Member education course required

1. 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: a. Takes the initial oath of office. b. Assumes responsibilities, if the member is not required to take an oath of office. c. Is elected to the office. 2. The Iowa public information board shall ensure that the training is made available. The Iowa public information board may provide the training and may also approve any acceptable course of training offered by a governmental body or other entity. The Iowa public information board shall ensure that at least one course of training approved or provided by the Iowa public information board is available at no cost. 3. The Iowa public information board or other entity providing the training shall provide a certificate of course completion to persons who complete the training required by this section. A governmental body shall maintain and make available for public inspection the record of the governmental body’s members’ completion of the training. a. Completing the required training as a member of the governmental body satisfies the requirements of this section 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. b. The training required by this section may be used to satisfy any corresponding training requirements concerning this chapter and chapter 22 as required by law for the members of a governmental body. 4. If one or more members of a governmental body fail to complete the training required by this section, the failure does not affect the validity of an action taken by the governmental body. However, the member must complete training within sixty days or may be assessed damages as described in section 21.6, subsection 3. 5. This section does not apply to a member of a governmental body if the member or governmental body is excluded from the jurisdiction of the Iowa public information board under section 23.12.