Auditor: Ethics board made ‘no attempt’ to collect fines and can’t force payment

The Iowa Ethics Campaign Disclosure Board oversees the process of financing political campaigns in Iowa. (Main photo by Getty Images; logo courtesy the State of Iowa)

The state auditor’s office has faulted the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board for having made no attempt to collect penalties imposed on politicians and their campaigns.

In an audit report released earlier this week, Auditor of State Rob Sand’s office noted that the ethics board is responsible for imposing penalties for failure to comply with state laws on campaign financing. Those penalties range from $20 for a late-filed campaign finance disclosure report to a maximum penalty of $2,000 per violation in contested cases.

According to the auditor’s office, the ethics board issued penalties for both minor and major violations for the year that ended on June 30, 2022. The board would send a notice to the violator when a penalty was imposed, the auditor said, “however, no attempts were made to follow-up or enforce payment of the penalty.”

The notice sent to violators did not include information on how to pay the penalty and it did not include language requesting payment within a certain time frame. Once the initial notice was sent, the auditor found, there were “no attempts made to follow-up on the unpaid penalties.”

The lack of effort expended in collecting fines resulted in some penalties – the auditor’s office does not give a number – going unpaid. As of June 30, 2022, there were approximately $9,040 in unpaid campaign penalties, the auditor found.

The auditor’s report states that during the 2023 legislative session, the board “began an effort to reform how they handle unpaid penalties.” A bill was drafted to put into law a deadline for payment, with consequences if a person or committee refused to pay. However, the bill was not approved by state lawmakers to whom the legislation would apply.

The board has updated its notices to violators with new language requesting payment within 30 days and the notice now provides information on how to pay and where to send the payment.

The board has also established a process to send out automated second and third notices requesting payment. According to the audit, state does not have the ability to actually require payment or the authority to take action against a person or campaign committee that refuses to pay.

The auditor’s office is recommending that the board continue to seek state lawmakers’ approval of a bill that set a deadline for payment and establish penalties and consequences for failure to pay.

A bill that would have addressed those issues, HF 2168, was not approved in the 2024 session, despite the ethics board backing the measure. No lobbyists were registered in opposition to the bill.

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