HF 2609 Iowa House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

A bill for an act relating to the use of synthetic media in campaign materials, and making penalties applicable.

HF 2609 requires political campaign materials containing synthetic media - digitally altered images, audio, or video that falsely mimic real people - to include a clear disclosure: "THIS CONTENT GENERATED USING SYNTHETIC MEDIA." It directly affects political advertisers, including websites, social media, TV ads, and printed materials like campaign signs. The law mandates this disclosure be prominently displayed, places sole responsibility on the publisher for compliance, and imposes penalties for willful violations (up to a year in jail or fines of $430-$2,560). The Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board must create implementing rules, and the disclosure does not prevent other legal actions against harmful synthetic media use.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 19, 2026 Last action Mar 17, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Reprinted · 4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was reprinted in a more formal legislative format with updated page numbering and formatting. The substantive policy content regarding synthetic media disclosure requirements remains the same, though the reprinted version includes additional explanatory text about the bill's purpose and specific definitions of responsible persons.
TECHNICAL

Formatting and layout changed from line-by-line markup to standard bill format with proper section numbering and page headers.

Added explanatory text clarifying the bill relates to synthetic media in campaign materials and requires disclosure on published content.

Updated page numbering from single-page format to two-page format with proper legislative tracking numbers.

DEFINITION

Added specific definition of 'person who is responsible' as the person who pays for publication or creation, excluding media organizations acting on behalf of others.

Floor votes · House Mar 12, 2026

How they voted

882
Passed · 9 other
Total votes 99
Mar 12, 2026
D Democratic32
27 Yea 5
84% Yea
R Republican67
61 Yea 2 Nay 4
91% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
9
Key actions
3
Committee
1
Amendments
2
Mar 17, 2026
Upper · Passed
Subcommittee: Rozenboom, Schultz, and Winckler.
upper
Mar 12, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed House, yeas 89, nays 2.
lower
Mar 12, 2026
Lower · Passed
Amendment H-8058 adopted.
lower
Feb 26, 2026
Introduced
Amendment H-8058 filed.
lower
Feb 19, 2026
Introduced
Introduced, placed on calendar.
lower
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.