Bill Text: IA HSB50 | 2019-2020 | 88th General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to the payment of dependent care expenses from campaign funds and making penalties applicable.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (N/A - Dead) 2019-01-24 - Subcommittee: Sexton, Deyoe and Anderson. H.J. 152. [HSB50 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2019-HSB50-Introduced.html
House Study Bill 50 - Introduced SENATE/HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED ETHICS AND CAMPAIGN DISCLOSURE BOARD BILL) A BILL FOR An Act relating to the payment of dependent care expenses from 1 campaign funds and making penalties applicable. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 1235DP (4) 88 ss/jh
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ Section 1. NEW SECTION . 68A.303A Dependent care expenses. 1 1. In addition to the uses permitted under sections 68A.302 2 and 68A.303, a candidate or candidate’s committee may use 3 campaign funds to pay for expenses related to the care of any 4 dependent of the candidate if all of the following conditions 5 are met: 6 a. The expense is incurred as a direct result of campaign 7 activity. 8 b. The candidate would not have needed the dependent care 9 but for the candidate’s candidacy for office. 10 c. The candidate could not participate in the campaign 11 activity without dependent care. 12 d. The payment to the dependent care provider is reasonable 13 and customary for the services rendered. 14 e. The dependent care provider is not the spouse or 15 dependent child of the candidate. 16 2. A candidate using campaign funds for dependent care 17 expenses shall keep a log detailing the date, campaign purpose, 18 length of time of care, name of dependent care provider, and 19 cost for each dependent care expense paid or owed by the 20 campaign. Such a log shall be provided to the board upon 21 request. Upon receipt of such a log, the board shall determine 22 whether the expenditure constitutes a legitimate campaign 23 expense. 24 3. For purposes of this section, “dependent” means the same 25 as defined in section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code. 26 EXPLANATION 27 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 28 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 29 This bill relates to the payment for dependent care with 30 campaign funds. The bill permits a candidate to pay for 31 dependent care expenses using campaign funds if the expense 32 is incurred as a direct result of campaign activity, the 33 candidate would not have needed the dependent care but for the 34 candidate’s candidacy, the candidate could not participate in 35 -1- LSB 1235DP (4) 88 ss/jh 1/ 2
S.F. _____ H.F. _____ the campaign activity without dependent care, the payment to 1 the dependent care provider is reasonable, and the dependent 2 care provider is not the spouse or dependent child of the 3 candidate. The bill requires the candidate to keep logs 4 relating to payment for any such services, which shall be 5 provided to the Iowa ethics and campaign disclosure board upon 6 request. The bill allows the board to determine whether a 7 dependent care expenditure constitutes a legitimate campaign 8 expense. 9 A person who violates a provision of Code chapter 68A 10 is subject to civil penalties imposed by the Iowa ethics 11 and campaign disclosure board, including remedial action, a 12 reprimand, and a civil penalty up to $2,000. In addition, a 13 person who willfully violates a provision of Code chapter 68A 14 is guilty of a serious misdemeanor. A serious misdemeanor is 15 punishable by confinement for no more than one year and a fine 16 of at least $315 but not more than $1,875. 17 -2- LSB 1235DP (4) 88 ss/jh 2/ 2
feedback