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. - Iowa

Enrolled → Enrolled with Governor's Action · 4 edits · May 6, 2026

MODERATE

This bill updates Iowa's campaign finance laws to strictly prohibit foreign nationals from participating in ballot issue campaigns. It expands the legal definition of 'foreign national' to include foreign-owned US entities and mandates that political committees and independent spenders affirm they have not received over $100,000 in funding from foreign sources in the prior four years. The bill also introduces new penalties for violations and establishes protections to keep donor identities confidential during investigations.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of prohibited foreign influence from just direct contributions to include indirect participation in decision-making and solicitation of funds for ballot issues.

DEFINITION

Added a detailed definition of 'foreign national' that includes individuals not US citizens, foreign governments, foreign political parties, foreign-owned entities, and US entities majority-owned by foreign nationals.

REQUIREMENT

Requires political committees and independent expenditure groups to obtain written affirmations from donors confirming they are not foreign nationals and have not received over $100,000 from foreign sources in the last four years.

ENFORCEMENT

Establishes new Section 68A.507 to prohibit foreign nationals from directing or influencing ballot issue campaigns and creates a $10,000 or triple-contribution civil penalty for violations.

Added confidentiality protections to shield the identities of lawful donors to tax-exempt organizations during investigations of foreign influence violations.

Signed Enrolled Bill (PDF) → Enrolled · 2 edits · May 6, 2026

MINOR

The bill text was reformatted to remove the Governor's signature page and standardize the layout, while the substantive legal content regarding campaign finance rules remained unchanged. No new definitions, funding limits, or enforcement mechanisms were added or removed in this version.

TECHNICAL

Removed the Governor's signature block, date, and letter of transmittal that appeared on the first page of the signed enrolled bill.

Reformatted the bill text to replace irregular spacing and line breaks with a clean, numbered layout for better readability.

Introduced → Signed Enrolled Bill (PDF) · 4 edits · May 6, 2026

MODERATE

This bill introduces strict prohibitions on foreign nationals influencing Iowa ballot issue campaigns and mandates new disclosure requirements for political committees. It defines 'foreign nationals' to include foreign governments, entities, and US companies owned or controlled by foreign interests. The law requires treasurers to obtain written affirmations from donors confirming they are not foreign nationals and have not received excessive funding from such sources within the last four years. Additionally, it establishes a new investigation process to protect donor identities in cases of election misconduct.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of campaign finance regulations to specifically target foreign influence in ballot issue campaigns, a category previously not explicitly covered by the same restrictions as candidate elections.

DEFINITION

Added a detailed definition of 'foreign national' that includes individuals not US citizens, foreign governments, foreign political parties, and US entities owned or controlled by foreign nationals.

REQUIREMENT

Requires political committees advocating on ballot issues to obtain written affirmations from donors stating they are not foreign nationals and have not received over $100,000 in aggregate funding from foreign nationals in the prior four years.

Updated reporting requirements to include affirmations that the committee has not knowingly received contributions from foreign nationals or donors who have accepted excessive foreign funding.

ENFORCEMENT

Created a new section prohibiting foreign nationals from directing or participating in decisions to influence ballot issues and establishing a specific investigation process to shield donor identities.

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.

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