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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.
Tue Dec 09 22:30:38 2025
Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 68A (44, 0)
§68A.405, CAMPAIGN FINANCE
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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.
ch 136, §9, 17; 2002 Acts, ch 1119, §125; 2003 Acts, ch 40, §9
CS2003, §68A.405