Iowa Auditor’s access to government agencies a battle line between Sand, Republicans

DES MOINES — The ability of the state’s taxpayer watchdog to access information from other state agencies during an audit — and the limits of that watchdog’s authority — are being tested as Democratic Iowa Auditor Rob Sand tussles over state audits with Republican lawmakers and a state board whose members were appointed by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds.

The day after Republican state lawmakers advanced new legislation that would allow government agencies to bypass the state auditor and have their annual audits instead conducted by a private accountant, Sand on Thursday highlighted the Iowa Board of Parole’s recent rejection of his office’s request for some information during an audit, citing a new state law approved last year.

Sand said the rejection by the Iowa Board of Parole is the first example of a government body declining to fully cooperate with an audit by citing the 2023 law, which placed guardrails on the kind of information that the state auditor can seek during an investigation. When it was passed last year, and again during a news conference on Thursday, Sand called it “the most pro-corruption bill in Iowa history.”

“Today we are issuing the first report telling the public that the truth remains hidden from them as a result of that law,” Sand said Thursday during a news conference. “Government corruption and secrecy are growing in the state of Iowa.”

The Parole Board said it refused Sand’s request because it fell outside the scope of the audit, and that Sand’s office needed to file a separate request — known as an engagement letter — for the information that he sought.

“Audit engagement letters set out the rights and responsibilities of the parties to the audit, for the benefit of both the auditor and the agency. As noted in the audit report, the Board of Parole requested an engagement letter as required in Iowa law. The auditor refused to provide one,” said a statement sent by a spokeswoman for the Board of Parole.

The audit report from Sand’s office noted that the parole board failed to have one regular member in attendance for some hearing panels that alternate board members, which was a violation of state law. In the audit report, the parole board said it learned of the improper action and reviewed the panels to bring them into compliance.

When Sand’s office requested documentation to confirm those actions, the Board of Parole declined to respond, saying the information was related to ongoing litigation and not related to the audit.

Sand said the report started from a whistleblower’s tip.

“Can we tell you the board will fix this problem on their own? We can’t. Can we tell you they fixed the problem at all? We can’t,” Sand said during his news conference. “No one in the state knows other than a bunch of government insiders because of the bill that this building passed and the governor signed last year.”

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That 2023 law was introduced by Iowa Sen. Michael Bousselot, a Republican from Ankeny. Earlier this week, Bousselot introduced another bill that would affect the auditor’s office: his 2024 proposal would, instead of having their annual audit conducted by the Iowa Auditor’s Office, allow government agencies and officials to hire a private accountant to conduct an audit.

Critics of the proposal, including Sand, have said Senate File 2311 opens the door to political corruption by allowing government officials to bypass the state auditor for annual audits.

Bousselot noted the hiring of a private accountant to conduct a required annual audit is already allowed for and widely employed by local governments and school districts.

“Only in politics could hiring a nonpartisan, independent, licensed certified public accountant be labeled as political,” Bousselot said. “It boggles the mind that it has worked so far, so well, and allowed for accountability and effectiveness at the local government level.”

Sand and Bousselot disagree over whether the state auditor would retain the authority to reinvestigate private audit reports under the proposed bill. Bousselot insists his proposal does nothing to restrict the auditor’s ability to conduct an audit if there appear to be weaknesses in an audit conducted by a private accountant. Sand insists his office would not have that authority under Bousselot’s bill.

The bill was passed out of committee this week, surviving the legislature’s funnel deadline. It is now eligible for flood debate in the Senate.

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com