Bill Text: IA HSB223 | 2019-2020 | 88th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: A bill for an act restricting public agency disclosure of and access to certain personal information related to tax-exempt organizations, and providing penalties.
Spectrum: Committee Bill
Status: (N/A - Dead) 2019-03-07 - Committee report, recommending amendment and passage. H.J. 468. [HSB223 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2019-HSB223-Introduced.html
House
Study
Bill
223
-
Introduced
HOUSE
FILE
_____
BY
(PROPOSED
COMMITTEE
ON
JUDICIARY
BILL
BY
CHAIRPERSON
HOLT)
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
restricting
public
agency
disclosure
of
and
access
1
to
certain
personal
information
related
to
tax-exempt
2
organizations,
and
providing
penalties.
3
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
4
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Section
1.
Section
22.7,
Code
2019,
is
amended
by
adding
the
1
following
new
subsection:
2
NEW
SUBSECTION
.
74.
Personal
information
as
defined
in
3
section
22A.1.
4
Sec.
2.
NEW
SECTION
.
22A.1
Definitions.
5
1.
“Personal
information”
means
any
list,
record,
6
register,
registry,
roll,
roster,
or
other
compilation
of
7
data
that
directly
or
indirectly
identifies
a
person
as
a
8
member,
supporter,
or
volunteer
of,
or
donor
of
financial
9
or
nonfinancial
support
to,
any
entity
which
is
exempt
from
10
taxation
under
section
501(c)
of
the
federal
Internal
Revenue
11
Code.
“Personal
information”
does
not
include
information
12
reportable
to
the
secretary
of
state
pursuant
to
section
13
504.1613.
14
2.
“Public
agency”
means
all
of
the
following:
15
a.
A
state
or
municipal
governmental
unit,
including
but
16
not
limited
to
the
state
of
Iowa,
a
department,
agency,
office,
17
commission,
board,
or
division
of
the
state.
18
b.
A
political
subdivision
of
the
state,
including
but
not
19
limited
to
a
county,
city,
township,
village,
school
district,
20
or
community
college
merged
area.
21
c.
An
agency,
authority,
council,
board,
or
commission
of
a
22
political
subdivision
of
the
state.
23
d.
A
state
or
local
court,
tribunal,
or
other
judicial
or
24
quasi-judicial
body.
25
Sec.
3.
NEW
SECTION
.
22A.2
Personal
information
protected.
26
1.
A
public
agency
shall
not
do
any
of
the
following:
27
a.
Require
an
entity
which
is
exempt
from
taxation
under
28
section
501(c)
of
the
federal
Internal
Revenue
Code
to
provide
29
the
public
agency
with
personal
information.
30
b.
Release,
publicize,
or
otherwise
disclose
personal
31
information
in
the
possession
of
the
public
agency
without
32
the
express,
written
permission
of
every
member,
supporter,
33
volunteer,
and
donor
of
the
tax-exempt
entity
identified
in
the
34
information
and
the
tax-exempt
entity.
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c.
Request
or
require
a
current
or
prospective
contractor
1
with
the
public
agency
to
provide
the
public
agency
with
a
2
list
of
entities
exempt
from
taxation
under
section
501(c)
of
3
the
federal
Internal
Revenue
Code
to
which
the
contractor
has
4
provided
financial
or
nonfinancial
support.
5
2.
This
section
does
not
prohibit
any
of
the
following:
6
a.
Disclosure
of
personal
information
pursuant
to
a
lawful
7
warrant
issued
by
a
court
of
competent
jurisdiction.
8
b.
Disclosure
of
personal
information
pursuant
to
a
lawful
9
request
for
discovery
if
all
of
the
following
requirements
are
10
met:
11
(1)
The
requestor
demonstrates
a
compelling
need
for
the
12
personal
information
by
clear
and
convincing
evidence.
13
(2)
The
requestor
obtains
a
protective
order
barring
14
disclosure
of
personal
information
to
any
person
not
directly
15
involved
in
the
litigation.
16
Sec.
4.
NEW
SECTION
.
22A.3
Civil
penalties.
17
1.
A
person
alleging
a
violation
of
this
chapter,
section
18
504.1604,
subsection
5,
or
section
504.1605,
subsection
5,
may
19
bring
a
civil
action
for
injunctive
relief,
damages,
or
both.
20
Damages
may
include
either
of
the
following:
21
a.
Not
less
than
two
thousand
five
hundred
dollars
in
22
compensatory
damages
for
injury
and
loss
for
each
violation.
23
b.
For
an
intentional
violation,
not
more
than
three
times
24
the
amount
described
in
paragraph
“a”
for
each
violation.
25
2.
A
court
may,
in
its
discretion,
award
all
or
a
portion
of
26
the
costs
of
litigation,
including
reasonable
attorney
fees
and
27
witness
fees,
to
the
complainant.
28
Sec.
5.
NEW
SECTION
.
22A.4
Criminal
penalties.
29
A
person
who
knowingly
violates
a
provision
of
this
30
chapter,
section
504.1604,
subsection
5,
or
section
504.1605,
31
subsection
5,
is
guilty
of
a
serious
misdemeanor
punishable
by
32
imprisonment
for
not
more
than
ninety
days
or
a
fine
of
not
33
more
than
one
thousand
dollars,
or
both.
34
Sec.
6.
NEW
SECTION
.
22A.5
Campaign
disclosure
Act
not
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affected.
1
This
chapter
shall
not
affect
any
provision
of
chapter
68A.
2
Sec.
7.
Section
504.1604,
Code
2019,
is
amended
by
adding
3
the
following
new
subsection:
4
NEW
SUBSECTION
.
5.
If
the
court
orders
inspection
of
5
records
containing
personal
information
as
defined
in
section
6
22A.1,
such
inspection
shall
be
made
under
seal
from
public
7
disclosure.
A
person
who
violates
this
subsection
is
subject
8
to
civil
penalties
under
section
22A.3.
A
person
who
knowingly
9
violates
this
subsection
is
subject
to
criminal
penalties
under
10
section
22A.4.
11
Sec.
8.
Section
504.1605,
Code
2019,
is
amended
by
adding
12
the
following
new
subsection:
13
NEW
SUBSECTION
.
5.
To
obtain
personal
information
14
as
defined
in
section
22A.1.
A
person
who
violates
this
15
subsection
is
subject
to
civil
penalties
under
section
22A.3.
16
A
person
who
knowingly
violates
this
subsection
is
subject
to
17
criminal
penalties
under
section
22A.4.
18
EXPLANATION
19
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
20
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
21
This
bill
relates
to
certain
personal
information
in
22
the
possession
of
certain
tax-exempt
and
governmental
23
entities.
The
bill
prohibits
a
public
agency,
defined
in
24
the
bill
to
include
any
governmental
entity
of
Iowa
or
a
25
political
subdivision,
from
seeking
the
disclosure
of
personal
26
information
from
an
organization
exempt
from
taxation
under
27
section
501(c)
of
the
federal
Internal
Revenue
Code
that
28
would
directly
or
indirectly
reveal
the
identity
of
a
member,
29
supporter,
volunteer,
or
donor
of
the
organization,
or
from
30
requesting
from
a
current
or
potential
contractor
a
list
of
31
tax-exempt
organizations
that
the
contractor
has
supported.
32
The
bill
also
prohibits
a
public
agency
from
publishing
any
33
such
information
that
the
public
agency
possesses.
34
The
bill
allows
the
disclosure
of
personal
information
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pursuant
to
a
lawful
warrant
or
discovery
request.
However,
1
the
bill
requires
the
proponent
of
such
a
discovery
request
2
to
show
a
compelling
need
for
the
information
by
clear
and
3
convincing
evidence
and
to
obtain
a
protective
order
barring
4
unnecessary
disclosure
of
the
information.
5
The
bill
amends
the
revised
Iowa
nonprofit
corporation
Act
6
to
require
any
inspection
of
corporate
records
containing
7
personal
information
to
be
made
under
seal
from
public
8
disclosure.
The
bill
also
prohibits
corporate
records
from
9
being
used
to
obtain
personal
information.
10
The
bill
exempts
personal
information
from
the
definition
of
11
public
records
under
Code
chapter
22.
12
A
person
who
violates
a
provision
of
the
bill
is
subject
to
13
a
civil
penalty
of
not
less
than
$2,500
per
violation,
and
not
14
more
than
three
times
that
amount
for
an
intentional
violation.
15
The
bill
allows
a
court
to
award
to
a
prevailing
plaintiff
an
16
amount
equal
to
all
or
a
portion
of
the
costs
of
litigation,
17
including
attorney
and
witness
fees.
18
A
person
who
knowingly
violates
a
provision
of
the
bill
is
19
guilty
of
a
serious
misdemeanor
punishable
by
imprisonment
for
20
not
more
than
90
days,
a
fine
of
$1,000,
or
both.
21
The
bill
does
not
affect
any
provision
of
Code
chapter
68A,
22
which
relates
to
campaign
finance.
23
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