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SF441 • 2026

A bill for an act relating to the payment of dependent care expenses from campaign funds, and making penalties applicable.

A bill for an act relating to the payment of dependent care expenses from campaign funds, and making penalties applicable.

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
WEINER, BENNETT, DONAHUE, WINCKLER, CELSI, STAED, TOWNSEND and PETERSEN
Last action
2025-02-26
Official status
Subcommittee: Rozenboom, Celsi, and Schultz. S.J. 367 .
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

A bill for an act relating to the payment of dependent care expenses from campaign funds, and making penalties applicable.

A bill for an act relating to the payment of dependent care expenses from campaign funds, and making penalties applicable.

What This Bill Does

  • A bill for an act relating to the payment of dependent care expenses from campaign funds, and making penalties applicable.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2025-02-26 Iowa Legislature

    Subcommittee: Rozenboom, Celsi, and Schultz. S.J. 367 .

  2. 2025-02-25 Iowa Legislature

    Introduced, referred to State Government. S.J. 354 .

Official Summary Text

A bill for an act relating to the payment of dependent care expenses from campaign funds, and making penalties applicable.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
Senate

File

441

-

Introduced

SENATE

FILE

441

BY

WEINER

,

BENNETT

,

DONAHUE

,

WINCKLER

,

CELSI

,

STAED

,

TOWNSEND

,

and

PETERSEN

A

BILL

FOR

An

Act

relating

to

the

payment

of

dependent

care

expenses

from

1

campaign

funds,

and

making

penalties

applicable.

2

BE

IT

ENACTED

BY

THE

GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

OF

THE

STATE

OF

IOWA:

3

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441

Section

1.

NEW

SECTION

.

68A.303A

Dependent

care

expenses.

1

1.

In

addition

to

the

uses

permitted

under

sections

68A.302

2

and

68A.303,

a

candidate

or

candidate’s

committee

may

use

3

campaign

funds

to

pay

for

expenses

related

to

the

care

of

any

4

dependent

of

the

candidate

if

all

of

the

following

conditions

5

are

met:

6

a.

The

expense

is

incurred

as

a

direct

result

of

campaign

7

activity

or

as

a

direct

result

of

the

official

duties

of

the

8

candidate’s

office

if

the

candidate

wins

election

to

the

office

9

sought.

10

b.

The

candidate

would

not

have

needed

the

dependent

care

11

but

for

the

candidate’s

candidacy

for

office

or

election

to

12

that

office.

13

c.

The

payment

to

the

dependent

care

provider

is

reasonable

14

for

the

services

rendered.

15

d.

The

dependent

care

provider

is

not

the

spouse

or

16

dependent

child

of

the

candidate.

17

2.

A

candidate

using

campaign

funds

for

dependent

care

18

expenses

shall

keep

a

log

detailing

the

date,

campaign

or

19

official

purpose,

length

of

time

of

care,

name

of

dependent

20

care

provider,

and

cost

for

each

dependent

care

expense

paid

21

or

owed

by

the

campaign

or

candidate.

Total

dependent

care

22

expenses

shall

be

included

as

a

line-item

expense

in

a

report

23

submitted

pursuant

to

section

68A.402.

A

candidate’s

log

of

24

dependent

care

expenses

shall

be

provided

to

the

board

if

25

requested

during

the

course

of

an

audit.

The

candidate’s

26

committee

shall

preserve

a

dependent

care

log

for

five

years

27

following

the

submission

of

a

report

relating

to

the

log,

or

28

for

three

years

following

the

dissolution

of

the

candidate’s

29

committee.

30

3.

For

purposes

of

this

section,

“dependent”

means

the

same

31

as

defined

in

the

Internal

Revenue

Code.

32

EXPLANATION

33

The

inclusion

of

this

explanation

does

not

constitute

agreement

with

34

the

explanation’s

substance

by

the

members

of

the

general

assembly.

35

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S.F.

441

This

bill

relates

to

the

payment

of

dependent

care

expenses

1

with

campaign

funds.

The

bill

permits

a

candidate

to

pay

for

2

dependent

care

expenses

using

campaign

funds

if

the

expense

is

3

incurred

as

a

direct

result

of

a

campaign

activity

or

official

4

duty

if

the

candidate

wins

election,

the

candidate

would

5

not

have

needed

the

dependent

care

but

for

the

candidate’s

6

candidacy

or

election,

the

payment

to

the

dependent

care

7

provider

is

reasonable,

and

the

dependent

care

provider

is

8

not

the

spouse

or

dependent

child

of

the

candidate.

The

bill

9

requires

the

candidate

to

keep

logs

relating

to

payment

for

any

10

such

services,

which

shall

be

provided

to

the

Iowa

ethics

and

11

campaign

disclosure

board

upon

request

during

the

course

of

an

12

audit.

The

bill

requires

the

candidate’s

committee

to

preserve

13

a

dependent

care

log

for

five

years

following

the

submission

of

14

a

report

relating

to

the

log,

or

for

three

years

following

the

15

dissolution

of

the

committee.

16

A

person

who

violates

a

provision

of

Code

chapter

68A

17

is

subject

to

civil

penalties

imposed

by

the

Iowa

ethics

18

and

campaign

disclosure

board,

including

remedial

action,

a

19

reprimand,

and

a

civil

penalty

up

to

$2,000.

In

addition,

a

20

person

who

willfully

violates

a

provision

of

Code

chapter

68A

21

is

guilty

of

a

serious

misdemeanor.

A

serious

misdemeanor

is

22

punishable

by

confinement

for

no

more

than

one

year

and

a

fine

23

of

at

least

$430

but

not

more

than

$2,560.

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