As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
 1. “Agency” means a department, division, board, commission, bureau, authority, or office of the executive or legislative branch of state government, the office of attorney general, the state board of regents, community colleges, and the office of the governor, including a regulatory agency, or any department, division, board, commission, bureau, or office of a political subdivision of the state, but does not include any agricultural commodity promotional board, which is subject to a producer referendum.
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Terms Used In Iowa Code 68B.2

  • Agency: means a department, division, board, commission, bureau, authority, or office of the executive or legislative branch of state government, the office of attorney general, the state board of regents, community colleges, and the office of the governor, including a regulatory agency, or any department, division, board, commission, bureau, or office of a political subdivision of the state, but does not include any agricultural commodity promotional board, which is subject to a producer referendum. See Iowa Code 68B.2
  • Board: means the Iowa ethics and campaign disclosure board. See Iowa Code 68B.2
  • Candidate: means a candidate under chapter 68A but does not include any judge standing for retention in a judicial election. See Iowa Code 68B.2
  • Client: means a private person or a state, federal, or local government entity that pays compensation to or designates an individual to be a lobbyist. See Iowa Code 68B.2
  • Compensation: means any money, thing of value, or financial benefit conferred in return for services rendered or to be rendered. See Iowa Code 68B.2
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Donee: The recipient of a gift.
  • employee of the judicial branch: include every officer or employee of the judicial branch except a judicial officer. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Lobbyist: means an individual who, by acting directly, does any of the following:
     (1) Receives compensation to encourage the passage, defeat, approval, veto, or modification of legislation, a rule, or an executive order by the members of the general assembly, a state agency, or any statewide elected official. See Iowa Code 68B.2
  • Official: means all statewide elected officials, the executive or administrative head or heads of an agency of state government, the deputy executive or administrative head or heads of an agency of state government, members of boards or commissions as defined under section 7E. See Iowa Code 68B.2
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Person: means , without limitation, any individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, labor union, or any other legal entity. See Iowa Code 68B.2
  • Public employee: means state employees, legislative employees, and local employees. See Iowa Code 68B.2
  • Regulatory agency: means the department of agriculture and land stewardship, department of workforce development, department of insurance and financial services, department of public safety, department of education, state board of regents, department of health and human services, department of revenue, department of inspections, appeals, and licensing, department of administrative services, public employment relations board, state department of transportation, civil rights commission, department of public defense, department of homeland security and emergency management, Iowa ethics and campaign disclosure board, utilities board, and department of natural resources. See Iowa Code 68B.2
  • Rule: includes "regulation". See Iowa Code 4.1
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • state agency: means a department, division, board, commission, bureau, authority, or office of the executive or legislative branch of state government, the office of attorney general, the state board of regents, community colleges, and the office of the governor, including a regulatory agency, but does not include any agricultural commodity promotional board, which is subject to a producer referendum. See Iowa Code 68B.2
  • Statewide elected official: means the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of state, secretary of agriculture, and attorney general of the state of Iowa. See Iowa Code 68B.2
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
  • United States: includes all the states. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Veto: The procedure established under the Constitution by which the President/Governor refuses to approve a bill or joint resolution and thus prevents its enactment into law. A regular veto occurs when the President/Governor returns the legislation to the house in which it originated. The President/Governor usually returns a vetoed bill with a message indicating his reasons for rejecting the measure. In Congress, the veto can be overridden only by a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and the House.
  • year: means twelve consecutive months. See Iowa Code 4.1
 2. “Agency of state government” or “state agency” means a department, division, board, commission, bureau, authority, or office of the executive or legislative branch of state government, the office of attorney general, the state board of regents, community colleges, and the office of the governor, including a regulatory agency, but does not include any agricultural commodity promotional board, which is subject to a producer referendum.
 3. “Board” means the Iowa ethics and campaign disclosure board.
 4. “Candidate” means a candidate under chapter 68A but does not include any judge standing for retention in a judicial election.
 5. “Candidate’s committee” means the committee designated by a candidate for a state, county, city, or school office, as provided under chapter 68A, to receive contributions in excess of one thousand dollars in the aggregate, expend funds in excess of one thousand dollars in the aggregate, or incur indebtedness on behalf of the candidate in excess of one thousand dollars in the aggregate in any calendar year.
 6. “Client” means a private person or a state, federal, or local government entity that pays compensation to or designates an individual to be a lobbyist.
 7. “Compensation” means any money, thing of value, or financial benefit conferred in return for services rendered or to be rendered.
 8. “Contribution” means a loan, advance, deposit, rebate, refund, transfer of money, an in-kind transfer, or the payment of compensation for the personal services of another person.
 9. “Gift” means a rendering of anything of value in return for which legal consideration of equal or greater value is not given and received.
 10. “Honorarium” means anything of value that is accepted or given as consideration for an appearance, speech, or article.
 11. “Immediate family members” means the spouse and dependent children of a public official or public employee.
 12. “Legislative employee” means a permanent full-time employee of the general assembly but does not include members of the general assembly.
 13. a. “Lobbyist” means an individual who, by acting directly, does any of the following:

 (1) Receives compensation to encourage the passage, defeat, approval, veto, or modification of legislation, a rule, or an executive order by the members of the general assembly, a state agency, or any statewide elected official.
 (2) Is a designated representative of an organization which has as one of its purposes the encouragement of the passage, defeat, approval, veto, or modification of legislation, a rule, or an executive order before the general assembly, a state agency, or any statewide elected official.
 (3) Represents the position of a federal, state, or local government agency, in which the person serves or is employed as the designated representative, for purposes of encouraging the passage, defeat, approval, veto, or modification of legislation, a rule, or an executive order by members of the general assembly, a state agency, or any statewide elected official.
 (4) Makes expenditures of more than one thousand dollars in a calendar year, other than to pay compensation to an individual who provides the services specified under subparagraph (1) or to communicate with only the members of the general assembly who represent the district in which the individual resides, to communicate in person with members of the general assembly, a state agency, or any statewide elected official for purposes of encouraging the passage, defeat, approval, veto, or modification of legislation, a rule, or an executive order.
 b. “Lobbyist” does not mean:

 (1) Officials and employees of a political party organized in the state of Iowa representing more than two percent of the total votes cast for governor in the last preceding general election, but only when representing the political party in an official capacity.
 (2) Representatives of the news media only when engaged in the reporting and dissemination of news and editorials.
 (3) All federal, state, and local elected officials, while performing the duties and responsibilities of office.
 (4) Persons whose activities are limited to appearances to give testimony or provide information or assistance at sessions of committees of the general assembly or at public hearings of state agencies or who are giving testimony or providing information or assistance at the request of public officials or employees.
 (5) Members of the staff of the United States Congress or the Iowa general assembly.
 (6) Agency officials and employees while they are engaged in activities within the agency in which they serve or are employed or with another agency with which the official’s or employee’s agency is involved in a collaborative project.
 (7) An individual who is a member, director, trustee, officer, or committee member of a business, trade, labor, farm, professional, religious, education, or charitable association, foundation, or organization who is not paid compensation and is not specifically designated as provided in paragraph “a”, subparagraph (1) or (2).
 (8) Persons whose activities are limited to submitting data, views, or arguments in writing, or requesting an opportunity to make an oral presentation under section 17A.4, subsection 1.
 14. “Local employee” means a person employed by a political subdivision of this state and does not include an independent contractor.
 15. “Local official” means an officeholder of a political subdivision of this state.
 16. “Member of the general assembly” means an individual duly elected to the senate or the house of representatives of the state of Iowa.
 17. “Official” means all statewide elected officials, the executive or administrative head or heads of an agency of state government, the deputy executive or administrative head or heads of an agency of state government, members of boards or commissions as defined under section 7E.4, and heads of the major subunits of departments or independent state agencies whose positions involve a substantial exercise of administrative discretion or the expenditure of public funds as defined under rules of the board adopted in consultation with the department or agency and pursuant to chapter 17A. “Official” does not include officers or employees of political subdivisions of the state, members of the general assembly, legislative employees, officers or employees of the judicial branch of government who are not members or employees of the office of attorney general, members of state government entities which are or exercise the same type of authority that is exercised by councils or committees as defined under section 7E.4, or members of any agricultural commodity promotional board, if the board is subject to a producer referendum.
 18. “Person” means, without limitation, any individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, labor union, or any other legal entity.
 19. “Public disclosure” means a written report filed by a person as required by this chapter or required by rules adopted and issued pursuant to this chapter.
 20. “Public employee” means state employees, legislative employees, and local employees.
 21. “Public office” means any state, county, city, or school office or any other office of a political subdivision of the state that is filled by election.
 22. “Public official” means officials, local officials, and members of the general assembly.
 23. “Regulatory agency” means the department of agriculture and land stewardship, department of workforce development, department of insurance and financial services, department of public safety, department of education, state board of regents, department of health and human services, department of revenue, department of inspections, appeals, and licensing, department of administrative services, public employment relations board, state department of transportation, civil rights commission, department of public defense, department of homeland security and emergency management, Iowa ethics and campaign disclosure board, utilities board, and department of natural resources.
 24. “Restricted donor” means a person who is in any of the following categories:

 a. Is or is seeking to be a party to any one or any combination of sales, purchases, leases, or contracts to, from, or with the agency in which the donee holds office or is employed.
 b. Will personally be, or is the agent of a person who will be, directly and substantially affected financially by the performance or nonperformance of the donee’s official duty in a way that is greater than the effect on the public generally or on a substantial class of persons to which the person belongs as a member of a profession, occupation, industry, or region.
 c. Is personally, or is the agent of a person who is, the subject of or party to a matter which is pending before a subunit of a regulatory agency and over which the donee has discretionary authority as part of the donee’s official duties or employment within the regulatory agency subunit.
 d. Is a lobbyist or a client of a lobbyist with respect to matters within the donee’s jurisdiction.
 25. “State employee” means a person who is not an official and is a paid employee of the state of Iowa and does not include an independent contractor, an employee of the judicial branch who is not an employee of the office of attorney general, an employee of the general assembly, an employee of a political subdivision of the state, or an employee of any agricultural commodity promotional board, if the board is subject to a producer referendum.
 26. “Statewide elected official” means the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of state, secretary of agriculture, and attorney general of the state of Iowa.
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