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Read. Follow. Verify.Iowa Senate File 2204 Restricts Foreign National Campaign Contributions and Imposes Penalties for Election Misconduct
Last action · June 2, 2026: Signed by Governor . H.J. 1167 .
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What This Bill Does
Senate File 2204 prohibits s from participating in ballot issue campaigns and requires political committees and makers to obtain donor affirmations regarding foreign funding sources. The legislation mandates that investigators shield the identity of lawful donors to tax-exempt organizations and sets civil penalties of $10,000 or three times the contribution amount for violations.
Political committees and persons making s on ballot measures must collect and report specific donor affirmations, while facing steep financial penalties and misdemeanor charges for knowing violations.
- Senate File 2204 builds upon prior campaign finance proposals, specifically succeeding Senate File 2078 in the Iowa General Assembly. context
- Campaign finance regulations in Iowa are overseen and enforced by the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board. context
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Political committees
Political committees advocating for or against ballot issues must collect donor affirmations and include compliance statements in their regular filings with the Iowa ethics and campaign disclosure board.
Foreign nationals
Foreign nationals are explicitly prohibited from making independent expenditures, contributing to ballot issue campaigns, or participating in decision-making processes regarding ballot issue activities.
Tax-exempt organizations
Tax-exempt organizations and their lawful donors benefit from mandated privacy protections that shield donor identities during governmental investigations unless a violation is proven.
Key Facts
- Defines 'foreign national' to include non-citizens, foreign governments, foreign political parties, foreign-organized entities, and majority-owned U.S. entities receiving foreign funds.
- Requires treasurers of political committees advocating for or against a ballot issue to obtain an affirmation that a donor is not a foreign national and has not accepted over $100,000 in aggregate from foreign nationals within the past four years.
- Mandates that political committee reports filed with the Iowa ethics and campaign disclosure board include affirmations confirming no contributions from foreign nationals or tainted donors.
- Prohibits foreign nationals from directly or indirectly participating in the decision-making process, directing, dictating, or soliciting contributions or expenditures for ballot issues.
Show all 8 facts
- Requires governmental entities investigating violations to shield the identity of lawful donors to tax-exempt organizations to the greatest extent possible.
- Prohibits governmental entities from collecting or disclosing information concerning tax-exempt donor identities unless directly related to a chapter 68A violation or following a final determination of a violation.
- Establishes a civil penalty for knowing or willful violations of $10,000 or three times the amount of the contribution or expenditure, whichever is greater, deposited into the state general fund.
- Classifies willful violations as a serious misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year of confinement and fines ranging from $430 to $2,560.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is considered a foreign national under this law?
What must political committees obtain from donors under the law?
What are the penalties for violating these campaign finance provisions?
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Current status: Signed into law.
Procedural history
49 actions- Jun 2, 2026HouseEnrolledSigned by Governor . H.J. 1167 .
- May 14, 2026Iowa LegislatureFiscal note.
- May 6, 2026HouseReported correctly enrolled, signed by Speaker and President, and sent to Governor. H.J. 1164 .
- Apr 21, 2026HouseMessage from Senate. H.J. 955 .
- Apr 21, 2026SenateImmediate message. S.J. 855 .
- Apr 21, 2026SenateFloorPassed Senate , yeas 44, nays 0. S.J. 853 .
Show 43 earlier actions
- Apr 21, 2026SenatePoint of order raised on S-5203 , ruled not germane. S.J. 853 .
- Apr 21, 2026SenateAmendment S-5203 filed. S.J. 853 .
- Apr 21, 2026SenateSubstituted for SF 2204 . S.J. 852 .
- Apr 21, 2026SenateWithdrawn. S.J. 854 .
- Apr 21, 2026SenateHF 2601 substituted. S.J. 852 .
- Apr 21, 2026SenateAmendment S-5101 withdrawn. S.J. 852 .
- Mar 31, 2026HouseExplanation of vote. H.J. 784 .
- Mar 31, 2026HouseExplanation of vote. H.J. 784 .
- Mar 30, 2026HouseExplanation of vote. H.J. 765 .
- Mar 30, 2026HouseExplanation of vote. H.J. 765 .
- Mar 26, 2026HouseWithdrawn. H.J. 760 .
- Mar 24, 2026HouseExplanation of vote. H.J. 743 .
- Mar 24, 2026HouseExplanation of vote. H.J. 743 .
- Mar 23, 2026SenateIntroducedRead first time, attached to SF 2204 . S.J. 624 .
- Mar 23, 2026HouseMessage from House. S.J. 624 .
- Mar 23, 2026HouseImmediate message. H.J. 724 .
- Mar 23, 2026HouseFloorPassed House , yeas 90, nays 0. H.J. 717 .
- Mar 23, 2026HouseAmendment H-8248 withdrawn. H.J. 717 .
- Mar 23, 2026HouseAmendment H-8218 , yeas 29, nays 61, lost. H.J. 716 .
- Mar 23, 2026SenateAttached to HF 2601 . S.J. 624 .
- Mar 20, 2026HouseAmendment H-8248 filed. H.J. 714 .
- Mar 19, 2026HousePlaced on calendar under unfinished business. H.J. 691 .
- Mar 19, 2026SenatePlaced on calendar under unfinished business. S.J. 599 .
- Mar 17, 2026SenateAmendment S-5101 filed. S.J. 590 .
- Mar 17, 2026SenateDeferred. S.J. 582 .
- Mar 12, 2026HouseAmendment H-8218 filed. H.J. 668 .
- Mar 11, 2026Iowa LegislatureFiscal note.
- Mar 5, 2026Iowa LegislatureFiscal note .
- Feb 19, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced, placed on calendar. H.J. 344 .
- Feb 19, 2026Iowa LegislatureCommittee report approving bill, renumbered as HF 2601 .
- Feb 17, 2026HouseCommittee vote: Yeas, 21. Nays, 0. Excused, 2. H.J. 325 .
- Feb 17, 2026HouseCommittee report, recommending amendment and passage. H.J. 325 .
- Feb 10, 2026Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee recommends passage.
- Feb 5, 2026SenateCommittee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 2204 . S.J. 219 .
- Feb 5, 2026SenateCommittee report, approving bill. S.J. 219 .
- Feb 5, 2026SenateIntroducedIntroduced, placed on calendar. S.J. 208 .
- Feb 4, 2026HouseSubcommittee Meeting: 02/10/2026 8:00AM House Lounge.
- Jan 28, 2026Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee recommends passage.
- Jan 27, 2026SenateSubcommittee Meeting: 01/28/2026 3:00PM Senate Lounge.
- Jan 27, 2026HouseSubcommittee: Harris, Lundgren and Srinivas. H.J. 159 .
- Jan 22, 2026SenateSubcommittee: Bousselot, Koelker, and Townsend. S.J. 133 .
- Jan 21, 2026SenateIntroducedIntroduced, referred to State Government. S.J. 121 .
- Jan 14, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced, referred to State Government. H.J. 76 .
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Expansion of Foreign Influence Restrictions to Ballot Measures
The legislation extends strict foreign national contribution and participation prohibitions specifically to ballot issue campaigns while introducing mandatory donor affirmation protocols.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.iowa.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance80How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy65Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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