
13
committee
has
not
knowingly
or
willfully
received,
solicited,
14
or
accepted
a
contribution
from
a
foreign
national.
15
NEW
PARAGRAPH
.
b.
A
report
filed
by
a
political
committee
16
pursuant
to
this
subsection
shall
include
an
affirmation
by
the
17
treasurer
of
the
political
committee
that
no
donor
associated
18
with
a
contribution
covered
by
the
report
is
a
foreign
national
19
and
that
no
donor
associated
with
a
contribution
covered
by
20
the
report
has
knowingly
or
willfully
received,
solicited,
or
21
accepted,
whether
directly
or
indirectly,
funds
in
excess
of
22
one
hundred
thousand
dollars
in
aggregate
from
one
or
more
23
foreign
nationals
within
the
four
years
immediately
preceding
24
the
date
the
contribution
was
made
to
the
political
committee.
25
Sec.
5.
Section
68A.404,
subsection
2,
paragraph
c,
Code
26
2026,
is
amended
to
read
as
follows:
27
c.
A
foreign
national
shall
not
make
an
independent
28
expenditure,
directly
or
indirectly,
that
advocates
the
29
nomination,
election,
or
defeat
of
any
candidate
or
the
30
passage
or
defeat
of
any
ballot
issue.
As
used
in
this
31
section
,
“foreign
national”
means
a
person
who
is
not
a
citizen
32
of
the
United
States
and
who
is
not
lawfully
admitted
for
33
permanent
residence.
“Foreign
national”
includes
a
foreign
34
principal,
such
as
a
government
of
a
foreign
country
or
a
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foreign
political
party,
partnership,
association,
corporation,
1
organization,
or
other
combination
of
persons
that
has
its
2
primary
place
of
business
in
or
is
organized
under
the
laws
of
3
a
foreign
country.
“Foreign
national”
does
not
include
a
person
4
who
is
a
citizen
of
the
United
States
or
who
is
a
national
of
5
the
United
States.
6
Sec.
6.
Section
68A.404,
subsection
5,
Code
2026,
is
amended
7
by
adding
the
following
new
paragraph:
8
NEW
PARAGRAPH
.
i.
For
an
independent
expenditure
statement
9
for
a
communication
which
expressly
advocates
the
passage
or
10
defeat
of
a
ballot
issue,
an
affirmation
that
the
person
making
11
the
independent
expenditure
has
not
knowingly
or
willfully
12
accepted
funds
in
excess
of
one
hundred
thousand
dollars
in
13
aggregate
from
one
or
more
foreign
nationals
within
the
four
14
years
immediately
preceding
the
date
the
expenditure
was
made
15
and
will
not
do
so
through
the
date
of
the
election
in
which
the
16
ballot
issue
will
appear
on
the
ballot.
17
Sec.
7.
NEW
SECTION
.
68A.507
Influence
by
foreign
national
18
prohibited
——
investigation.
19
1.
A
foreign
national
shall
not
direct,
dictate,
control,
20
or
directly
or
indirectly
participate
in
the
decision-making
21
process
of
a
person
regarding
the
person’s
activities
to
22
influence
a
ballot
issue,
including
decisions
concerning
the
23
making
of
contributions
or
expenditures
to
influence
a
ballot
24
issue.
25
2.
A
foreign
national
shall
not
solicit,
directly
or
26
indirectly,
the
making
of
a
contribution
or
expenditure
by
27
another
person
to
influence
a
ballot
issue.
28
3.
a.
An
investigation
of
a
violation
of
this
section,
29
section
68A.203,
subsection
5,
section
68A.402,
subsection
30
8,
section
68A.404,
subsection
2,
paragraph
“c”
,
or
section
31
68A.404,
subsection
5,
paragraph
“i”
,
or
an
investigation
32
undertaken
pursuant
to
a
court
order
issued
following
a
33
complaint
submitted
under
section
68B.32B,
shall,
to
the
34
greatest
extent
possible,
shield
the
identity
of
lawful
donors
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to
a
tax-exempt
organization.
1
b.
A
governmental
entity
or
employee
of
a
governmental
2
entity
engaged
in
the
investigation
of
a
violation
of
this
3
chapter
shall
not
collect,
or
require
the
submission
of,
4
information
concerning
the
identity
of
a
donor
to
a
tax-exempt
5
organization
other
than
those
directly
related
to
a
violation
6
of
this
chapter.
7
c.
In
addition
to
the
penalty
provided
in
section
68A.701,
8
a
person
who
knowingly
or
willfully
violates
this
section,
9
section
68A.203,
subsection
5,
section
68A.402,
subsection
10
8,
section
68A.404,
subsection
2,
paragraph
“c”
,
or
section
11
68A.404,
subsection
5,
paragraph
“i”
,
shall
be
subject
to
a
12
civil
penalty
of
ten
thousand
dollars
or
three
times
the
amount
13
of
the
contribution
or
expenditure,
whichever
is
greater,
to
14
be
collected
by
the
board
and
deposited
in
the
general
fund
of
15
the
state.
16
4.
A
governmental
entity
or
employee
of
a
governmental
17
entity
shall
not
disclose
information
concerning
the
identity
18
of
a
donor
to
a
tax-exempt
organization
to
the
public
or
19
another
governmental
entity,
other
than
to
another
governmental
20
entity
directly
involved
in
an
investigation
described
in
21
subsection
3.
This
subsection
does
not
apply
to
information
22
concerning
the
identity
of
a
donor
after
a
final
determination
23
has
been
made
that
the
donor
violated
a
provision
of
this
24
chapter.
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
This
bill
relates
to
campaign
finance.
The
bill
defines
29
the
terms
“directly
or
indirectly”
and
“foreign
national”
for
30
purposes
of
the
bill
and
for
independent
campaign
expenditures
31
and
transfers
of
campaign
funds
under
current
law.
32
The
bill
requires
the
treasurer
of
a
political
committee
33
expressly
advocating
the
passage
or
defeat
of
a
ballot
34
issue
that
receives
a
contribution
from
a
donor
to
obtain
an
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affirmation
that
the
donor
is
not
a
foreign
national
and
has
1
not
knowingly
or
willfully
accepted
funds
in
excess
of
$100,000
2
in
aggregate
from
one
or
more
foreign
nationals
within
the
four
3
years
immediately
preceding
the
date
the
contribution
is
made.
4
The
bill
also
requires
a
political
committee
expressly
5
advocating
the
passage
or
defeat
of
a
ballot
issue
to
include
6
with
its
required
reports
to
the
Iowa
ethics
and
campaign
7
disclosure
board
affirmations
that
the
political
committee
has
8
not
knowingly
or
willfully
received,
solicited,
or
accepted
9
contributions
from
a
foreign
national,
or
from
a
donor
that
has
10
knowingly
or
willfully
accepted
funds
in
excess
of
$100,000
11
in
aggregate
from
one
or
more
foreign
nationals
within
the
12
four
years
immediately
preceding
the
date
the
contribution
is
13
made.
A
person
required
to
file
an
independent
expenditure
14
report
must
also
affirm
that
the
person
will
not
knowingly
or
15
willfully
accept
funds
in
excess
of
$100,000
in
aggregate
from
16
one
or
more
foreign
nationals
through
the
date
of
the
election
17
in
which
the
ballot
issue
will
appear
on
the
ballot.
18
The
bill
prohibits
a
foreign
national
from
directly
or
19
indirectly
participating
in
the
decision-making
process
of
a
20
person
regarding
the
person’s
activities
to
influence
a
ballot
21
issue.
The
bill
requires
a
governmental
entity
conducting
an
22
investigation
related
to
certain
forms
of
election
misconduct
23
to,
to
the
greatest
extent
possible,
shield
the
identity
of
24
lawful
donors
to
tax-exempt
organizations.
The
bill
prohibits
25
a
governmental
entity
from
collecting
information
regarding
the
26
identity
of
a
donor
to
a
tax-exempt
organization
that
is
not
27
directly
related
to
a
violation
of
Code
chapter
68A
(campaign
28
finance).
The
bill
also
prohibits
a
governmental
entity
from
29
disclosing
information
concerning
the
identity
of
a
donor
to
a
30
tax-exempt
organization
to
the
public
or
another
governmental
31
entity,
other
than
to
another
governmental
entity
directly
32
involved
in
an
investigation,
unless
a
final
determination
has
33
been
made
that
the
donor
violated
a
provision
of
Code
chapter
34
68A.
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A
person
who
knowingly
or
willfully
violates
a
provision
1
of
the
bill
shall
be
subject
to
a
civil
penalty
of
$10,000
or
2
three
times
the
amount
of
the
contribution
or
expenditure,
3
whichever
is
greater,
to
be
collected
by
the
Iowa
ethics
4
and
campaign
disclosure
board
and
deposited
in
the
general
5
fund
of
the
state.
By
operation
of
law,
a
person
who
6
willfully
violates
a
provision
of
the
bill
is
also
guilty
of
a
7
serious
misdemeanor.
A
serious
misdemeanor
is
punishable
by
8
confinement
for
no
more
than
one
year
and
a
fine
of
at
least
9
$430
but
not
more
than
$2,560.
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