AI-assisted research summary: The section bars certain division employees and job applicants from conflicts of interest or disqualifying criminal histories, requires background checks and bonding, and lets the department and director make some screening decisions.
1. An employee of the division shall not have a financial interest in any vendor doing business or proposing to do business with the department under this chapter. However, an employee may own shares of a mutual fund which may hold shares of a vendor corporation provided the employee does not have the ability to influence the investment functions of the mutual fund. 2. An employee of the division with decision-making authority under this chapter shall not participate in any decision involving a retailer with whom the employee has a financial interest. 3. A background investigation shall be conducted by the department of public safety, division of criminal investigation, on each applicant who has reached the final selection process prior to employment by the department under this chapter. For positions not designated as sensitive by the department, the investigation may consist of a state criminal history background check, work history, and financial review. The department shall identify those sensitive positions of the division which require full background investigations, which positions shall include, at a minimum, any employee with operational management responsibilities, security duties, or system maintenance or programming responsibilities related to the division’s data processing or network hardware, software, communication, or related systems under this chapter. In addition to a work history and financial review, a full background investigation may include a national criminal history check through the federal bureau of investigation. The screening of employees through the federal bureau of investigation shall be conducted by submission of fingerprints through the state criminal history repository to the federal bureau of investigation. The results of background investigations conducted pursuant to this section shall not be considered public records under chapter 22. 4. A person who has been convicted of a felony or bookmaking or other form of illegal gambling shall not be employed by the department under this chapter. The director shall have discretion to determine the relevance of other crimes when making decisions regarding employment with the department under this chapter. 5. The department shall bond employees with access to Iowa lottery funds or lottery revenue under this chapter in such an amount as provided by the department and may bond other employees under this chapter as deemed necessary. 2003 Acts, ch 145, §286; 2003 Acts, ch 178, §72, 121; 2003 Acts, ch 179, §60, 84, 142; 2004 Acts, ch 1086, §26; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §2318; 2024 Acts, ch 1182, §98; 2025 Acts, ch 12, §9 Subsection 4 amended