Iowa House votes to bolster opens meetings law

DES MOINES — Iowa House lawmakers unanimously passed legislation Monday strengthening the state’s open meetings laws, which a Scott County lawmaker behind the bill says stems from issues in the Quad Cities.

Under House File 706, penalties for violating the state’s open meetings laws would be increased and public information accessibility training would be required for most public officials.

Republican Rep. Gary Mohr, of Bettendorf, originally introduced the legislation in 2024 in response to two events in Davenport.

The first was the difficulty members of the public and media faced when seeking access to public records, including inspection reports, related to the 2023 partial building collapse in downtown Davenport that killed three people. The second was when the city of Davenport approved a $1.6 million departure agreement with its city administrator without a public vote.

“Nearly two years have passed, and we still can't get answers to these questions. Three people died, one leg from a fourth was amputated,” Mohr said of the apartment building collapse. “Taxpayer funds were channeled to former city employees and no answers after two years. To the people of Davenport and the Iowa Quad Cities, we in this room hear your disgust and frustration.

“Let's send a strong message to the people of Davenport that we stand with them for greater transparency, freedom of information, and let's hold our public officials accountable so this never happens again.”

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In 2023, Davenport separated with former city administrator Corri Spiegel, paying for lost wages and "emotional pain and suffering" due to harassment, bias and discrimination she said she received from elected officials. Separations from Spiegel and other city officials cost the city about $2 million, but proceedings were not held in front of the public, according to Mohr, who referred to the situation as the city “stonewalling the facts.”

The Davenport City Council ratified the separation agreement in a public vote more than two months after the date of the agreement. The Davenport city attorney at the time argued it did not need a public vote as the council had consented to it.

The legislation passed through the House and Senate in 2024 but was vetoed by Gov. Kim Reynolds over a Senate-added amendment that would’ve expanded exceptions to open meeting requirements.

Mohr said he thinks the legislation has a better chance this year after having conversations with Senate lawmakers.

The legislation would increase fines for public officials who do not follow the open meetings or records requirements from between $100 and $500 to between $500 and $2,500. The bill would increase damages if a violation was knowingly committed from between $1,000 and $2,500 to between $5,000 and $12,500.

Under the legislation, newly elected or appointed public officials would be required to complete public records training provided by the Iowa Public Information Board within 90 days of taking the oath or assuming office.

The House added an amendment that would count public information training received at postelection conferences as required training for newly elected school board members.

Employees of the judicial or legislative branches, the office of the governor and the governor would not be required to complete the training.

Democratic Rep. Dan Gosa, of Davenport, echoed Mohr in his support for the bill, adding that he experienced issues with accessing public information when he served as a board member for the Davenport Community Schools.

“We need to hold our mayor and city council accountable,” Gosa said. “They do have some things to answer for, and we've been dealing with this for a long time.”

Sarah Watson of the Quad City Times contributed to this report.