Capitol Notebook: Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate to lead national elections panel

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate will be a co-chair of the National Association of Secretaries of State’s Elections Committee, his office announced Wednesday.

Pate will serve a year in the role, overseeing the committee that develops and shares techniques and best state practices in running elections. The other co-chair will be New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver.

“We have an enormous challenge ahead of us to restore voter confidence in this country,” Pate said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues from around the country to protect our elections. This is a very important year, and it’s an honor to be chosen as co-chair of this important committee heading into the 2022 midterms.”

According to the organization’s website, the committee also tracks proposed federal legislation and follows activities of federal agencies and committees related to elections.

Pate is a past president of the National Association of Secretaries of State. He was appointed to his new role by the organization’s president, New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way.

PROCLAMATION HONORS USS IOWA: Gov. Kim Reynolds celebrated the commissioning of the upcoming Navy submarine USS Iowa by designating Monday, Aug. 22, as USS Iowa Submarine Day in a ceremony on Monday.

The USS Iowa is a Virginia-class submarine that will be the fourth Navy vessel named after the state. It’s currently under construction and will be commissioned next year.

Reynolds was joined by the crew of the submarine and former Iowa first lady Christie Vilsack, who sponsored the push to name the submarine after Iowa.

“On behalf of all Iowans, I want to tell you how proud we are to, again, have a Naval warship bear the name of Iowa,” Reynolds said at the ceremony.

Reynolds also signed a proclamation designating this week “Iowa Employee Support of the Guard and Reserves Week.”

ANOTHER OPIOID SETTLEMENT: Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller announced the state and others have reached a preliminary settlement with another drugmaker to address the opioid crisis.

Miller’s office announced Iowa and more than 30 other states, as well as the District of Columbia and U.S. Virgin Islands, reached an agreement in principle with Ireland-based pharmaceutical company Endo International.

Under the tentative agreement with Endo, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York on Tuesday, and its lenders, the company would provide up to $450 million over 10 years to participating states and local governments to settle lawsuits claiming the drugmaker boosted opioid sales by falsely promoting and overstating their benefits and downplayed the risk of addiction.

Endo makes branded and generic opioids, including Percocet, Endocet and Opana ER. The latter was withdrawn from the market in 2017.

Miller’s office said each state's share of the settlement has yet to be determined.

Gazette Des Moines Bureau