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Iowa lobbying guidelines

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Lobbyist registration guidelines
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Related pages
Lobbying
Taxpayer-funded lobbying
Guidelines by state

Lobbying is broadly defined as the attempt to persuade another person to accept one's position. This includes efforts to influence lawmakers by other legislators, constituents, or organized groups. Each state has different requirements for lobbyist registration. The person doing the lobbying is typically referred to as the lobbyist and the person or entity providing compensation the principal. Each state has a different entity responsible for maintaining its lobbying records, such as registrations and expenditures.

As of April 2021, the Iowa Ethics & Campaign Disclosure Board maintained the state's lobbying records.

Who must register?

Section 68B.36 of the Iowa Code requires lobbyists to register:[1]

All lobbyists shall, on or before the day their lobbying activity begins, register by electronically filing a lobbyist’s registration statement at times and in the manner provided in this section. In addition to any other information required by the general assembly, a lobbyist shall identify in the registration statement all clients of the lobbyist and whether the lobbyist will also be lobbying the executive branch. Lobbyists engaged in lobbying activities before the general assembly and before the office of the governor or any state agency shall file the statement with the chief clerk of the house of representatives or the secretary of the senate. The chief clerk of the house and the secretary of the senate shall establish an internet site for the electronic filing of lobbyist registrations.[2]

According to Section 68B.2 of the Iowa Code, individuals who meet the following criteria are considered lobbyists:

“Lobbyist” means an individual who, by acting directly, does any of the following:
(1) Receives compensation to encourage the passage, defeat, approval, veto, or modification of legislation, a rule, or an executive order by the members of the general assembly, a state agency, or any statewide elected official.
(2) Is a designated representative of an organization which has as one of its purposes the encouragement of the passage, defeat, approval, veto, or modification of legislation, a rule, or an executive order before the general assembly, a state agency, or any statewide elected official.
(3) Represents the position of a federal, state, or local government agency, in which the person serves or is employed as the designated representative, for purposes of encouraging the passage, defeat, approval, veto, or modification of legislation, a rule, or an executive order by members of the general assembly, a state agency, or any statewide elected official.
(4) Makes expenditures of more than one thousand dollars in a calendar year, other than to pay compensation to an individual who provides the services specified under subparagraph (1) or to communicate with only the members of the general assembly who represent the district in which the individual resides, to communicate in person with members of the general assembly, a state agency, or any statewide elected official for purposes of encouraging the passage, defeat, approval, veto, or modification of legislation, a rule, or an executive order
[2]

Click here to visit the state's searchable database of registrations and quarterly filings.


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. Iowa Legislature, "Iowa Code," accessed April 12, 2021
  2. 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.