September 30, 2014
Prepared Statement by Senator Janet Petersen, chair, Iowa Senate Oversight Committee
Last spring, when the Iowa Senate debated reforms related to various scandals involving state government, I said “Iowans deserve clean government and Iowa taxpayers deserve answers.”
Here are some of the questions in need of answers:
Why did the Department of Administrative Services and several other state agencies pay former employees to for their silence?
Why did Branstad administrators back away from millions of dollars in federally funded improvements for veterans at the Iowa Veterans Home?
Why were state employees afraid to blow the whistle on illegal or improper practices?
Why were founded cases of violence in state workplaces swept under the rug?
Why did judges deciding unemployment cases feel pressured to rule against workers?
Governor Branstad has shown little interest in answering these questions.
That’s why the Senate Oversight Committee worked to discover the rest of the story, hearing sworn testimony and gathering documents from a diverse collection of people.
Based on what we learned, we have compiled a comprehensive set of reforms to clean up state government.
These reforms are intended to fix underlying problems in state government, problems which—if not addressed—could damage the effectiveness of state government and leave the door open to similar scandals in future Republican or Democratic administrations.
I expect the Iowa Legislature will debate legislation based on these proposed reforms next year. It is my hope that Republicans and Democrats will set aside partisan differences and take the steps necessary to get Iowa’s state government back on track and prevent scandals like this from happening again.
Here is a summary of our proposed reforms
Ban the use of secret settlements and hush money in all branches of government. Eliminate slush funds used by departments and agencies to disguise settlement payments. All state employment settlements should be transparent and subject to legislative oversight.
Expand protections for state employees and contractors who blow the whistle on wrongful activities.
Reverse the growing trend of cronyism in the hiring of state employees by requiring all job openings to be openly advertised, transparent and subject to legislative oversight.
Reform the state’s “do-not-hire” database to ensure due process and prevent abuses.
Prevent no-bid contracts on state projects by requiring all state entities to follow formal competitive bidding procedures for projects above $100,000. Require that architectural and engineering services follow the same bidding and procurement requirements as other construction services.
Increase accountability in state infrastructure projects by requiring that all major infrastructure changes be approved by the Legislative Committee that originally appropriated the money. In addition, reinstate the Vertical Infrastructure Advisory Committee and review the state construction cost benefit analysis by the Legislative Service Agency and act on its recommendations.
Take political influence out of the judicial process by ensuring Iowans receive a fair and impartial hearing. Protect the integrity and independence of administrative law judges by preventing political appointees and at-will employees from supervising or evaluating them.
Restore integrity to Iowa’s unemployment trust fund by appointing trusted and transparent leadership and updating or replacing the call-in system for unemployment benefits.
To insure that intolerable behavior is not swept under the rug, require that the Legislature be notified when the Governor receives reports of founded workplace violence in state agencies.
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