Des Moines, Iowa — Republicans in the Iowa Senate have voted to put new limits on documents and information Democratic State Auditor Rob Sand’s office may access as it investigates state government operations and whistleblower complaints.
Republican Senator Mike Bousselot of Ankeny says individual income tax returns, crime reports, and things that aren’t relevant to auditor’s office investigations should be off-limits.
Sand is the only Democrat holding a state executive office. Senator Janice Weiner, a Democrat from Iowa City, says the bill essentially requires Republican Governor Kim Reynolds to ok any investigation of an executive branch agency.
Senate Democratic Leader Zach Wahls says the bill is written to prevent the auditor from investigating the new program giving state-funded savings accounts to the parents of private school students.
Senate Republicans passed the bill a day after Sand voted against using taxpayer dollars to pay a legal settlement to the former University of Iowa players who alleged the football program was a racially hostile environment. Republican Senator Jason Schultz of Schleswig says the bill was drafted in response to a recent Supreme Court ruling that there are no limits on what the state auditor may investigate.
Schultz says he was creeped out by Democrats’ complaints and suspects the bill would limit something the state auditor is planning to investigate. Sand sent an email to senators a few hours before the late-night debate, saying the bill would have a catastrophic impact on the ability of the auditor’s office to conduct oversight of state government.
