Lawsuit challenges governor's use of line-item veto

Rep. Dave Jacoby had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but after attempts to make the case for keeping open 36 Iowa Workforce Centers were “politely declined,” the Coralville lawmaker filed a lawsuit challenging Gov. Terry Branstad's veto of parts of a bill that will lead to their closing.

“I had hoped we would, for lack of a better word, come to our senses,” Jacoby said about the dispute between Democratic lawmakers and Branstad.

However, Branstad's office said Aug. 25 it never received a request from Jacoby for a meeting.

“Had we, we gladly would have accepted,” said the governor's spokesman Tim Albrecht.

Such “mis-characterization,” Albrecht said, “further demonstrate Democrats' willingness to do or say anything to derail our job creation efforts in Iowa.”

“These kind of political cheap shots do nothing for the more than 100,000 Iowans out of work,” he said. “This display continues the sad, tired and disappointing tactics we have unfortunately come to expect from legislative Democrats desperate to hold onto an archaic, ineffective and outdated workforce development system.”

Unable to negotiate differences over the workforce office closings, Democratic lawmakers sought to call a special session to deal with the issue. The 40 House Democrats and 26 Senate Democrats signed a petition calling for a special session, but no Republicans agreed to it.

Jacoby said that left him and co- plaintiffs – Sen. Bill Dotzler, D-Waterloo, Reps. Kirsten Running-Marquardt, D-Cedar Rapids, and Bruce Hunter, D-Des Moines, and Danny Homan, president of Council 61 of AFSCME – no choice by to file a lawsuit.

Senate File 517, which included language to prevent the governor from closing 36 centers around the state, had bipartisan support. Branstad, however, vetoed that portion of the bill, explaining it would limit his ability to streamline the agency's approach to assisting unemployed Iowans and Iowans looking for work.

The governor and Workforce Development have begun closing offices, many in smaller communities, and replacing them with self-help computer stations in public libraries and other places where Iowans can get help in finding jobs, filing applications and preparing for employment interviews.

The plaintiffs argue that although the governor has authority to use his line-item veto authority to strike specific items from budget bills, he cannot veto the provision to keep the offices open unless he also vetoes the money the Legislature designated for that purpose.

“We believe what Terry Branstad did violate the constitution,” Homan said. “He violated his authority under line-item veto and as such we are suing him.”

In suing Branstad, Jacoby said the Democrats are taking a page out of former Republican Speaker of the House Christopher Rants' playbook. His 2004 lawsuit alleged Democratic Gov. Tom Vilsack violated his constitutional authority when he vetoed business regulation changes and an income tax cut. The Iowa Supreme Court agreed that the bill was a policy bill and, therefore, not subject to an item veto.

SF 517 was an appropriations bill, but Jacoby and the other plaintiffs believe Branstad used his line-item veto inappropriately to strike policy language and redirect the funding for purposes not intended by the Legislature.

Although Republican lawmakers didn't join Democrats in calling for a special session, some have asked the governor to reconsider closings in their districts. Rep. Brian Moore, R-Zwingle, for example, said in a letter to Branstad he understood the need for streamlining, but believed closing the Maquoketa office would have “an adverse impact on the community, the local economy and those looking to utilize crucial services provide by Workforce Development.”