Bill Text: IA HF2354 | 2019-2020 | 88th General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to permissible honoraria from restricted donors to public officials and public employees, requiring reporting to the Iowa ethics and campaign disclosure board, and making penalties applicable.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-02-13 - Subcommittee Meeting: 02/17/2020 1:45PM House Lounge. [HF2354 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2019-HF2354-Introduced.html
House File 2354 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2354 BY JACOBSEN A BILL FOR An Act relating to permissible honoraria from restricted 1 donors to public officials and public employees, requiring 2 reporting to the Iowa ethics and campaign disclosure board, 3 and making penalties applicable. 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 5 TLSB 6083HH (1) 88 jh/tm
H.F. 2354 Section 1. Section 68B.23, subsection 2, paragraph a, Code 1 2020, is amended to read as follows: 2 a. The honorarium consists of payment , not to exceed four 3 hundred ninety-nine dollars per day, of actual expenses of a 4 donee for registration, food, beverages, travel, and lodging 5 paid in return for participation in a panel or speaking 6 engagement at a meeting when the expenses relate directly to 7 the day or days on which the recipient has participation or 8 presentation responsibilities. 9 Sec. 2. Section 68B.23, Code 2020, is amended by adding the 10 following new subsection: 11 NEW SUBSECTION . 3. A restricted donor that provides and a 12 public official or public employee that accepts an honorarium 13 pursuant to subsection 2 shall each file a report with the 14 board describing the honorarium within twenty days of providing 15 or accepting the honorarium. Each report must describe 16 and state an aggregate value of all payments, services, and 17 property provided or accepted. The board shall make all 18 reports submitted under this subsection available on the 19 internet site. 20 EXPLANATION 21 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 22 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 23 This bill relates to permissible honoraria from restricted 24 donors to public officials and public employees. 25 Under Code chapter 68B (government ethics and lobbying), 26 a public official or public employee is prohibited from 27 seeking or accepting an honorarium from a restricted donor, 28 subject to certain exceptions. One such exception permits a 29 public official or public employee to accept an honorarium if 30 the honorarium consists of payment for the public official 31 or public employee’s actual expenses for registration, 32 food, beverages, travel, and lodging paid in return for 33 participation in a panel or speaking engagement when the 34 expenses relate directly to the day or days on which the public 35 -1- LSB 6083HH (1) 88 jh/tm 1/ 3
H.F. 2354 official or public employee has participation or presentation 1 responsibilities. The bill provides that a public official or 2 public employee may not accept an honorarium that is payment 3 for actual expenses in exchange for a panel or speaking 4 engagement if the payment exceeds $499 per day. 5 Current law provides two further exceptions to the 6 prohibition on a public official or public employee from 7 accepting an honorarium. First, if the honorarium consists 8 of a nonmonetary item that the public official or public 9 employee donates within 30 days to a public body, a bona fide 10 educational or charitable organization, or the department of 11 administrative services. Second, if the honorarium consists 12 of a payment made to a public official or public employee for 13 services rendered as part of a bona fide private business in 14 which the public official or public employee is engaged if the 15 payment is commensurate with the actual services rendered and 16 is not being made because of the person’s status as a public 17 official or public employee. 18 The bill requires a public official or public employee who 19 accepts an honorarium under any of these exceptions to, within 20 20 days of doing so, file a report with the ethics and campaign 21 disclosure board which describes and states an aggregate 22 value of all payments, services, and property accepted. The 23 bill likewise requires the restricted donor who provided the 24 honorarium to file a report containing the same information 25 with the ethics and campaign disclosure board. The ethics and 26 campaign disclosure board must then make the reports available 27 on the board’s internet site. 28 A knowing and intentional violation of the limitations on 29 accepting an honorarium or failing to file a report required by 30 the bill is a serious misdemeanor. A serious misdemeanor is 31 punishable by confinement for no more than one year and a fine 32 of at least $315 but not more than $1,875. 33 In addition, a person who accepts an honorarium in violation 34 of Code chapter 68B or fails to file a report required by the 35 -2- LSB 6083HH (1) 88 jh/tm 2/ 3
H.F. 2354 bill is subject to civil penalties or disciplinary action 1 issued by the ethics and campaign disclosure board and to 2 disciplinary action taken by the ethics committees of the 3 senate and house of representatives. 4 -3- LSB 6083HH (1) 88 jh/tm 3/ 3
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