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510 East 12th Street, Suite 1A ∙ Des Moines, Iowa 50319 ∙ (515) 281-4028 ∙ ethics.iowa.gov ZACHARY S. GOODRICH Executive Director and Legal Counsel BOARD MEMBERS: James Albert, Chair Elaine Olson, Vice Chair Jonathan Roos Leah Rodenberg Daniel Jessop IOWA ETHICS AND CAMPAIGN DISCLOSURE BOARD An Independent Agency of the Executive Branch The Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board is the state agency responsible for enforcing Iowa’s campaign laws. This memo is a brief overview of Iowa’s campaign finance laws. Please visit the Board’s website or contact the Board’s staff for more information. 1. Website. The Board's website has detailed campaign finance information. Go to ethics.iowa.gov and click on Campaigns on the menu bar and then select your committee type. 2. Contact information: School, City, and County Candidate Auditor County Party & PAC Auditor Tim Annee Jason Hacker [EMAIL REDACTED] [EMAIL REDACTED] (515) 281-4104 (515) 281-4411 3. Registering a Committee. You must register a campaign committee within 10 days of receiving contributions, making expenditures, or incurring debts in excess of $1,000 (including a candidate’s personal funds). A committee is registered by electronically filing a statement of organization using the Board’s web reporting system. The system can be found by clicking on Web Reporting at the top right hand corner of the Board’s website. If you have not crossed the $1,000 threshold but want to use a committee name for attribution purposes (see #6 below), you can file Form DR-SFA prior to distributing political material. 4. Separate Bank Account. A registered committee is required to keep its funds in a separate account unless it’s a candidate’s committee and all of its contributions are from the candidate. A candidate’s committee must maintain its funds in a financial institution in Iowa. PACs and parties shall either have an Iowa resident as treasurer or maintain all of its funds in a financial institution located in Iowa. 5. Prohibited Contributors. You may not accept contributions from corporations (including non-profit corporations), insurance companies, banks or credit unions. This prohibition does not apply to ballot issue PACs. 6. Attribution Statements. You must include an attribution statement on most political materials (see Iowa Code section 68A.405 and rule 351—4.38 for details). The statement must say "paid for by" and the name of the registered committee, or the name and address of the person or persons responsible for the material if there is no registered committee. A candidate or group under the $1,000 threshold has the option to register a committee name for attributions statement purposes by filing a Form DR-SFA if they do not wish to include their personal addresses on the campaign materials. 7. Campaign Signs. Campaign signs are prohibited on property owned, leased or occupied by a prohibited contributor (see #5 above) unless the signs are for a ballot issue. Campaign signs are also prohibited on public property, including the right-of-way. See Iowa Code section 68A.406 for more details. 8. Campaign Report Due Dates. Once you have organized your committee, you must start and continue filing reports until you dissolve your committee (even if you have no financial activity during a reporting period). Penalties are assessed for late reports. All reports must be filed electronically via the Board’s Web Reporting System. Reports are due by 4:30 pm on the date the report is due. ---PAGE BREAK--- 1 Some cities in Iowa have primary elections. If you are running for city office in one of these cities, you are required to file reports due 5 days before the primary and general elections. In some city elections, a runoff election is required. If you are in a runoff election, you are required to file an additional report 5 days before the runoff. a. County Candidates, County PACs and County Parties Election year: Report due date Covered Period May 19 January 1 through May 14 July 19 May 15 through July 14 October 19 July 15 through October 14 January 19 (next calendar year) October 15 through December 31 Non-election year: Report due date Covered Period January 19 (next calendar year) January 1 through December 31 b. City Candidates, City PACs, School Board Candidates, School Board PACs Election year: Report due date Covered Period 5 days prior to the election(s)1 date of initial activity or previous report through 10 days prior to election January 19 (next calendar year) 9 days prior to election through December 31 Non-election year: Report due date Covered Period January 19 (next calendar year) January 1 through December 31 c. Ballot Issue Committees Election year: Report due date Covered Period 5 days prior to the election(s) date of initial activity or previous report through 10 days prior to election May 19 previous report through May 14 July 19 previous report through July 14 October 19 previous report through October 14 January 19 (next calendar year) previous report through December 31 Non-election year: Report due date Covered Period January 19 (next calendar year) January 1 through December 31 d. Election Year Defined. The year in which the name of the candidate or ballot issue appears on the ballot. Election year for county PACs and parties is every even year. Election year for city PACs and school board PACs is every odd year. The above information is an overview and not a complete list of all the campaign laws which govern campaign/political activities. We strongly encourage you to familiarize yourself with Iowa’s campaign laws and regulations to minimize the potential of committing a violation. Violations of Iowa’s campaign laws may result in civil and criminal penalties. We are here to serve as a resource for you to ensure your activities are compliant with Iowa’s campaign laws. If you have questions contact our office by emailing us at [EMAIL REDACTED]