By attorney Kristine Stone
Beginning on July 1, 2025, newly elected or appointed public officials, who are members of governmental bodies, will be required to complete a training course regarding the Open Meetings and Open Records law within 90 days of taking office. A governmental body includes city councils, boards of supervisors, school boards, municipal utility boards, planning and zoning commissions, library boards, boards of adjustment, civil service commissions, and any other body subject to the open meetings law. The training course must be not less than one hour and not more than two hours long. This training is required to be made available by the Iowa Public Information Board, and at least one course shall be free of charge. The governmental body is required to maintain, and to make available for public inspection, a record of completion of the training course by each of its members. If a member fails to complete the training, the member may be assessed damages as described below.
House File 706 also makes changes to the Open Meetings Law, Iowa Code chapter 21. The statute increases the damages that can be assessed against those who violate the Open Meetings Law to not less than five hundred dollars ($500) and not more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500). However, if someone knowingly participates in a violation, damages shall be between five thousand ($5,000) and twelve thousand dollars ($12,000).
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