How the state pays for lawsuits

This week was funnel week. Every bill that did not get approved by a House or Senate committee will not advance further this session.

(There are exceptions for appropriations and tax bills.)

So we were extremely busy. On Tuesday alone, I voted on six bills on the House floor, attended six subcommittees on specific bills, voted on five bills in our House Commerce Committee, and worked on 19 bills in the Judiciary Committee.

That is a lot of issues to try to understand and wisely decide in one day.

Lawsuits

You may have seen headlines this week that the state will be paying a family $85,000 to compensate their child for being bitten by a police dog at a University of Iowa football game in 2022.

(I was bitten by a former police dog while out knocking on doors last spring. I can tell you that it does hurt. Those dogs know what they’re doing)

This is just one of several lawsuits against the state that get settled. Who pays when the state or one of its employees is being sued? I was surprised by the answer.

I assumed that the state carries some form of liability insurance to cover settlements or judgments when it is sued. But that is not how it works.

The state is self-insured. The state does not carry any type of liability insurance. Instead, the taxpayers of Iowa are the state’s insurers.

Claims against the state must be filed with the State Appeal Board, a three-member panel that oversees payment of claims. All sorts of claims are approved or rejected by this board, ranging from reissuing a paycheck an employee forgets to cash, to sexual harassment lawsuits by state employees and multi-million dollar medical malpractice claims against the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

The Board meets monthly and works with the Attorney General’s office and the Department of Management staff in reviewing claims. Meetings usually go on without much fanfare, unless there is a case that involves a significant payout or a unique situation like the child who was bitten by a police dog.

Under Iowa law, the Board receives a standing, unlimited appropriation for its work. The Board receives as much money as it needs to cover the cost of these claims each year.

In Fiscal Year 2024, the state budgeted $4.5 million for the State Appeal Board but actually spent $20.2 million. Through February, the state has paid out $9.9 million from the General Fund for claims in fiscal year 2025.

Judiciary committee

On the House Judiciary Committee, we have spent a great deal of time and effort trying to protect property rights — specifically when it comes to the use of eminent domain for CO2 pipeline companies.

We would not have to do all of this work if the Iowa Utilities Commission would recognize that CO2 pipelines do not meet the constitutional requirements for eminent domain. When I say we have spent a lot of time on this, just look at the bills we moved out of committee this week:

•HF 242: Allows landowners to obtain a court ruling on whether the use of eminent domain on their land is constitutional. The IUC is not an expert in constitutional law. Landowners should be able to get a court to rule on their constitutional concerns.

•HF 237: Protects intervenors from arbitrary sanctions by the IUC. The IUC has threatened landowners with unwarranted sanctions.

•HF 639: Requires hazardous liquid pipeline owners to provide proof of liability insurance. The potential damage caused by CO2 pipelines is staggering and includes fatalities. There are many articles and YouTube videos on the explosion in Satartia, Mississippi, that are worth viewing.

•HF 241: Requires IUC members to attend meetings and public hearings. Many concerned landowners and other parties have attended IUC meetings only to find that IUC members do not attend them.

•HF 238: Limits permits for carbon dioxide pipelines to 25 years.

•HF 287: Clarifies the conditions under which utilities can exercise eminent domain for hazardous liquid pipelines.

•HF 491: Prohibits pipeline companies from using eminent domain unless they are “common carriers” under a more restricted definition of that term.

•HF 610: Allows more landowners and officials to intervene in Iowa Utilities Commission proceedings.

Don’t worry. We worked on many other issues too!

Day in the District

Sen. Driscoll, Rep. Hora, and I spent some time with folks from the Home Builders Association. Our first stop was at a house that is being built by Johnson County high school students. What a great project.

Young people learn building skills that can lead to careers. They learn life skills that apply to whatever they do in their future. They increase the housing supply, which continues to see a shortage. They are using a building lot that has some unique problems that other builders didn’t want to deal with.

The student home-building class would be impossible without individual leaders that give a lot of themselves to the program, so I want to specifically mention some folks in the picture below: Vince Roth (former Williamsburg teacher), GT Karr, John Reynolds, and Kevin McCreedy. They are smart, creative, passionate people.

The program also depends on donors and others who market the program. Jennie Wunderlich, local HBA President, does a lot of that work. We also discussed the Home Builders’ concerns with some specific legislation.

Sen. Driscoll and I also had a great meeting with Amanda Osborn, the Grant Wood AEA school psychologist for the school districts that we represent. She has a very challenging job these days.

Congratulations to the Williamsburg and Regina (four players from Tiffin) girls basketball teams for making it to state! What a season for both groups of athletes.