If you believe in democracy in Iowa, stand up

For Iowans who value democracy, this past session of the Iowa Legislature was a wake-up call.

Much as our state is known for rich topsoil that is increasingly washing downstream, our state’s rich history of strong democratic institutions is likewise being consciously eroded away by the party in power.

Yes, Iowans elected Republicans to majorities in the state Senate and House. Yes, they were offered a mandate. But it was a mandate to govern — not to rig the game in their favor. With great power comes great responsibility. Following the rules, listening to constituents, respecting checks and balances, honoring transparency and allowing for honest input into the legislative process are all essential.

Following the rules

When Senate Republicans brought a highly unpopular school voucher bill to the floor for debate, they deployed an obscure procedural maneuver to limit debate and block amendments. It was the first bill of the session and legislative leaders gamed the rules, restricting senators’ ability to improve the legislation and put fellow senators on the record on issues of accountability, equity, and stewardship of taxpayer dollars. And we are just now learning that a private, out-of-state company will receive $4.6 million in taxpayer money as part of the deal, while hundreds of millions more will be held in out-of-state banks.

Listening to Iowans

It wasn’t just on vouchers that Republicans in Des Moines turned a deaf ear to constituents. They did so on eminent domain, SNAP benefits, education, and anti-LGBTQ bills as well — all issues on which we received mountains of feedback from Iowans. Iowa voters should ask themselves why Republicans ignored their views and left them yelling into the void.

Respecting checks and balances

Rather than welcoming checks and balances, the majority party sought to erase them. They passed a bill to limit the ability of the state auditor (the only Democrat elected to statewide office) to produce clean audits and ferret out corruption, and they drew undemocratic lessons from Supreme Court cases. The floor debate on the auditor bill, Senate File 478, focused on a two-year-old Iowa Supreme Court case, in which the auditor had attempted unsuccessfully to audit an organization that appears to spend taxpayer funds on cushy junkets for its members — some of whom are elected officials. The court ruled that the auditor had no authority to audit this organization. Rather than give the auditor that additional capacity to protect taxpayer funds, Republicans passed a law putting a tighter leash on the state’s fiscal watchdog.

Honoring transparency

Then there was the budget, which is much more than just a list of numbers. Writing the budget is the most important thing lawmakers do. It sets our priorities for the year, and commits taxpayer dollars to the services of state government. But this session, Senate Republicans treated the state budget as an afterthought, offering no chance for Iowans or legislators to ask direct questions in subcommittees about spending plans, and advancing blank budget bills that contained no actual numbers. The people of Iowa never saw a budget with numbers in it until an immutable deal had been struck behind closed doors. We were all in the dark until the literal last minute, when we scrambled to read the bills. At that point, the only thing left to do was to highlight specific issues — such as the egregious cut to Area Education Agencies — vote on the bills and adjourn.

Valuing good information

Throughout the session, lobbyists and department representatives often hesitated to take positions and offer expert information on bills — including bills clearly detrimental to their respective organizations’ interests. Department heads serve at the governor’s pleasure — all the more so after the massive government reorganization Gov. Kim Reynolds pushed through the legislature this year — making them reluctant to rock the boat.

Taken together, these actions tell a story: Republicans are eroding our democratic traditions.

If you value democracy, and if you believe our state motto — “Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain” — now is the time to act. Stand up for your state. Demand action from your legislators, and, when the time comes, vote to preserve traditional, democratic governance in Iowa.

Democratic state Sen. Janice Weiner represents District 45, which includes much of Iowa City.