Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds recently vetoed legislation passed in the recent general assembly which would have limited the abilities of the Attorney General’s Office.

House File 615 was a justice system appropriations bill that on the whole was signed by Reynolds (R). However, she vetoed sections 24 and 28, which would have required the Attorney General to get approval from other elected officials before engaging in any national litigation. Current Attorney General Tom Miller (D) had been involved with prosecuting several lawsuits nationally, doing so under his own power while still representing Iowa. State Representative Chris Hagenow, (R) District 19, said the Legislature felt this practice was against the will of the people, which led them to put the restrictions in the bill.

“Our perspective is that the Attorney General is the attorney for the State of Iowa. And like any attorney, you need a client. His client is always the State of Iowa, and so if he is entering into these on himself, there’s no client there. And if the State of Iowa is going to be in a lawsuit, then it should come from the policy makers. Be it the Governor, the Executive Council, or the Legislature, (they) should direct the Attorney General to do those things, not him on his own accord.”

Reynolds said she concurred with the idea behind the legislation, but emphasized that she was cautious about approving a provision that redefines the Attorney General’s duties. She further acknowledged that the office is an elected position, and therefore Miller is still directly accountable to the people of Iowa. Following the passage of HF615 by both chambers of the Legislature, Reynolds and Miller sat down and discussed the matter, ultimately coming to an agreement. Miller accepted a proposal to adjust national litigation practices, and will not prosecute or sign onto any action without first consulting the Governor.