25AO:0011 New Training Requirements Under Iowa Code Section 21.12

25AO:0011

DATE: August 21, 2025

SUBJECT: Individuals Subject to Section 21.12 Training Requirements 

This advisory opinion offers clarification on which individuals are subject to new training requirements described in Iowa Code § 21.12, as enacted by the 91st General Assembly as part of House File 706. According to Iowa Code § 21.12(1), the new mandatory training requirement is applicable to any “newly elected or appointed public official who is a member of a governmental body.” Since the law came into effect on July 1, 2025, IPIB has received numerous inquiries about who is subject to this requirement, which have been merged into this opinion. 

“Any person may request a board advisory opinion construing or applying Iowa Code chapters 21, 22, and 23. An authorized agent may seek an opinion on behalf of any person. The board will not issue an opinion to an unauthorized third party. The board may on its own motion issue opinions without receiving a formal request.” We note at the outset that IPIB’s jurisdiction is limited to the application of Iowa Code chapters 21, 22, and 23, and rules in Iowa Administrative Code chapter 497. Advice in a Board opinion, if followed, constitutes a defense to a subsequent complaint based on the same facts and circumstances.

FACTS PRESENTED:

On June 6, 2025, Governor Reynolds signed House File 706 into law. By its own terms, HF 706 is “an Act relating to open meetings and open records, providing penalties, and making penalties applicable.” Amongst other things, the Act creates a new section, Iowa Code § 21.12, which imposes a “member education course” requirement. Iowa Code § 21.12(1) provides as follows:

A newly elected or appointed public official who is a member of a governmental body shall complete a course of training of not less than one and not more than two hours regarding the responsibilities of the governmental body and the governmental body’s members under this chapter and chapter 22 not later than the ninetieth day after the date the member does one of the following, as applicable:

1. Takes the initial oath of office.
2. Assumes responsibilities, if the member is not required to take an oath of office.
3. Is elected to the office.

IPIB has received numerous questions from across the state. While some are easy to answer based on the plain text of the statute, others present ambiguities which require interpretation in an advisory opinion. Questions considered for this opinion include:

1. Whether Section 21.12 applies to trustees of a benefitted fire district appointed by a county board of supervisors, elected township clerks, or county medical examiners.
2. Whether Section 21.12 applies to the Sioux City Mayor’s Youth Commission. The Youth Commission is a board with both policy-making and advisory duties, comprised of local ninth and tenth grade high school students appointed by resolution of the Sioux City Council. The Commission manages a small budget, currently set at $6,000, which it uses to coordinate community service and host local events and fundraisers. Members also advocate on behalf of the interests of local youth with the help of adult advisors.
3. Whether Section 21.12 applies to the boards of nonprofit corporations licensed to conduct pari-mutuel wagering pursuant to Chapter 99D or gambling games pursuant to Chapter 99F, as these nonprofits are classified as “governmental bodies” subject to other open meetings requirements of Chapter 21.
4. Whether Section 21.12 applies to individuals who are not otherwise public officials or employees who serve as community representatives on 28E boards. For example, if a city council enters into a 28E agreement with a private high school to host community events at the school’s events center, would a faculty member who represents the school on the resulting 28E board be subject to mandatory training?
5. Whether an individual who held a qualifying position as of July 1, 2025 and was thus not “newly elected or appointed” after that date would become subject to Section 21.12 after a gap in which they did not hold any qualifying position with any governmental body.

QUESTION POSED:

Who is required to complete mandatory training on Chapters 21 and 22 under Section 21.12?

OPINION:

Disclaimer: To the extent that advice in this advisory opinion conflicts with IPIB’s opinion 25AO:0008, Training Requirements for Newly Elected and Appointed Officials, this opinion should be considered to take precedence.

Executive Summary

I. Who is subject to the mandatory training requirements of Section 21.12?

Any individual with membership in a governmental body, as defined by Iowa Code § 21.2(1), is potentially subject to Section 21.12. In reaching this interpretation, IPIB concludes that the term “public official” should not be read to impose any additional restrictions on the law, as the term is not defined or otherwise used anywhere else in the new section or in Chapter 21 as a whole. Only members of the boards, councils, commissions, or other governing bodies who are subject to Chapter 21 are required to complete training, including members of state agency boards or commissions, city council members, county supervisors, and school board members, as well as trustees of benefitted fire districts, members of 28E boards, and directors of 99D or 99F non-profits involved in pari-mutuel wagering or gambling games. Mandatory training does not apply to other officials and employees, such as mayors, clerks, city or county attorneys, school superintendents, and others, except where these individuals are also members of a governmental body in another capacity.

Section 21.12 does not apply to the state judicial or legislative branches or their employees, nor does it apply to the governor or the governor’s office.

II. What does it mean to be “newly” elected or appointed?

Section 21.12 only applies to members of governmental bodies who are newly elected or appointed after the new law’s effective date of July 1, 2025. Individuals who held their positions on or before June 30, 2025 are exempted by virtue of their pre-existing roles, including if they are later reelected or reappointed to a new term in the same position. However, this exemption does not extend to individuals who were previously members of a governmental body but were not active in that position at the time the law came into effect, those who are initially exempt but who leave their position and later return after a period of inactivity, or those who were exempt based on a legacy position with one governmental body who are later elected or appointed to a new governmental body.

Once an individual has received a certified training, that training will continue to satisfy their obligations under Section 21.12 for any committees or subcommittees of their governmental body, as well as any future service as an elected or appointed member of any other governmental body.

III. How is the 90-day deadline measured for elected individuals?

The 90-day deadline is satisfied so long as a newly elected or appointed member of a governmental body completes an approved Section 21.12 training within ninety days of such time that the member a) takes their oath of office, b) assumes the responsibilities of their position, if they are not required to take an oath of office or c) is elected to the position. For elected individuals with two qualifying events, a training taken between the time of their election and the time they either take their oath of office or assume the responsibilities of their position will satisfy the requirement. However, such an individual would not be found in violation of Section 21.12 until ninety days after the later of the two events.

If one person is elected or appointed to two or more positions covered by Section 21.12, they should use the earliest deadline between those positions to determine their due date for training.

1. Public Official Who Is a Member of a Governmental Body

IPIB interprets the phrase “public official who is a member of a governmental body” to describe any individual with membership in any governmental body, as the term is defined in Iowa Code § 21.2(1).

Of the two substantive terms used in this description, only “member of a governmental body” is clearly defined by Chapter 21. At the time this opinion is issued, the legislature has identified ten specific types of bodies which are governmental bodies subject to the requirements of Chapter 21, including any “board, council, commission, or other governing body expressly created by the statutes of this state or by executive order,” including executive boards of state agencies like IPIB (subsection a), and equivalent governing bodies for any “political subdivision or tax-supported district in this state,” including entities such as county boards of supervisors, city councils, school boards, and township trustees (subsection b).

The remaining eight categories include multimembered bodies “formally and directly created” by either of the previous two types of governmental bodies (subsection c), governing bodies responsible for overseeing intercollegiate athletic programs of state universities (subsection d), certain types of advisory boards and task forces created to make recommendations on public policy issues (subsections e and h), certain nonprofit corporations licensed to conduct pari-mutuel wagering under Chapter 99D or gambling games pursuant to Chapter 99F (subsections f and g), the governing bodies of drainage or levee districts organized pursuant to Chapter 468 (subsection i), and the boards or commissions of entities organized under Chapter 28E for the joint or cooperative exercise of government powers (subsection j). If additional categories are added to the statute in the future, members of newly included types of governmental bodies would also be subject to Section 21.12.

A governmental body, as the term is used in Chapter 21, is legally distinct from the broader “government body,” which describes entities subject to Chapter 22 public records laws. Compare, e.g., Iowa Code § 21.2(1)(b) (“[a] board, council, commission, or other governing body of a political subdivision or tax-supported district in this state”), with Iowa Code § 22.1(1) (“any county, city, township, school corporation, political subdivision, tax-supported district”). While other individuals may be closely associated with governmental bodies, only those who have the ability to create a Chapter 21 “meeting” of a governmental body under Iowa Code § 21.2(2) are considered members. For this reason, a city council member may be subject to the Section 21.12 training requirement, but a mayor would not be unless they were also a member of another governmental body, as mayors are not members of city councils. See Iowa Code § 372.4(2) (“[a] mayor is not a member of the [city] council and shall not vote as a member of the council”).

In reaching this conclusion, IPIB finds that the term “public official” was not intended to add any additional restrictions to the scope of the training requirement, as the term is not defined anywhere in Chapter 21, and it does not appear in any other location in the chapter, including in any of the new language added by HF 706. In every other reference to persons covered by the rule, Section 21.12 speaks only of a “member” or “members” of a governmental body, without any mention of “public official” as an additional qualifier. See Iowa Code § 21.12(3), (3)(a), (3)(b), (4), (5). Nothing in the legislative discussion in either chamber of the General Assembly indicates “public official” was intended as a key term. Rather, Representative Jennifer J. Smith (HF 706’s floor manager in the House) used the phrase “elected and appointed members of government bodies,” with no mention of “public officials” to describe the individuals she expected to be subject to mandatory training in her closing remarks,[1] while Senator Scott Webster (the floor manager in the Senate) stated that the bill created mandatory training for “those that are following under the Public Information Act” in his opening comments.[2]

While certain individuals, like the directors of a Chapter 99D nonprofit licensed to conduct pari-mutuel wagering, do not hold any public office, they are nevertheless subject to all the requirements of Chapter 21’s open meetings laws and the statutory penalties increased by HF 706. It follows that the legislature intended the new training to apply to all members of governmental bodies, as restriction based on the use of the term “public official” would create a counterproductive outcome in which at least some governmental bodies would have no members required to attend a training, despite their responsibilities for following open meetings law in every other context.

Practically speaking, this interpretation also limits ambiguity in applying the law, as “governmental body” is a well-defined term with considerable case law and minimal gray area. To answer the first four questions laid out at the top of this opinion, IPIB advises that Section 21.12 mandatory training applies to fire district trustees, appointees to the Sioux City Mayor’s Youth Commission, the directors of Chapter 99D and 99F nonprofit corporations which qualify as governmental bodies, otherwise private citizens elected or appointed to represent private agencies on 28E boards. Section 21.12 would not apply to non-members, such as clerks, county medical examiners, or other prominent officials such as the executive directors of state agencies, city mayors, county attorneys, or school superintendents – unless these individuals qualified through another role.

Lastly, per Iowa Code § 21.12(5), Section 21.12 also does not apply to any member or governmental body who is excluded from IPIB’s jurisdiction under Iowa Code § 23.12. This includes “the judicial [and] legislative branches of state government [and] any entity, officer, or employee of those branches, [and] the governor [and] the office of the governor.”

2. Newly Elected or Appointed

Iowa Code § 21.12(1)’s “newly elected or appointed” clause indicates that only members of governmental bodies who are elected or appointed after the bill’s effective date (July 1, 2025) are subject to mandatory training. Any member who held a qualifying position on or before June 30, 2025 is therefore exempted by virtue of their pre-existing role, meaning they do not have to take a training, including if they are reelected or reappointed to a new term in the same position.

According to Iowa Code § 21.12(3)(a), “[c]ompleting the required training as a member of [a] governmental body satisfies the requirements of [Section 21.12] with regard to the member’s service on a committee or subcommittee of the governmental body and the member’s service on any other governmental body.” In other words, if a city council member takes the required training after being elected to the council, they would not need to attend a new training if they were also appointed to the city’s public works committee or if they are later elected to serve as a county supervisor.

However, because the plain language of Iowa Code § 21.12(3)(a) refers only to completing a “required training,” IPIB does not interpret this section to waive the training requirement for those who are “newly elected or appointed” after initially being exempted but who are later elected or appointed to a new position. This includes anyone who was previously a member of a governmental body before July 1, 2025 but who was not actively serving in that role when the law came into effect, anyone who was a member of a governmental body at the time the law came into effect who leaves that position and later returns after a period of inactivity, and anyone who was exempt from training based on a legacy position with one governmental body who later becomes a member of another governmental body.

This interpretation aligns with the legislative intent in enacting Section 21.12 by requiring training for all those who are elected or appointed to a new office, including those who were previously exempted due to their legacy status. It also avoids the potential burden of administering a permanent exemption as an individual moves between governmental bodies, which would otherwise conflict with a government body’s duty to “maintain and make available for public inspection the record of the governmental body’s members’ completion of the training.” Iowa Code § 21.12(3).

3. The Ninety-Day Window

The final component of Iowa Code § 21.12 which needs to be addressed in this advisory opinion is the ninety-day window, based on the requirement that a qualifying individual must complete mandatory training “not later than the ninetieth day after the date the member does one of the following, as applicable: a) [t]akes the initial oath of office; b) [a]ssumes responsibilities, if the member is not required to take an oath of office, or c) [i]s elected to the office.”

In the original draft of HF 706 presented in the Iowa House, only subsections a and b were present, offering two mutually exclusive dates for when the ninety-day timer could begin. Subsection c, which adds the time of election as a third possible starting point, was the result of amendment H-1088. According to Representative Jennifer J. Smith, who introduced both the bill and this amendment:

This amendment allows for individuals who have been elected to office to take the approved training. New elected school board members typically attend a conference the week following their election, where an IPIB-approved training occurs. This amendment would allow the training received at this conference to count as the required training.[3]

In other words, the election alternative was included specifically to ensure that individuals were able to take advantage of training opportunities offered between the time they were elected to a governmental body and the time they either took their oath of office or assumed the responsibilities of office. Consistent with this purpose, IPIB interprets the training requirement of Iowa Code § 21.12(1) to be satisfied so long as a newly elected or appointed member completes an approved training within ninety days of any of the listed events. Thus, a person elected to a position on July 1 who takes their oath of office on August 1 would have until August 30 to complete their Section 21.12 training.

Notwithstanding the above, a person who is elected or appointed to membership in multiple different governmental bodies should use the earlier applicable deadline to determine when training must be completed. 

BY DIRECTION AND VOTE OF THE BOARD: 

Joan Corbin
E.J. Giovannetti 
Barry Lindahl
Catherine Lucas
Luke Martz
Joel McCrea 
Monica McHugh 
Jackie Schmillen 

SUBMITTED BY: 
Alexander Lee, J.D.
Agency Counsel
Iowa Public Information Board 

ISSUED ON: 
August 21, 2025

Pursuant to Iowa Administrative Rule 497-1.3(3), a person who has received a board opinion may, within 30 days after the issuance of the opinion, request modification or reconsideration of the opinion. A request for modification or reconsideration shall be deemed denied unless the board acts upon the request within 60 days of receipt of the request. The IPIB may take up modification or reconsideration of an advisory opinion on its own motion within 30 days after the issuance of an opinion. 

Pursuant to Iowa Administrative Rule 497-1.3(5), a person who has received a board opinion or advice may petition for a declaratory order pursuant to Iowa Code section 17A.9. The IPIB may refuse to issue a declaratory order to a person who has previously received a board opinion on the same question, unless the requestor demonstrates a significant change in circumstances from those in the board opinion.