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The State of Disclosure in Iowa
Iowa
earned a D+ and, based on improved scores
in the law and usability categories, is one
of the five most improved states since the
original Grading State Disclosure assessment
in 2003, when the state earned Fs in all
four categories. The most significant area
of improvement for Iowa has been in the usability
category, where the state earned a B+ in
2008 and shares with Kansas the distinction
of being the most improved state in this
area since 2003.
Iowa’s campaign disclosure law improved
from an F to a C since 2003, and ranked 30th
in the Campaign Disclosure Law category in
2008. Candidates must report details of contributions
of $25 or more, but disclosure of employer
and occupation data is not required. Expenditures
over $5 must be itemized, and subvendor data
must be reported. Iowa’s governor signed
Senate File 2400 into law in 2008, which
tightens last-minute reporting requirements
and allows the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure
Board (IECDB) to create an online, searchable
campaign finance database. Iowa passed legislation
in 2007 that mandates electronic filing for
challengers in 2010 and incumbents in 2012.
The current voluntary program was used by
half of the statewide candidates and 43 percent
of legislative candidates in 2008.
Iowa
failed to earn a passing grade in the accessibility
category in 2008, primarily due to the
lack of an online, searchable database
of campaign finances. However, with authorization
granted this year, the IECDB reports that
a searchable database is in development
and should debut by the end of 2008. Both
electronic reports and scanned copies of
paper reports are published on the disclosure
site on the same day they are filed. A
searchable database will greatly improve
access to disclosure data, which is currently
presented within PDF files that cannot
be searched, sorted online, or downloaded
into a spreadsheet for offline analysis.
Another sign of the IECDB’s commitment
to improving the accessibility of disclosure
data is that agency reduced the cost it charges
to mail paper copies of reports to the public
from $.20 to $.15 per page.
Iowa’s
strength is in the usability category,
where it ranks as the most improved state
since 2003. Iowa jumped from an F to a
B+ and has climbed 40 places in the usability
rankings since Grading State Disclosure
2003. As in 2007, the IECDB web site
performed well on the usability test, and
was improved in 2008 with a better system
for viewing candidates’ reports. Reports
are now organized under a candidate’s
last name, in addition to reporting period.
This change allows the public to more easily
view a candidate’s filing history,
including both original and amended reports.
The site offers a wealth of contextual information,
including disclosure requirements and restrictions,
as well as options for comparing data across
campaigns going back to 2001.
→ Quick
Fix: Add
the starting and ending dates for each
reporting period within the index of
a candidate’s reports.
♦ Editor’s
Pick: The “Campaign Finance
Historical Trends” page offers
the public many options for comparing
both recent and historical campaign
finance data across campaigns, elections,
and reporting periods. View
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 Disclosure Agency: Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board
Disclosure Web Site: http://www.state.ia.us/government/iecdb
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