Curious Iowa: What restrictions are there for ‘wining and dining’ Iowa state officials?

Corporate trade associations, companies, state agencies and universities, nonprofits, chambers of commerce and other groups spent roughly $450,500 combined this year on food, drinks, entertainment and other expenses hosting public receptions attended by state lawmakers and other state officials.

Lawmakers attended roughly 100 receptions during the 2025 Iowa legislative session, which wrapped in May, according to lobbyist reports.

Iowa law imposes stringent restrictions on the acceptance of gifts by public officials, employees and candidates. The primary goal is to protect the public trust and prevent conflicts of interest or the appearance of impropriety.

But what are the limits? What gifts can public officials in the state accept and not accept, and what about the food and drinks they receive at receptions and conferences? Who is covered by the gift ban? What are the reporting requirements, and how often are the restrictions enforced?

That’s what one Marion resident wanted to know. He posed his questions to The Gazette’s Curious Iowa, a series that answers readers' questions about Iowa, its people, and the culture.

To answer these question, we looked at Iowa Code and Iowa House and Senate ethics rules, legal background briefings from the Legislative Services Agency and Iowa League of Cities, and FAQs compiled by the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board and the state’s public universities. We also spoke with current and former lawmakers, a lobbyist, Secretary of the Iowa Senate and Iowa House Chief Clerk. And we searched newspaper archives and pulled up past Iowa Statehouse reporting by The Gazette, as well as The Des Moines Register.

What is the purpose of the gift law? When and why was it passed?

In 1992 the Iowa Legislature passed the Iowa Public Officials Act, which amended the gift law in Iowa Code Chapter 68B. The law was further amended in 1993 and 2003.

It was enacted and signed by former Gov. Terry Branstad as part of a package of ethics reforms in an effort to restore public confidence and address concerns about the influence of special interests on lawmakers following the Iowa Trust Fund scandal.

The scandal involved the loss of $71 million in a failed investment scheme affecting 88 government agencies, according to the Los Angeles Times and Des Moines Register.

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The Iowa Trust was established in 1990 to permit political subdivisions of the state to pool surplus treasury funds for investment. In November 1991, trust investment adviser Steven Wymer made improper and illegal trades resulting in the disappearance of over $65 million in treasury securities held by the trust. Wymer also sold securities to the trust at an inflated price of $6.5 million over market. Consequently, the trust lost more than $71 million in assets virtually overnight, according to a lawsuit filed by the city of Dubuque and other affected Iowa cities and counties against Iowa Trust.

The ethics code was sparked by a series of disclosures about ties between Iowa Trust and then-Senate President Joe Welsh, a Dubuque Democrat who had been a salesman for Iowa Trust for two years. The Senate reprimanded Welsh, who stepped down from his leadership position while facing an ethics investigation, according to reporting by The Gazette and Associated Press.

The act placed new restrictions on public officials, employees and lobbyists to address concerns about appearances of impropriety and maintaining public trust.

“By preventing certain donors from gaining advantage by giving gifts to those in government, the law seeks to maintain fair and impartial decisions and actions by public officials in the state,“ according to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board.

What gifts are and are not permitted?

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The law prohibits public officials, employees, candidates and their immediate family members from accepting gifts or series of gifts from a "restricted donor." This includes those who are doing business or seeking to do business with the official's agency, those financially impacted by their official duties, lobbyists or their clients, and those who are subject of a pending matter before a regulatory agency where the recipient has discretionary authority.

The law generally prohibits gifts of $3 or more in value from a restricted donor in a single calendar day. The law includes certain exceptions, such as gifts received from close relatives, wedding gifts, funeral flowers and memorial contributions, and gifts that are generally available to the public.

Additionally, informational materials relevant to an employee's official duties are generally permissible, as are gifts of food and beverages provided in connection with participation in a panel or speaking engagement, gifts given to the state as part of the person’s official duties, and gifts received from organizations where the person is a dues-paying member, and the gift is given to all members.

Actual expenses for registration, food, travel and lodging given in return for a public official or employee's participation in a panel or speaking engagement are allowed if directly related to the day or days of the event and their participation.

Gifts of food, beverages, travel and lodging also are allowed if they’re related to certain business recruitment activities, as well as ceremonial gifts from a foreign dignitary.

For example, a city council member cannot accept a free dinner from a developer seeking a zoning change in their city. A state employee cannot accept a gift from a company that is bidding on a state contract. However, a public official can accept a free meal at an event where the public also is invited.

Food, beverages and entertainment provided at a function held during a regular session of the Iowa General Assembly, when every member has been invited to attend, also is allowed. However, registration and reporting requirements must be met for such gifts to be permissible.

Iowa lawmakers passed and former Gov. Tom Vilsack signed a bill in 2003 waiving the $3-per-lawmaker gift limit for certain receptions held during the legislative session.

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Before the change, hosts had to calculate per-person reception costs and legislators were charged for the difference beyond the $3 limit, said Doug Struyk, a lobbyist who served in the Iowa House of Representatives from 2003 to 2011 and was an assistant minority leader.

“So if they figured out it was going to cost $10 a person, they would charge you $7 to go into the reception and give you a drink ticket,” Struyk said.

He said legislators could spend $30 to $40 per night attending multiple receptions.

“Then you go out and have dinner, because you were there talking to constituents not eating, but they had to bill you for the opportunity that you had to stand there and eat off their little buffet,” Struyk said.

These changes simplified the process for both hosts and lawmakers, and made legislative receptions more accessible and transparent, ensuring all legislators have equal opportunity to attend and interact with various groups, he said.

How is the law enforced, and how often is it enforced?

The Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, an independent state agency that also enforces campaign finance laws, investigates ethics complaints regarding state executive branch officials, employees and statewide elected officials. It also enforces laws and rules related to lobbying activities within the executive branch, while the Iowa General Assembly's ethics committees handle lobbying for the legislative branch.

The Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board can impose civil penalties of up to $2,000 per violation. Criminal convictions for violating Chapter 68B are classified as serious misdemeanors, carrying potential penalties of imprisonment for one year and a $1,000 fine. Violations also can be grounds for disciplinary action, including potential removal or suspension from office.

Complaints regarding local government personnel are usually handled by the county attorney.

Complaints regarding lawmakers, legislative staff and lobbyists are handled by the legislative ethics committees in the Iowa House and Senate. House and Senate codes of ethics are found on the Iowa General Assembly’s website.

Complaints regarding judicial officers are handled by the commission on judicial qualifications, according to the University of Iowa.

Officials with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board did not respond to multiple email and phone messages left over the past week seeking comment for this story and information on how often complaints are filed and penalties enforced under the gifts law.

Secretary of the Senate Charlie Smithson told The Gazette: “No complaints concerning violations of Iowa Code section 68B.22 have been filed as far as I can find, and certainly not within the last 10 years.”

Iowa House Clerk Meghan Nelson, likewise, said she has not received any complaints regarding that section of the law since being appointed to her position in June of 2019.

If a public official or employee receives a gift that would otherwise be prohibited, they can avoid violating the law by donating the gift to a public body, the department of administrative services, or a bona fide educational or charitable organization within 30 days, according to the law.

Gifts or bequests with a value of $50 or more received by an executive branch agency (with some exceptions) must be reported to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board within 20 days.

State Sen. Molly Donahue, D-Marion, said to avoid any hassle, “I don’t allow anyone to buy me anything — coffee, lunch, anything.”

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“I don’t want to deal with that. And that way nobody can ever question it,” Donahue told The Gazette. “It’s just on me. So I don’t let anyone buy anything for me, even with friends. I don’t want to deal with the paperwork on it.

“Before being sworn into my first term, (former state representative and current Linn County Supervisor) Kirsten Running-Marquardt sat me down and said — don’t let anybody buy anything for you. It just makes it easier.”

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Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com