Toward transparency and accountability in state government

The State of Iowa spends approximately $7.3 billion of taxpayer money annually. While the biggest chunks of that, such as education and Medicaid, receive plenty of oversight and attention, thousands of other line items go years or even decades without sufficient legislative review. This contributes to waste, duplication and inefficiency, with outdated or ineffective programs siphoning taxpayer money from higher priorities.

We all know the state budget is tight, which creates challenges as well as opportunities. When an Iowa family has a tight budget, they take the opportunity to examine all of the elements in it, prioritize those things that are most important, and cut those things that they can't afford. State government should be no different. Just as Iowa families do, the state should use this period of tight budgets to undertake a top-to-bottom review of every line item. This will benchmark effective programs, shine light on areas of improvement and identify items that should be eliminated or reduced in the name of priority-based budgeting.

Toward this end, the Iowa House recently launched a bipartisan Standing Budget Review Subcommittee. Over the course of nine meetings in four weeks, this subcommittee will examine over $600 million worth of programs in the Standing Appropriations Budget. This budget includes items that are automatically renewed annually with little or no oversight, making this review all the more important.

To aid in the review, each government department must fill out a questionnaire outlining the history, purpose, expenditures, and metrics for the program in question. Then the department program manager appears before the subcommittee, giving a short presentation and answering tough questions.

To lead by example, the first program considered was the $38 million Legislative budget. Subsequent reviews range from the tiny $67 Department of Human Resources' Nonresident Transfer program to the Department of Revenue's massive $154 million Commercial & Industrial Property Tax Replacement program. Other programs facing review include the Department of Cultural Affairs' County Endowment program, the Iowa Economic Development Authority's Tourism Marketing Fund, the Department of Education's Child Development program, the Department of Human Services' Child Abuse Prevention program, and the Department of Public Safety's Peace Officer Retirement System, among others.

For this effort to succeed, it must remain bipartisan and evidence-based. The intent is to get the history, facts and metrics on the table for the legislature, executive branch, media and public to see without political spin. Armed with these objective truths, legislators can then apply their subjective judgment through the budget process. Politics will definitely play a role in those subjective judgments, but at least all can begin the partisan discussions from a common base of data and fact.

This budget review process is a good first step toward greater transparency and accountability in state government. It will better inform priority-based budgeting. Finally, it will ensure that we are good stewards of Iowans' hard-earned taxpayer dollars, spending their money on high-priority programs that work.

' Repr. Ken Rizer (R-Marion) is chairman of the House Standing Budget Review Subcommittee. Comments: Ken.Rizer@legis.iowa.gov