HR 126 (LSB 6213YH (5) 85)

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 126

BY  HANSON, GAINES, LENSING, THEDE, GASKILL, ANDERSON, DAWSON, KAJTAZOVIC, T. TAYLOR, M. SMITH, RUNNING-MARQUARDT, WINCKLER, HUNTER, H. MILLER, THOMAS, ISENHART, WOOD, PRICHARD, ABDUL-SAMAD, JACOBY, OLDSON, KRESSIG, LYKAM, BERRY, COHOON, MURPHY, MUHLBAUER, KELLEY, FORBES, STECKMAN, STUTSMAN, WESSEL-KROESCHELL, BEARINGER, WOLFE, RUFF, DUNKEL, LUNDBY, KEARNS, STAED, and HEDDENS

A Resolution directing the standing Committee on Government Oversight to investigate certain state government matters.

   WHEREAS, legislative investigations are an essential function of the General Assembly’s constitutional duties of lawmaking, appropriation of state moneys, and open and transparent oversight relating to public policy decisions made by the General Assembly and the implementation of the law by the executive branch; and
   WHEREAS, Governor Terry E. Branstad created an Iowa Juvenile Home Protection Task Force in August 2013, which recommended in October 2013 that a 20-bed facility of last resort be maintained for delinquent girls and that child-in-need-of-assistance youth not be placed at the Iowa Juvenile Home, but Governor Branstad closed the Iowa Juvenile Home on January 15, 2014, two days after the convening of the 2014 Legislative Session, impounding and redirecting the use of state funds and transferring residents without allowing the General Assembly time to perform its public policy and lawmaking functions with regard to the home and its residents; and
   WHEREAS, Teresa Wahlert, Director of Iowa Workforce Development, eliminated the Chief Administrative Law Judge’s position responsible for the oversight of unemployment compensation cases in her agency, assuming the supervision herself, and allegedly directing the Administrative Law Judges to conduct themselves in a manner favorable to employers, thereby interfering with their ability to impartially judge cases as required by federal law; and
   WHEREAS, during Governor Branstad’s current administration the employment of state employees has been terminated through the use of personnel settlement agreements that contain confidentiality clauses attempting to force state employees to maintain the confidentiality of facts, circumstances, and terms related to the settlement agreements, with additional compensation offered or paid to some state employees for the inclusion of such confidentiality clauses; and
   WHEREAS, the Department of Administrative Services, pursuant to a recent public records law request, has released a list of hundreds of workers who are disqualified from future employment because they were discharged or resigned before termination, a practice which has been concealed from the public and often from workers on the list; and
   WHEREAS, it is the duty of the standing Committee on Government Oversight to act as the investigative arm of the House of Representatives; and
   WHEREAS, the standing Committee on Government Oversight in the past has investigated or conducted inquiries regarding government wrongdoing involving the Central Iowa Employment and Training Consortium, the Atalissa boardinghouse workers, the Iowa Film Office, and the Iowa Association of School Boards, and such investigations and inquiries have resulted in the improvement of governmental functions; and
   WHEREAS, the abrupt closing of the Iowa Juvenile Home, the alleged attempt to interfere with impartiality in Iowa Workforce Development cases, the unenforceable use of confidentiality clauses in personnel settlement agreements in the executive branch, and the secret disqualifying of former state employees have not been as thoroughly investigated as anticipated, and therefore these issues remain unresolved; and
   WHEREAS, additional investigation by the elected representatives of the citizens of Iowa is necessary to assure transparency and openness in state government actions, to protect citizens and prevent future abuses of the law, and to restore the citizens’ faith in state government; NOW THEREFORE,

   BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, That the standing Committee on Government Oversight is directed to thoroughly investigate the issues described in this resolution and any related issues that may arise; and

   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House standing Committee on Government Oversight is encouraged to consult and cooperate with the Senate standing Committee on Government Oversight regarding any or all of the issues described in this resolution or on other related issues; and
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the standing Committee on Government Oversight, in conducting such investigation, pursuant to Iowa Code sections 2.15 and 2.23, is authorized to call witnesses, administer oaths, issue subpoenas, and cite for contempt, and to meet at such times and at such places as the Chairperson of the Committee deems necessary; and
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the standing Committee on Government Oversight is directed to receive and review any relevant public records information available through a request for examination or copying of public records pursuant to Iowa Code chapter 22; and
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the standing Committee on Government Oversight is authorized to retain, at a reasonable rate of compensation, independent legal counsel, with expertise in investigatory work, and special investigators to coordinate, direct, and conduct such investigation, as necessary, to reimburse such persons for reasonable expenses related to such investigation, and to make recommendations to the committee regarding legislative and prosecutorial actions.