Senate Oversight reconvening under new subpoena power

DES MOINES - Members of the Iowa Senate Government Oversight Committee, armed with new subpoena power, will convene a hearing Monday at the Statehouse focusing on issues at the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown.

Committee members are slated to hear from current and former employees of the state Department of Administrative Services, current Iowa Veterans Home Commandant Jodi Tymeson, and officials associated with construction projects at the Marshalltown facility.

Sen. Matt McCoy, D-Des Moines, said committee members want to discuss bidding procedures for renovation projects at the Iowa Veterans Home and how a decision to end project labor agreements might have impacted federal funding for improvements involving tens of millions of dollars. The phased improvements once carried a price tag topping $100 million.

The list of speakers slated to appear before the committee includes Doug Woodley, who stepped down last month as DAS' general services enterprise chief operating officer amid an ongoing controversy over the agency's 2011 reorganization that included secret settlements with paid confidentiality clauses. Also slated to appear are Brant Carr, former DAS administrator of state design & construction who voluntarily resigned his post on May 29, and Paul Carlson, who serves as DAS chief resource maximization officer.

McCoy said he expected committee members would question Woodley and Carr about the circumstances surrounding their departures from the DAS posts.

'Yes, we're going to ask them why they left or why they were asked to leave and they may or may not choose to answer, but we're going to press them because we believe that we have a right to know,” he said.

Monday's 10:30 a.m. hearing will be the first since Democrats who control the Iowa Senate gave the oversight panel broad investigative powers to look into alleged mismanagement and secret dealings by Branstad administration officials.

Senate Resolution 121 grants the panel authority through Dec. 31 to call witnesses, administer oaths, issue subpoenas, and cite and impose punishment for contempt - ranging from a $500 fine for an initial citation, $1,000 for a second or subsequent citation and the power to impose imprisonment for a period of up to six months. Tymeson and Carlson are appearing Monday voluntarily, while the other five scheduled speakers were subpoenaed to testify.

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