Capitol Notebook: Gov. Kim Reynolds again appoints rejected state board member

DES MOINES — Gov. Kim Reynolds has once again appointed to the state’s Public Employment Relations Board a former Republican state lawmaker who has been serving on the board without Senate confirmation.

Reynolds this week appointed Erik Helland, a former state lawmaker from Johnston, to the board. It was among dozens of appointments to myriad state boards.

The board’s charge, according to its mission statement, is to act neutrally to “promote harmonious and cooperative relationships between government and its employees without disruption of public services.”

Reynolds previously appointed Helland — both are Republicans — to the board, but his appointment was not confirmed this year by the Iowa Senate. In the meantime, Helland has been serving as the board’s chair and drawing a $97,460 salary, according to state records.

Confirmation of gubernatorial appointees requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate, and based on early, procedural votes during the 2022 legislative session, it appeared Helland would not get enough votes from Democrats to gain approval in the Republican-majority Senate.

“I have problems with his management style, his philosophy of leadership,” Sen. Todd Taylor, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, said during a committee hearing on the appointment in April. “And I have problems with the way the governor has handled this department.”

Taylor at the time expressed concern about Helland drawing a higher salary on the board than the member he replaced, who was a woman and a Democrat. Taylor also cited the fact that the board is not politically balanced as required by state law; the three-member board currently has only two members, Helland and Jane Dufoe, both of whom are Republicans.

With Reynolds once again appointing Helland to the board, his nomination will once again come before the Senate in 2023.

ANTI-TRAFFICKING AWARENESS: Three state agencies are highlighting their programs that are designed to combat human trafficking in advance of Saturday, which is World Day Against Human Trafficking.

The Secretary of State’s office has enacted a program that encourages businesses to educate their employees and customers about human trafficking. The transportation department participates in outreach programs that educate drivers on how to identify signs of human trafficking. And the public safety department, which has a special office specifically for combating human trafficking, has free online training.

“We share the common goal of combating human trafficking in Iowa,” Sgt. Joe Nickell, with the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Motor Vehicle Enforcement unit, said in a news release. “Creating awareness of the issue and helping people recognize the signs of human trafficking can make a big difference in putting a stop to it.”

The Secretary of State’s program for businesses can be found at ibat.iowa.gov. The public safety department’s anti-human trafficking work, including the free online training, can be found at stophtiowa.org. The transportation department’s “Recognize and Report” initiative can be found at recognizeandreport.org.

IOWA DOT PROJECTS: Three state transportation department projects were honored with an America’s Transportation Award at the annual meeting of the Mid America Association of State Transportation Officials, which was held in Des Moines, the department said.

The projects were chosen from 18 entries in a 10-state region. The state projects honored were a dual, divided freeway in Council Bluffs; the Memorial Bridge project in the Quad Cities; and an emergency divisible load management project in multiple states, including Iowa.

Gazette Des Moines Bureau