Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 351 - Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, Iowa › Chapter 4 - Campaign Disclosure Procedures › Rule 351-4.25 - Legitimate Expenditures of Campaign Funds

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
(1) Expenses which may be paid from campaign
			 funds for campaign purposes include, but are not limited to, the following
			 items so long as the items promote or enhance the candidacy of the candidate:
a. Electronic media advertising, such as
			 radio, cable television and commercial television.
b. Published advertising, such as newspaper,
			 magazine, newsletter and shopper advertising.
c. Printed promotional materials, such as
			 brochures, leaflets, flyers, invitations, stationery, envelopes, reply cards,
			 return envelopes, campaign business cards, direct mailings, postcards and
			 "cowboy" political cards.
d.
			 Political signs, such as yard signs, car signs, portable outdoor advertising,
			 stationary outdoor advertising and billboards.
e. Political advertising specialty items,
			 such as campaign buttons, campaign stickers, bumper stickers, campaign pins,
			 pencils, pens, matchbooks, balloons, scratch pads, calendars, magnets, key
			 chains, and articles of clothing that are political advertising.
f. Travel and lodging expenses of the
			 campaign workers for campaign purposes and political party activities. Travel
			 and lodging expenses for a candidate to attend a national political party
			 convention are also permitted.
g.
			 Contributions to political party committees.
h. The purchase of tickets to a meal for the
			 candidate and one guest so long as the attendance at the meal by the candidate
			 and guest is for the sole purpose of enhancing the candidacy of any
			 person.
i. General campaign
			 expenditures, such as printing, copy machine charges, office supplies, campaign
			 photographs, gambling permits, fund-raiser prizes, postage stamps, postage
			 meter costs, bulk mail permits, telephone installation and service, facsimile
			 charges, and computer services. However, the purchase or rental of formal wear
			 to attend a political event is not a permissible general campaign
			 expenditure.
j. Purchase or lease
			 of campaign equipment, such as copy machines, telephones, facsimile machines,
			 computer hardware, software and printers.
k. Purchase or lease of campaign office
			 space, parking lots or storage space and the payment for campaign office
			 utilities and maintenance.
l.
			 Payment of salaries, fringe benefits, bonuses, and payroll taxes of paid
			 campaign staff. As provided in Iowa Code section
			 68A.302(2)
"k,"
family members who perform actual work or services for a
			 campaign and are not the candidate, candidate's spouse, or candidate's
			 dependent children may be compensated for such work or services.
m. Payment for check printing and financial
			 institution banking service charges.
n. Lease or rental of a campaign vehicle,
			 provided that a detailed trip log which provides dates, miles driven,
			 destination and purpose is maintained, and that noncampaign miles are
			 reimbursed to the committee at an amount not to exceed the current rate of
			 reimbursement allowed under the standard mileage rate for computations of
			 business expenses pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code. However, the purchase
			 of a campaign vehicle is prohibited.
o. Reimbursement to candidates and campaign
			 workers for mileage driven for campaign purposes in a personal vehicle,
			 provided that a detailed trip log which provides dates, miles driven,
			 destination and purpose is maintained, and that reimbursement is paid at an
			 amount not to exceed the current rate of reimbursement allowed under the
			 standard mileage rate for computations of business expenses pursuant to the
			 Internal Revenue Code.
p. Payment
			 for food expenses and supplies for campaign-related activities, such as the
			 purchase of food, beverages and table service for fund-raising events or
			 campaign volunteers. However, except as provided in
			 paragraph
"h,"
the purchase of tickets for meals or
			 fund-raising events for other candidates is prohibited, and the purchase of
			 groceries for the candidate or candidate's family is also prohibited. Payment
			 for meals for the candidate (other than those involving tickets for fund-raiser
			 events as addressed in paragraph
"h")
is permitted as an
			 allowable expenditure for campaign purposes if the meal was associated with
			 campaign-related activities.
q.
			 Payment of civil penalties and hearing costs assessed by the board.
r. Payment for the services of attorneys,
			 accountants, consultants or other professional persons when those services
			 relate to campaign activities.
s.
			 Subscriptions to newspapers and periodicals that circulate within the area
			 represented by the office that a candidate is seeking or holds, that contain
			 information of a general nature about the state of Iowa, or that contain
			 information useful to all candidates such as The Wall Street Journal and Roll
			 Call. Candidates who are unsure whether a subscription is permissible shall
			 seek guidance from the board prior to paying for the subscription with campaign
			 funds.
t. Membership in service
			 organizations including a local chamber of commerce that the candidate joins
			 solely for the purpose of enhancing the candidate's candidacy.
u. Repayment of campaign loans made to the
			 committee. Candidates who make loans to their own committees shall not charge
			 interest on the loans.
v. Purchase
			 of reports of other candidates and political committees so long as the reports'
			 contents are not used for solicitation or commercial purposes.
w. Donations to charitable organizations
			 unless the candidate or the candidate's spouse, child, stepchild, brother,
			 brother-in-law, stepbrother, sister, sister-in-law, stepsister, parent,
			 parent-in-law, or stepparent is employed by the charitable organization and
			 will receive a direct financial benefit from a donation.
x. Contributions to federal, state, county
			 and city political party committees.
y. Refunds to contributors when a
			 contribution has been accepted in error, or when a committee chooses to dispose
			 of leftover funds by refunding them in prorated shares to the original
			 contributors.
z. Payment for items
			 with a purchase price not to exceed $250 per person that are presented to
			 committee workers in recognition of services to the committee.
aa. Expenses incurred with respect to an
			 election recount as provided in Iowa Code section
			 50.48.
bb. The sharing of information in any format
			 such as computer databases containing yard sign locations or lists of
			 registered voters with another candidate's committee.