Iowa lawmakers will investigate gay youth conference on smaller scale

DES MOINES - A legislative oversight panel will take a bipartisan approach to investigating a conference for gay and transgender youth, the panel's chairman said Thursday.

Iowa Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, who leads the House Government Oversight Committee, on Tuesday appointed two legislators each to four issues he expects the committee to investigate during the legislative session.

Among the subjects is the Iowa Governor's Conference on LGBTQ Youth, which is put on annually by the nonprofit advocacy group Iowa Safe Schools and is designed to inform high-school students about issues related to gay and transgender youth.

Kaufmann and other Republican legislators raised concerns about last year's conference, saying they heard reports of vulgar and inappropriate content, such as guidance on how to find orgies and calls to vandalize the property of people who disapprove of the gay and transgender lifestyle.

Kaufmann initially scheduled a hearing on the conference but later postponed the session.

He said Thursday he wants a bipartisan tandem of legislators on the oversight committee to investigate the conference and report back to the committee.

'I specifically am doing it this way because I wanted Democrats to be involved,” Kaufmann said. 'I want whatever happened to be brought out to light. Whatever that is. I'm not going to try to twist it to be one way or the other. And there's nothing wrong with asking questions as to what happened. And if something did happen, what do we do to make sure that taxpayer dollars aren't being used to push content that's not suited for minors without parental notification.”

Rep. Ruth Ann Gaines, D-Des Moines, the ranking Democrat on the oversight committee, said she is pleased the body will look into the conference using a bipartisan panel rather than in a hearing.

'I don't think there's enough there for a hearing. Plus, I don't know if Government Oversight really has the legal ability to hold a hearing about a school function like that,” Gaines said. 'But we still are going to talk about it, and that will give the people planning that conference a better approach for future years.”

Nate Monson, executive director of Iowa Safe Schools, has defended the conference and said he is concerned any inquiry will become an attack on gay and transgender youth.

Kaufmann insisted that is not the intent, nor is it his intent to stop the conference.

This year's event is scheduled for April 29 in Des Moines.

'The panel will not come to a recommendation to stop the Governor's Conference,” he said. 'And if they did, I wouldn't accept it, because that's never been my intention. Our intentions are to find out what happened and figure out how to make sure it doesn't happen again.”

On other issues, Kaufmann said he would entertain legislation that provides additional oversight of the private management of the state's $5 billion Medicaid program.

Democratic state lawmakers are pushing for stronger legislative oversight of the government health care program, which starting March 1 will be managed by three private health-care companies instead of the state. Republican legislative leaders and Gov. Terry Branstad, who called for the change, have pushed back at the need for more oversight.

'I'd consider it,” Kaufmann said. 'If that request were made, I'd actually reach out to the governor's office and get their input, too, because this is his plan. Anything that would be done, I would certainly want his folks to be on board, too.”

Kaufmann also wants the oversight committee to be sure construction of a new drinking water lake in Clarke County is following new eminent domain regulations; monitor a company attempting to construct a clean energy transmission line through the state; and investigate any lingering issues in the state lottery system in the wake of legal resolution of a scam effort.