Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 6, September 18, 2024
Iowa Code section
68A.405
and rule 351-4.38 (68A) require the
placement of a "paid for by" attribution statement on published material that
expressly advocates for or against a clearly identified candidate or ballot
issue, with certain exceptions.
(1)
Items exempted from requirement. The requirement to place a
"paid for by" attribution statement does not apply to the following:
a. Editorials or news articles of a media
organization that are not political advertisements.
b. Small items upon which the inclusion of
the attribution statement would be impracticable, such as campaign signs 32
square feet or smaller that have been placed or posted on real property, bumper
stickers, pins, buttons, pens, pencils, emery boards, matchbooks and, except as
set out in subrule 4.39(2), items that are smaller than 2 inches by 4 inches.
For purposes of this rule, 32 square feet is the total dimension of the
campaign sign regardless of whether or not both sides of the sign are used for
campaign advertising.
c. T-shirts,
caps, and other articles of clothing that expressly advocate for or against a
candidate or ballot issue.
d. Radio
advertisements, live telephone calls, or auto-generated telephone
messages.
e. Published material
placed by an individual who acts independently and spends $100 or less of the
individual's own resources to expressly advocate the passage or defeat of a
ballot issue.
(2)
Items subject to requirement. The requirement to place a "paid
for by" attribution statement applies to the following:
a. Published material such as campaign signs
larger than 32 square feet that have been placed or posted on real property,
billboards, posters, portable sign carriers, and signs affixed or painted to
the side or top of a building or vehicle. A campaign sign placed on a building
or vehicle shall contain the appropriate attribution statement regardless of
the size of the sign.
b. Published
material in a newspaper, magazine, shopper, or other periodical regardless of
the size of the material.
c. Direct
mailings, flyers, brochures, postcards, or any other form of published material
that is larger than 2 inches by 4 inches and not otherwise set out in 351-4.39
(68A).
d. Campaign websites. A blog
that is not owned or controlled by a candidate or committee is not required to
include an attribution statement disclosing who paid for the costs of the blog.
A political advertisement on a blog is required to include the appropriate
attribution statement disclosing who paid for the advertisement.
e. Television, video, and motion picture
advertising. The attribution statement shall be displayed on the advertisement
in a clearly readable manner for at least four seconds.
(3)
Multiple pages. If the
published material consists of more than one page, the "paid for by"
attribution statement need only appear on one page of the material. For a
campaign website, the attribution statement need only appear on the home page
of the site. A scratch pad need only include the attribution statement on the
pad and not on each individual page of the pad.
This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code section
68A.405.
