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Iowa House votes to hike penalties for violating open meetings law
Bill spurred by Davenport events also requires training
Caleb McCullough, Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau
Feb. 22, 2024 6:50 pm, Updated: Feb. 23, 2024 8:11 am
DES MOINES — The Iowa House passed a bill Thursday to strengthen Iowa's open meetings law, proposed by a Quad Cities lawmaker who said he was inspired by recent events in Davenport.
The bill, House File 2539, would increase the penalties for public officials who violate the open meetings law and require open meeting and records training for public officials. A member of a government body who inadvertently participates in a violation of the open meetings law would be fined between $500 and $2,500. If a person knowingly violates the law, he or she would be fined between $5,000 and $12,000.
Two issues in Davenport led to the bill, said Rep. Gary Mohr, a Republican from Bettendorf who proposed it. First, members of the public including journalists experienced difficulty obtaining city records after last year’s fatal partial collapse of a Davenport apartment building. The second issue was the city of Davenport’s decision to approve a $1.6 million separation deal with its city administrator without a vote in public session.
The separation with former City Administrator Corri Spiegel came after "prolonged and documented instances of harassment by some elected officials," according to a statement the city made days after it announced she was leaving. Nearly a month later, the City Council ratified the separation agreement in a public vote.
Separation agreements with Spiegel and two other city employees involved about $2 million in payments by the city, but were decided without a public vote from the council, Mohr said.
The city attorney at the time, who has since retired, said Davenport Municipal Code allowed the city attorney to direct litigation and approve settlements with the city, and approval from the council was received. But when the agreement was later publicly approved in December, acting City Attorney Brian Heyer said the deal was being brought up on the advice of outside counsel to "just to dot all the i's."
The city and former city attorney now face a lawsuit from a Bettendorf resident and open records advocate.
Bill would require training
The bill passed with near-unanimous support in the House, 92-2. Reps. Phil Thompson, R-Boone, and Brian Lohse, R-Bondurant, voted against it. It is now eligible for consideration in the Iowa Senate.
Under the bill, if members of a public body can prove they voted against the closed session, had good reason to believe facts that would have indicated compliance with the law, or relied on a decision of a court or different body, they would not receive the fine.
City councils, school boards, boards and commissions and most of the government bodies are bound by the state's public meetings law that requires most meetings and actions of the body to be taken in public with opportunity for public access.
Government bodies can enter into a closed session for a variety of reasons, including to review confidential records, to discuss matters that are in litigation and in certain personnel situations.
The bill would require elected or appointed public officials to complete a training course with the Iowa Public Information Board.
The bill would cost $104,000 to hire an additional staff attorney on the Public Information Board, according to an analysis from the Legislative Services Agency. Rep. Brent Siegrest of Council Bluffs said the board likely was going to need a new staff member anyway because of an increase in open record violations and complaints.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the House, we're either going to have open public records in this state, or we're not," Mohr said ahead of the House vote. "I ask you to support this bill."
Sarah Watson of the Quad-City Times contributed to this report.