HF 2601 — A bill for an act relating to campaign finance, including participation in ballot issue campaigns by foreign nationals and investigations of election misconduct, and making penalties applicable.

KimHouse ReynoldsFile O2601 f- fEnrolled iHouse cFile e2601 oAN fACT tRELATING hTO eCAMPAIGN GFINANCE, oINCLUDING vPARTICIPATION eIN rBALLOT nISSUE oCAMPAIGNS rBY ChrisFOREIGN CournoyerNATIONALS GAND OINVESTIGATIONS VOF EELECTION RMISCONDUCT, NAND OMAKING RPENALTIES LAPPLICABLE. T g o v e r n o r June02,2026 The Honorable Paul Pate SecretaryofStateofIowa StateCapitol Des Moines,Iowa50319 DearMr.Secretary, Iherebytransmit:

HouseFile2601,anActrelatingtocampaignfinance,includingparticipationinballotBE issuecampaignsbyforeignnationalsandIT investigationsofelectionmisconduct,andENACTED makingBY penaltiesapphcable.THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

The aboveHouse Fileisherebyapproved onthisdate.

Sincerely, Kii^Reynolds Governor ofIowa cc:

SecretaryoftheSenate Clerk of the House STATE CAPITOL DES MOINES, I O W A 5031515.281.5211WWW.GOVERNOR.IOWA.GOV SSlASBBKmHSHT ^HUL MMNTAl rannnnnranniL-c:

i;ijn^!i!:rr:nTr!ini!i;iiiiiiiiiiii:iu;:i!!ii O K N K R A 1 .

A S S K M B 1 A H o u s e F i2 6 0 1 A NA C T RELATING TO CAMPAIGN FINANCE, INCLUDING PARTICIPATION IN BALLOT I S S U E C A M P A I G N S B N A T I O N A L S A N D I N V E S T I G A T I O N S O F E L E C T M I S C O N D U C T , A N D M A K I N G P E N A L T I E S A P P L I C A B L E .

B E I T E N A C T E D B Y T H E A S S E MO F T H E S T A T E O F I O W A :

NEW SUBSECTION,SUBSECTION 12A..

^Directly12A. or indirectly" means acting either independently or jointly with, through, or on behalf of a committee or other person.

NEW“Directly SUBSECTION.or indirectly” means acting either independently or jointly with, through, or on behalf of a committee or other person.

NEW SUBSECTION .

"^Foreign“Foreign national"national” means any of the following:

An individual who is not a citizen or lawful permanent rresident eof sthe iUnited dStates. e nt h e UnitedS t a t e s .

b,b. A government or political subdivision of a foreign country.

A government or political subdivision of a foreign country.

(1) All contributions and expenditures made by the entity are derived entirely from funds generated by the entity'sentity’s operations in the United States.

Section 68A.203r68A.203, subsection 3, Code 2026, is amended by adding the following new paragraph:

NEW PARAGRAPH,PARAGRAPH f..

f.

NEW SUBSECTION.SUBSECTION .

NEW PARAGRAPH,PARAGRAPH a,. A report filed by a political committee pursuant to this subsection shall include an affirmation by the treasurer of the political committee that the political committee has not knowingly or willfully received, solicited, or accepted a contribution from a foreign national.

a.

A report filed by a political committee pursuant to this subsection shall include an affirmation by the treasurer of the political committee that the political committee has not knowingly or willfully received, solicited, or accepted a contribution from a foreign national.

3 NEW PARAGRAPH.PARAGRAPH .

b,b. A report filed by a political committee pursuant to this subsection shall include an affirmation by the treasurer of the political committee that no donor associated with a contribution covered by the report is a foreign national and that no donor associated with a contribution covered by the report has knowingly or willfully received, solicited, or accepted, whether directly or indirectly, funds in excess of one hundred thousand dollars in aggregate from one or more foreign nationals within the four years immediately preceding the date the contribution was made to the political committee.

A report filed by a political committee pursuant to this subsection shall include an affirmation by the treasurer of the political committee that no donor associated with a contribution covered by the report is a foreign national and that no donor associated with a contribution covered by the report has knowingly or willfully received, solicited, or accepted, whether directly or indirectly, funds in excess of one hundred thousand dollars in aggregate from one or more foreign nationals within the four years immediately preceding the date the contribution was made to the political committee.

Section 68A.404, subsection 2, paragraph c.c, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:

Codec. 2026, is amended to read as follows:

c» A foreign national shall not make an independent expenditure, directly or indirectly, that advocates the nomination, election, or defeat of any candidate or the passage or defeat of any ballot issue.

As used in this section,—^foreignsection, national“foreign national” means a person who is not a eitieencitizen of the United States and who is not lawfully admitted for permanent residence.—'^Foreignresidence. national"" includes a foreign principal,—such as a government of a foreign country or a foreign political party, partnership, association, corporation, organiaation^ or other combination of persons that has its primary place of business in or is organized under the laws of a foreign country.

^Foreign“Foreign national^'national” doesincludes nota includeforeign principal, such as a persongovernment wof ha oforeign icountry sor a cforeign ipolitical tparty, ofzthenUnitedpartnership, Gtatesassociation, corporation, organization, or v7hoother icombination sof anpersons athat thas iits oprimary nplace aof lbusiness oin for theis Unitedorganized Sunder tthe alaws tof ea sforeign .country.

“Foreign national” does not include a person who is a citizen of the United States or who is a national of the United States.

NEW PARAGRAPH,PARAGRAPH i..

i.

68A,50768A.507 Influence by foreign national prohibited ——— investigation.

House PileFile 2601r2601, p.

A foreign national shall not direct, dictate, control, or directly or indirectly participate in the decision-making process of a person regarding the person'sperson’s activities to influence a ballot issue, including decisions concerning the making of contributions or expenditures to influence a ballot iissue. s s u e .

An investigation of a violation of this section, section 68A.203, subsection 5, section 68A.402, subsection 8, section 68A.404, subsection 2, paragraph “c”, or section 68A.404, subsection 5, paragraph “i”, or an investigation undertaken pursuant to a court order issued following a complaint submitted under section 68B.32B, shall, to the greatest extent possible, shield the identity of lawful donors to a tax-exempt organization.

b,b. A governmental entity or employee of a governmental entity engaged in the investigation of a violation of this chapter shall not collect, or require the submission of, information concerning the identity of a donor to a tax-exempt organization other than those directly related to a violation of this chapter.