Iowa Auditor Rob Sand pushes back after Senate Republicans pass bill to limit his powers

Democratic State Auditor Rob Sand says a bill passed by Senate Republicans that would rein in his office's powers is "the single most pro-corruption bill in Iowa history."

Republican supporters say the legislation is about protecting Iowans' private information.

The Iowa Senate passed Senate File 478 Tuesday night on a 33-16 party-line vote, with every Republican in favor and every Democrat opposed. The House has not taken up the legislation.

The bill would limit the state auditor's access to records for auditing purposes. Information such as criminal files, hospital records, student records, peace officers' reports and attorney work product would be off limits unless both the auditor and the entity that is being audited agree that the information is relevant.

Sand said letting agencies that are being audited pick what information the auditor can see means they "could bury any document that they don't want to be seen in the light of day."

"Under this bill, any time the entity that we are auditing doesn’t want us to look at something they can say, ‘We’re not letting you see that.’ That alone is a violation of auditing standards," Sand said at a news conference Thursday. "Under auditing standards, the auditor has to be independent. What good is an audit if you can’t look where you want to look?"

The bill's floor manager, Sen. Mike Bousselot, R-Ankeny, said during Senate debate Tuesday night the bill is meant to protect Iowans' personal information.

"Asking that Iowans’ information be protected if it’s not relevant to the audit at hand, that my medical information shouldn’t be subject to any audit or any agency just because he wants it or someone wants it in the auditor’s office, these are common sense protections," Bousselot said. "They’re not partisan."

The bill would also prevent the auditor from going to court against any state executive branch agency, department, commission or board.

Disputes between the state auditor's office and other state entities would have to be decided by a three-person arbitration panel, with one member picked by the auditor's office, the second member picked by the agency being audited and the third member picked by the governor. The board's decision would be final.

Sand won a high-profile lawsuit in 2021 when the Iowa Supreme Court ruled unanimously that his office had the authority to subpoena the University of Iowa for information about a $1.2 billion deal to lease its utility system to to private companies for 50 years.

Some of the questions in the lawsuit revolved around when Sand's audit of the university began. Although the justices ruled unanimously in favor of Sand's subpoena, some took a narrower view of the authority of the auditor's office.

"The state auditor does not get to make free-standing requests for information which, ipso facto, create an audit," Justice Edward Mansfield wrote in his concurrence. "The job is auditor, not 'investigator.'"

The bill would also say that an audit begins according to the auditing standards set out by the U.S. Comptroller General and published by the Government Accountability Office.

"All this bill is doing — and it’s trying to strike a balance — is it says, ‘Hey when you start an audit, follow the accounting standards,'" Bousselot said.

Sand said it was offensive to suggest that the staff in his office aren't following auditing standards.

"We already follow the standards," Sand said. "Every audit we issue follows the standards. You can’t put your signature on an audit as a CPA in the state auditor’s office or in a private firm unless it follows the standards."

Sand's office provided a letter signed by David Walker, who was the U.S. Comptroller General from 1998-2008. In the letter, Walker said portions of the bill are inconsistent with the standards set out by the Government Accountability Office and that the legislation could put hundreds of millions of dollars of Iowa's federal funds at risk if audits of federal programs don't follow those standards.

"It would effectively undercut the independence of, and non-partisan approach needed for the Iowa state auditor’s office to be fully effective," Walker said in the letter.

Sand also provided a letter signed by 27 state auditors around the country who said they believe the bill will hurt Sand's ability to perform his work.

"Auditors must be independent and have the ability to obtain sufficient, appropriate audit evidence to achieve audit objectives," the state auditors wrote. "Independence is a foundational requirement and is embedded in professional auditing standards."

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand criticizes GOP bill to limit his powers