State Auditor Rob Sand says a state agency is citing a Republican-backed law passed last year to deny his office access to documents.
Sand, a Democrat, said his office received a tip that Iowa Board of Parole members were not attending all the hearings required by state law. When his office followed up, the board said it had fixed the problem but declined to provide Sand with records to support the claim.
Sand said it’s the first case of a government body denying records to his office citing Senate File 478, a law passed last year that bars the auditor’s office from going to court against another statewide elected official or state department, agency, board or commission to enforce a subpoena for documents.
“Last year, despite bipartisan opposition, the governor signed the most pro-corruption bill in Iowa history, allowing state agencies to hide documents from the auditor’s office, and the truth from you, the taxpayers,” Sand said at a news conference Thursday. “Today we are issuing the first report telling the public that the truth remains hidden from them as a result of that law.”