Bill would bar Iowa cities, counties, schools from using tax dollars to hire lobbyists

DES MOINES — Iowa cities, counties and school districts would be prohibited from using taxpayer funding to pay statehouse lobbyists under legislation being considered in the Iowa Senate.

A three-member legislative panel of Senate lawmakers on Wednesday unanimously agreed to advance Senate Study Bill 1042, which is now eligible for consideration by the full Senate Local Government Committee.

The bill prohibits local government from using money “received from the imposition of a tax to employ or compensate a lobbyist.” A person who knowingly and intentionally violates the provision is guilty of a serious misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine between $430 and $2,560. If the person is a lobbyist, they may be reprimanded, suspended or dismissed from their lobbying position, “or otherwise sanctioned.”

Representatives from the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and Iowans for Tax Relief called the bill a “good step forward in property tax protection.” Representatives for the cities of Cedar Rapids and Des Moines said lobbyists help local communities effectively advocate for their interests and highlighted their role in helping cities save money, which benefits local taxpayers.

“There are many times where lobbyists for local governments are here working to save property tax dollars, not spending property tax dollars,” said Doug Struyk, a lobbyist representing the city of Des Moines.

Kelly Meyers, a lobbyist representing the Marion County Board of Supervisors, noted the county's successful lobbying effort to secure an economic development grant used to offset debt for demolition of a former VA hospital.

“They've now turned that economic opportunity into a housing development” that’s helped address workforce housing needs, Meyers said.

The county also used lobbyists to help gather government expertise to close a massive sinkhole near Knoxville that continues to grow and now stretches across the road.

“There's very little to no regulatory oversight for that. We're trying to garner our government relations to have input and expertise that's needed to reclamate that, which is not only a danger for Marion County citizens but to anyone that travels the road,” Meyers said.

Larry Murphy, a lobbyist who represents the city of Cedar Rapids and the Urban County Coalition, said lobbyists act as a “conduit for information,” helping both local governments and lawmakers identify, address and understand issues and challenges facing communities across the state.

“So it's a shared responsibility,” Murphy said.

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Sens. Scott Webster, R-Bettendorf, and Dave Sires, R-Cedar Falls, said it’s unnecessary for cities and counties to hire lobbyists in Des Moines because lawmakers are back in their district often — if not every week — during the session and regularly meet with and are accessible to local officials to discuss issues and legislation.

Both lawmakers previously served on their communities’ city council before being elected to the Iowa Legislature.

“Monday night, I was at the Hudson City Council meeting,” Sires said. “I go to all the city council meetings. I go to all the (county board of) supervisors meetings. I don't need any sort of conduit to tell me what's going on in my communities, because my No. 1 duty is (to) the people that I represent, no one else. I don't need it watered down. I don't need a salesman talking to me. Those are the people that I care about and those are the people I work hard for.”

Webster, the bill’s author and chair of the Local Government Committee, likewise said he talks to city administrators, council members and county board members in his district “all the time.”

“I can get that information that way. I can get it pretty simply and almost every week I’m back on Friday, and they all know my cellphone number,” Webster said. “… I have seen lobbyists up here actively working for cities to keep as much property tax and as high a property tax as they can all at the same time those same taxpayers are paying for that lobbyist through taxes. So I think this is a good bill.”

Webster said he intends to offer an amendment to clarify that the bill would not prohibit cities, counties and school districts from lobbying at the federal level.

The city of Cedar Rapids has two hired lobbyists to represent it at the Iowa Capitol. The city spent $215,000 last fiscal year and $205,000 the year before that on lobbying expenses. The money came out of the city’s general fund, which is largely comprised of property tax dollars.

At the state level, lobbyists helped Cedar Rapids secure funding for flood protection dispersed by the Iowa Flood Mitigation Board, which allocates $15 million annually to the city through 2034, and another $5 million in the following year, until the total funding amount reaches $269 million.

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At the federal level, lobbyists have helped secure more than $119 million for the Cedar River Flood Control System, funding for various community projects and millions in transportation and infrastructure funding.

They have also facilitated key relationships to support legislation benefiting Cedar Rapids, including successfully including language in federal bills to aid in the construction of the Flood Control System, city officials said.

“Lobbyists play an important role in the communication process and can engage state lawmakers in real time, keeping city leaders updated when bills related to city initiatives are introduced or discussed on the House or Senate floor,” city officials said in a statement to The Gazette.

The city of Iowa City contracts with Carney & Appleby P.L.C. to provide lobbying services, and pays $32,400 annually using general fund dollars supported by property taxes.

Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com