KDSN RADIO News
Iowa House bill would restore independence of state’s Consumer Advocate
The Office of Consumer Advocate would become an independent state agency again if a bill in the Iowa House becomes law.
The government realignment plan Governor Reynolds proposed and signed into law two years ago put Iowa’s attorney general in charge of the office. Representative Charley Thomson, a Republican from Charles City, said that was a mistake.
“We’ve seen in its operation since then that it has not had the voice that it did previously,” Thomson said, “so this is an attempt to restore it to its previous vigor.”
Thomson said the independence of the state consumer advocate is important for all Iowans. The bill calls for returning to a system that had the governor nominate a consumer advocate who would be confirmed by a vote in the Iowa Senate and the advocate would have the authority to hire staff for the office.
This is one of the bills a group of House Republicans have introduced in response to the Iowa Utilities Commission decision to grant a permit to Summit Carbon Solutions for its pipeline.
(Reporting by Isabella Luu, Iowa Public Radio)
