Bills › 91st General Assembly
Relating to campaign finance, including participation in ballot issue campaigns by foreign nationals and investigations of election misconduct, and making penalties applicable
Sponsored by Sen. Adrian Dickey (R)
Topics:Elections & voting
Where it is now
- Done: IntroducedJanuary 14, 2026
- Done: SubcommitteeJanuary 22, 2026
- Done: Senate committeeFebruary 5, 2026
- Skipped: Passes the SenateContinued as SF 2204
- Next: House committee
- Next: Passes the House
- Next: To the Governor
- Next: Signed into law
Became SF 2204 → Its progress continues under the new number. Go to SF 2204 What’s a funnel?
What’s in it
AI summary Groups working to influence ballot issues must now confirm that their donors are not foreign nationals or people who have received large amounts of money from foreign sources. This law also protects the privacy of people who donate to tax-exempt organizations by limiting when the government can collect or share their names. Anyone who intentionally breaks these new rules could face large fines or criminal charges.1
Read the official explanation
This bill relates to campaign finance. The bill defines the terms “directly or indirectly” and “foreign national” for purposes of the bill and for independent campaign expenditures and transfers of campaign funds under current law. The bill requires the treasurer of a political committee expressly advocating the passage or defeat of a ballot issue that receives a contribution from a donor to obtain an affirmation that the donor is not a foreign national and has not knowingly or willfully accepted funds in excess of $100,000 in aggregate from one or more foreign nationals within the four years immediately preceding the date the contribution is made. The bill also requires a political committee expressly advocating the passage or defeat of a ballot issue to include with its required reports to the Iowa ethics and campaign disclosure board affirmations that the political committee has not knowingly or willfully received, solicited, or accepted contributions from a foreign national, or from a donor that has knowingly or willfully accepted funds in excess of $100,000 in aggregate from one or more foreign nationals within the four years immediately preceding the date the contribution is made. A person required to file an independent expenditure report must also affirm that the person will not knowingly or willfully accept funds in excess of $100,000 in aggregate from one or more foreign nationals through the date of the election in which the ballot issue will appear on the ballot. The bill prohibits a foreign national from directly or indirectly participating in the decision-making process of a person regarding the person’s activities to influence a ballot issue. The bill requires a governmental entity conducting an investigation related to certain forms of election misconduct to, to the greatest extent possible, shield the identity of lawful donors to tax-exempt organizations. The bill prohibits a governmental entity from collecting information regarding the identity of a donor to a tax-exempt organization that is not directly related to a violation of Code chapter 68A (campaign finance). The bill also prohibits a governmental entity from disclosing information concerning the identity of a donor to a tax-exempt organization to the public or another governmental entity, other than to another governmental entity directly involved in an investigation, unless a final determination has been made that the donor violated a provision of Code chapter 68A. A person who knowingly or willfully violates a provision of the bill shall be subject to a civil penalty of $10,000 or three times the amount of the contribution or expenditure, whichever is greater, to be collected by the Iowa ethics and campaign disclosure board and deposited in the general fund of the state. By operation of law, a person who willfully violates a provision of the bill is also guilty of a serious misdemeanor. A serious misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than one year and a fine of at least $430 but not more than $2,560.
Senate subcommittee
Named January 22, 2026. On January 28, 2026 it recommended passage.
Three legislators hear a bill first and recommend what the committee should do; it’s the best time to weigh in. How to take part
2 written public comments to its subcommittee: February 10, 2026 (2) · on the Legislature’s site
Fiscal note
AI summary This bill prohibits foreign nationals from participating in decision-making or contributing funds to influence ballot issues and creates new criminal penalties for violations. The Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board will face one-time programming costs between $10,000 and $15,000 to update its reporting system. Because the number of new convictions is unknown, the total cost to the Judicial Branch, the Indigent Defense Fund, and the Department of Corrections cannot be determined, though the average state cost per serious misdemeanor is between $350 and $6,200.3
Read the fiscal note
Description
House File 2601 requires the treasurer of a political committee expressly advocating the passage or defeat of a ballot issue that receives a contribution from a donor to obtain an affirmation that the donor is not a foreign national and has not knowingly or willfully accepted funds in excess of $100,000 in aggregate from one or more foreign nationals within the four years immediately preceding the date the contribution is made.
The Bill also requires a political committee expressly advocating for the passage or defeat of a ballot issue to include with its required reports to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board (IECDB) an affirmation that the political committee has not knowingly or willfully received, solicited, or accepted contributions from a foreign national or from a donor that has knowingly or willfully accepted funds in excess of $100,000 in aggregate from one or more foreign nationals within the four years immediately preceding the date the contribution is made. The Bill prohibits a foreign national from directing, dictating, controlling, or directly or indirectly participating in the decision-making process regarding activities to influence a ballot issue. A foreign national is also prohibited from soliciting, directly or indirectly, the making of a contribution or expenditure by another person to influence a ballot issue. Any person who knowingly or willfully violates the provisions of the Bill is guilty of a serious misdemeanor and is subject to a civil penalty of $10,000 or three times the amount of the contribution or expenditure, whichever is greater. The civil penalty is to be collected by the IECDB and deposited into the General Fund.
Background
A serious misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than one year and a fine of at least $430 but no more than $2,560.
Assumptions
- All reports filed pursuant to the Bill will be filed using the IECDB’s Web Reporting System (WRS).
- One-time programming costs to update the WRS will cost approximately $10,000 to $15,000.
- The following will not change over the projection period: charge, conviction, and sentencing patterns and trends; prisoner length of stay (LOS); revocation rates; plea bargaining; and other criminal justice system policies and practices.
- County jail data is unavailable. For purposes of this analysis, the marginal cost for county jails is assumed to be $50 per day.
- Conviction data reflects the total number of convictions in adult court, which may include multiple convictions per individual. Not all convictions lead to incarceration, and there may be a delay between conviction and prison admission, which can contribute to differences in totals.
- A six-month delay is assumed from the effective date of the Bill to the date the first offender will enter the correctional system.
- Offender-based convictions are a count of individuals convicted of the same offense. Each offender is counted only once per Iowa Code section, regardless of the number of individual convictions.
- Admissions are a count of individuals newly admitted to the Department of Corrections (DOC) for supervision during a selected time period, based on the most serious offense committed.
Correctional Impact
House File 2601 creates a new offense within Iowa Code chapter 68A. The correctional impact of the Bill cannot be determined because the number of new convictions cannot be estimated. Figure 1 shows estimates for sentencing to State prison, parole, probation, or Community-Based Corrections (CBC) residential facilities; LOS in months under those supervisions; and supervision marginal costs per day for a serious misdemeanor.
Figure 1 — Sentencing Estimates and LOS in Months
Conviction Offense Class
Percent
Ordered to
State
Prison
FY 2025 Avg
LOS in
Prison (All Releases)
Marginal
Cost Per
Day
Prison
Percent
Ordered to
Probation
FY 2025
Field Avg
LOS on
Probation
Avg Cost
Per Day
Probation
Marginal
Cost Per
Day CBC
Marginal
Cost Per
Day Jail
FY 2025
Field Avg
LOS on
Parole
Marginal
Cost Per
Day Parole
Serious Misdemeanor 2.3% 7.3 $23.07 44.8% 21.0 $8.00 $16.35 $50.00 N/A $8.00 Refer to the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) memo addressed to the General Assembly, Cost Estimates Used for Correctional Impact Statements, dated January 12, 2026, for information related to the correctional system.
Minority Impact
House File 2601 creates a new offense within Iowa Code chapter 68A. The minority impact of the Bill cannot be determined because the number of new convictions cannot be estimated. Refer to the LSA memo addressed to the General Assembly, Minority Impact Statements, dated January 12, 2026, for information related to minorities in the criminal justice system.
Fiscal Impact
House File 2601 creates a new offense within Iowa Code chapter 68A, and the number of convictions is unknown. The average State cost per serious misdemeanor is between $350 and $6,200. This includes operating costs incurred by the Judicial Branch, the Indigent Defense Fund, and the DOC. Any cost increase or decrease would be incurred across multiple fiscal years for prison and parole supervision.
House File 2601 will also require one-time programming costs to the IECDB between $10,000 and $15,000 to update the WRS to include affirmation statements pursuant to the Bill.
Sources
- Division of Data, Planning, and Improvement (DPI), Department of Management (DOM)
- Department of Corrections
- Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board
- Final Fiscal Note — Ballot Measures, Contributions by Foreign Nationals · May 14, 2026 · $6,200
- Ballot Measures, Contributions by Foreign Nationals · March 11, 2026 · $6,200
- Ballot Measures, Contributions by Foreign Nationals · March 5, 2026 · $6,200
Iowa Code it changes
Creates§68A.507
Lobbying
7 for · 0 against · 3 undecided · Who →