68A.405 Attribution statement on published material.

1. a. For purposes of this subsection:

(1) “Individual” includes a candidate for public office who has not filed a statement of organization under section 68A.201.

(2) “Organization” includes an organization established to advocate the passage or defeat of a ballot issue but that has not filed a statement of organization under section 68A.201.

(3) “Published material” means any newspaper, magazine, shopper, outdoor advertising facility, poster, direct mailing, brochure, internet site, campaign sign, or any other form of printed or electronic general public political advertising. “Published material” includes television, video, or motion picture advertising.

b. (1) Except as set out in subsection 2, published material designed to expressly advocate the nomination, election, or defeat of a candidate for public office or the passage or defeat of a ballot issue shall include on the published material an attribution statement disclosing who is responsible for the published material.

(2) The person who is responsible for the published material has the sole responsibility and liability for the attribution statement required by this section.

c. If the person paying for the published material is an individual, the words “paid for by” and the name and address of the person shall appear on the material.

d. If more than one individual is responsible, the words “paid for by”, the names of the individuals, and either the addresses of the individuals or a statement that the addresses of the individuals are on file with the Iowa ethics and campaign disclosure board shall appear on the material.

e. If the person responsible is an organization, the words “paid for by”, the name and address of the organization, and the name of one officer of the organization shall appear on the material.

f. If the person responsible is a corporation, the words “paid for by”, the name and address of the corporation, and the name and title of the corporation’s chief executive officer shall appear on the material.

g. If the person responsible is a committee that has filed a statement of organization pursuant to section 68A.201, the words “paid for by” and the name of the committee shall appear on the material.

h. If the published material is the result of an independent expenditure subject to section 68A.404, the published material shall include a statement that the published material was not authorized by any candidate, candidate’s committee, or ballot issue committee.

2. The requirement to include an attribution statement does not apply to any of the following:

a. The editorials or news articles of a newspaper, magazine, television station, or other print or electronic media that are not paid political advertisements.

b. Small items upon which the inclusion of the statement is impracticable including but not limited to campaign signs as provided in section 68A.406, subsection 3, bumper stickers, pins, buttons, pens, political business cards, and matchbooks.

c. T-shirts, caps, and other articles of clothing.

d. Any published material that is subject to federal regulations regarding an attribution requirement.

e. Any material published by an individual, acting independently, who spends one hundred dollars or less of the individual’s own money to advocate the passage or defeat of a ballot issue.

3. For television, video, or motion picture advertising, the attribution statement shall be displayed on the screen in a clearly readable manner for at least four seconds.

4. The board shall adopt rules relating to the placing of an attribution statement on published materials.

86 Acts, ch 1023, §11; 86 Acts, ch 1246, §620

C87, §56.14

87 Acts, ch 112, §8; 94 Acts, ch 1178, §1; 95 Acts, ch 198, §13; 96 Acts, ch 1079, §2; 99 Acts, ch 136, §9, 17; 2002 Acts, ch 1119, §125; 2003 Acts, ch 40, §9

CS2003, §68A.405

2004 Acts, ch 1114, §4; 2005 Acts, ch 72, §16; 2009 Acts, ch 41, §27; 2010 Acts, ch 1025, §7; 2010 Acts, ch 1119, §4, 7; 2013 Acts, ch 90, §257; 2015 Acts, ch 30, §32

Referred to in §68A.404, 68A.406