Iowa law lets the state review business filings and publish farmland reports

The secretary of state may require certain business filings by mail or in person and may send written questions to a business. The provisions cover the partnerships, limited liability companies, corporations, cooperatives, and other entities named in the law. The secretary may use these steps when credible information suggests a filing is fraudulent or a business is being used for a fraudulent, criminal, or unlawful purpose. That information may come from an affidavit, another government agency, or a credible third-party data set. A business must mail or deliver signed answers within 21 calendar days after the questions are mailed.

The secretary of state must review a sworn affidavit and remove the specified information if the state finds it was used without permission. A person may apply if their name, address, or email was listed without permission as a business’s registered agent or principal office information. The person must submit a notarized affidavit identifying the business and the information used without permission. The secretary may reject an incomplete affidavit or one believed intended to harass or defraud. There is no fee for the affidavit or removal filing, but fees paid to file the original business record are not refunded. Removal takes effect immediately when the secretary files it. The state must notify the business at an address on record, if any.

The secretary of state may immediately dissolve certain businesses after they concede a violation raised in written questions. This applies to the partnerships, limited liability companies, corporations, and cooperatives covered by the law’s questioning and dissolution provisions. A business concedes a violation if its answers indicate one or if it fails to answer on time. If it answers that it has not violated the law, the secretary must take no action. Dissolution is not automatic; the secretary may choose to dissolve the business. Answers are due within 21 calendar days after the questions are mailed. After a concession, the secretary may dissolve the business immediately.

Out-of-state farmland owners must report their interests, and the state must include information about those holdings in an annual summary. The provisions cover out-of-state individuals and business entities with an interest in Iowa agricultural land, including general partnerships with an out-of-state partner. The reporting rules also require a general partnership to list each partner who lives in another state or territory. This is a reporting and disclosure rule; it does not itself ban out-of-state people or businesses from holding farmland. The secretary of state must prepare an annual summary of foreign and out-of-state farmland holdings for the governor and lawmakers.