Key GOP lawmaker seeking to gut Iowa's consumer advocate

Iowa Senate Commerce Committee Chair Jake Chapman has introduced a bill that would destroy the independence of Iowa’s Office of Consumer Advocate.

The agency’s mission is to represent consumers on issues relating to gas and electric utilities and telecommunications services, “with the goal of maintaining safe, reliable, reasonably-priced, and nondiscriminatory utility services.” Under Iowa law, the attorney general selects the consumer advocate, unlike most department leaders, who are named by the governor. Attorney General Tom Miller appointed Mark Schuling as consumer advocate in 2011 and reappointed him in 2015. Schuling easily won Iowa Senate confirmation.

The office’s small staff includes “six utility attorneys and eight technical specialists in the areas of economics, accounting, finance and engineering,” according to information the Attorney General’s office provided on January 23. Much of the consumer advocate’s work involves matters before the Iowa Utilities Board, which regulates the state’s investor-owned utilities, Alliant Energy and MidAmerican Energy.

NEW GOVERNING BOARD “SHALL DIRECT THE CONSUMER ADVOCATE”

Senate Study Bill 1036 would put Schuling’s office under the governor’s indirect control. The consumer advocate currently has an advisory panel, which he may consult when desired. The attorney general names five of that panel’s nine members, and the governor names the other four, one from each Congressional district. None are subject to Iowa Senate confirmation.

Read more: https://www.bleedingheartland.com/2019/01/23/key-gop-lawmaker-seeking-to-gut-iowas-consumer-advocate/