Iowa auditor says new law will restrict his office's access to information
Iowa’s auditor may face new challenges in tracking taxpayer dollars after a new law takes effect Saturday that allows state agencies to deny his office access to information DES MOINES, Iowa -- Iowa’s auditor may face new challenges in his quest to track taxpayer dollars after a new law takes effect Saturday that allows state agencies to deny his office access to information and bars him from making an appeal in court. State Auditor Rob Sand, the only Democrat in statewide office, said the law advanced by Republican lawmakers is a politically motivated attack on accountability. The law could stifle Sand, who described his office as “assertive." “Bottom line on that is, we uncovered a record amount of waste, fraud and abuse in my first term. That’s where it came from,” Sand said in an interview with The Associated Press. “They don’t want accountability.” But supporters of the Iowa law emphasize the changes are meant to protect Iowans’ privacy and that the risk to the auditor’s work...