Bill Text: IA SSB1036 | 2021-2022 | 89th 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: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-01-27 - Subcommittee recommends amendment and passage. [SSB1036 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2021-SSB1036-Introduced.html
Senate Study Bill 1036 - Introduced SENATE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY BILL BY CHAIRPERSON ZAUN) 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 TLSB 1918XC (1) 89 ss/jh
S.F. _____ Section 1. Section 22.7, Code 2021, 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 or information provided to the attorney general or 14 state auditor pursuant to chapter 504 or 537, or section 15 714.16. 16 2. “Public agency” means all of the following: 17 a. A state or municipal governmental unit, including but 18 not limited to the state of Iowa, a department, agency, office, 19 commission, board, or division of the state. 20 b. A political subdivision of the state, including but not 21 limited to a county, city, township, village, school district, 22 or community college merged area. 23 c. An agency, authority, council, board, or commission of a 24 political subdivision of the state. 25 d. A state or local court, tribunal, or other judicial or 26 quasi-judicial body. 27 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 22A.2 Personal information protected. 28 1. A public agency shall not do any of the following: 29 a. Require an entity which is exempt from taxation under 30 section 501(c) of the federal Internal Revenue Code to provide 31 the public agency with personal information. 32 b. Release, publicize, or otherwise disclose personal 33 information in the possession of the public agency without 34 the express, written permission of every member, supporter, 35 -1- LSB 1918XC (1) 89 ss/jh 1/ 4
S.F. _____ volunteer, and donor of the tax-exempt entity identified in the 1 information and the tax-exempt entity. 2 c. Request or require a current or prospective contractor 3 with the public agency to provide the public agency with a 4 list of entities exempt from taxation under section 501(c) of 5 the federal Internal Revenue Code to which the contractor has 6 provided financial or nonfinancial support. 7 2. This section does not prohibit any of the following: 8 a. Disclosure of personal information pursuant to a lawful 9 warrant issued by a court of competent jurisdiction. 10 b. Disclosure of personal information pursuant to a lawful 11 request for discovery if all of the following requirements are 12 met: 13 (1) The requestor demonstrates a compelling need for the 14 personal information by clear and convincing evidence. 15 (2) The requestor obtains a protective order barring 16 disclosure of personal information to any person not directly 17 involved in the litigation. 18 c. Disclosure of personal information pursuant to an 19 agreement between a public agency and an entity which is exempt 20 from taxation under section 501(c) of the federal Internal 21 Revenue Code. 22 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION . 22A.3 Civil penalties. 23 1. A person alleging a violation of this chapter, section 24 504.1604, subsection 5, or section 504.1605, subsection 5, may 25 bring a civil action for injunctive relief, damages, or both. 26 Damages may include either of the following: 27 a. Not less than two thousand five hundred dollars in 28 compensatory damages for injury and loss for each violation. 29 b. For an intentional violation, not more than three times 30 the amount described in paragraph “a” for each violation. 31 2. A court may, in its discretion, award all or a portion of 32 the costs of litigation, including reasonable attorney fees and 33 witness fees, to the complainant. 34 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION . 22A.4 Criminal penalties. 35 -2- LSB 1918XC (1) 89 ss/jh 2/ 4
S.F. _____ A person who knowingly violates a provision of this 1 chapter, section 504.1604, subsection 5, or section 504.1605, 2 subsection 5, is guilty of a serious misdemeanor punishable by 3 imprisonment for not more than ninety days or a fine of not 4 more than one thousand dollars, or both. 5 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION . 22A.5 Campaign disclosure Act not 6 affected. 7 This chapter shall not affect any provision of chapter 68A. 8 Sec. 7. Section 504.1604, Code 2021, is amended by adding 9 the following new subsection: 10 NEW SUBSECTION . 5. If the court orders inspection of 11 records containing personal information as defined in section 12 22A.1, such inspection shall be made under seal from public 13 disclosure. A person who violates this subsection is subject 14 to civil penalties under section 22A.3. A person who knowingly 15 violates this subsection is subject to criminal penalties under 16 section 22A.4. 17 Sec. 8. Section 504.1605, Code 2021, is amended by adding 18 the following new subsection: 19 NEW SUBSECTION . 5. To obtain personal information 20 as defined in section 22A.1. A person who violates this 21 subsection is subject to civil penalties under section 22A.3. 22 A person who knowingly violates this subsection is subject to 23 criminal penalties under section 22A.4. 24 EXPLANATION 25 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 26 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 27 This bill relates to certain personal information in 28 the possession of certain tax-exempt and governmental 29 entities. The bill prohibits a public agency, defined in 30 the bill to include any governmental entity of Iowa or a 31 political subdivision, from seeking the disclosure of personal 32 information from an organization exempt from taxation under 33 section 501(c) of the federal Internal Revenue Code that 34 would directly or indirectly reveal the identity of a member, 35 -3- LSB 1918XC (1) 89 ss/jh 3/ 4
S.F. _____ supporter, volunteer, or donor of the organization, or from 1 requesting from a current or potential contractor a list of 2 tax-exempt organizations that the contractor has supported. 3 The bill also prohibits a public agency from publishing any 4 such information that the public agency possesses. 5 The bill allows the disclosure of personal information 6 pursuant to a lawful warrant or discovery request. However, 7 the bill requires the proponent of such a discovery request 8 to show a compelling need for the information by clear and 9 convincing evidence and to obtain a protective order barring 10 unnecessary disclosure of the information. 11 The bill also allows disclosure of personal information 12 pursuant to an agreement between an organization and a public 13 agency. The bill exempts from the definition of “personal 14 information” information that must be reported to the secretary 15 of state, attorney general, or state auditor pursuant to 16 certain specified provisions of law. 17 The bill amends the revised Iowa nonprofit corporation Act 18 to require any inspection of corporate records containing 19 personal information to be made under seal from public 20 disclosure. The bill also prohibits corporate records from 21 being used to obtain personal information. 22 The bill exempts personal information from the definition of 23 public records under Code chapter 22. 24 A person who violates a provision of the bill is subject to 25 a civil penalty of not less than $2,500 per violation, and not 26 more than three times that amount for an intentional violation. 27 The bill allows a court to award to a prevailing plaintiff an 28 amount equal to all or a portion of the costs of litigation, 29 including attorney and witness fees. 30 A person who knowingly violates a provision of the bill is 31 guilty of a serious misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for 32 not more than 90 days, a fine of $1,000, or both. 33 The bill does not affect any provision of Code chapter 68A, 34 which relates to campaign finance. 35 -4- LSB 1918XC (1) 89 ss/jh 4/ 4
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