GOP proposal says Iowa government bodies could bypass state audits

DES MOINES — Instead of being scrutinized by the state auditor, an Iowa government agency or official could hire a private accountant to perform its annual audit under legislation advanced Wednesday by state lawmakers at the Iowa Capitol.

It is the second consecutive year that Sen. Michael Bousselot, a Republican from Ankeny, has introduced legislation that would limit the State Auditor’s Office — led by Rob Sand, the lone Democratic statewide elected officeholder in Iowa.

Last year, Bousselot introduced and statehouse Republicans passed a measure that placed limits on some personal information the state auditor could request during an audit, and prohibited the auditor’s office from challenging in court a state arbitration panel’s ruling over audit disputes.

Bousselot said his latest bill, which was introduced Tuesday and advanced Wednesday through the first two steps of the legislative process, would provide flexibility to government agencies that might have difficulty finding accountants, including from the state auditor’s office, to perform an audit. Bousselot said the bill still would ensure audits of Iowa government officials and agencies are thorough and would not sacrifice accountability.

Sand’s office and other statehouse Democrats see the proposal very differently.

John McCormally, with Sand’s office, said the bill “overturns the will of the voters” by allowing government officials and agencies to circumvent an examination by the state auditor’s office.

“(The proposal) allows an employee of the department to offer the audit. That is a recipe for corruption,” McCormally said during the public input portion of Wednesday’s hearing. “It’s really easy to get away with things when you have the ref on retainer.”

Sen. Tony Bisignano, a Democrat from Des Moines and a member of the subcommittee that considered the bill Wednesday, accused Bousselot of introducing the bill in an effort to strip authority from the lone statewide office now occupied by a Democrat.

“I think daylight, sunshine, transparency is what keeps government running. Because it keeps people trusting us. These are the kinds of things that create this image of us playing the hidden ball and sneaky business and politics and partisanship,” Bisignano said during the hearing. “This bill shouldn’t be here. There’s no reason for it. We have an auditor; let him audit. That’s what the people of Iowa elected, was the auditor to audit. And you’re neutering him with this bill.”

Bousselot pushed back on the assertion. He insisted any audits conducted by private accountants will be professional, effective and transparent because of the industry’s professional standards and ethics.

“Only in politics could hiring nonpartisan auditors be considered partisan,” Bousselot said. “It’s not partisan. It’s good government.”

Bousselot and fellow Republican Sen. Jason Schultz, of Schleswig, advanced the proposal, Senate File 2311 out of subcommittee, and later Wednesday it was approved by the full Senate State Government Committee, with only Republicans supporting and all Democrats and one Republican, Sen. Charlie McClintock, of Alburnett, opposing.

By quickly moving out of both subcommittee and the committee Wednesday, the proposal meets a key legislative deadline this week and remains eligible for further consideration moving forward in this legislative session.

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