Bleeding Heartland: “The Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board voted on May 26 to authorize a formal staff investigation of possible undisclosed lobbying of Governor Kim Reynolds’ office by the conservative group Heritage Action for America. The board’s executive director and legal counsel Mike Marshall had been informally investigating the matter after Mother Jones published video of Heritage Action’s executive director bragging about helping to write voter suppression laws in Iowa and other states. Jessica Anderson told donors at a private meeting in April that her group had ‘worked quietly’ with Iowa lawmakers to help draft and support a new election bill, getting it passed with ‘little fanfare.’ But the Washington, DC based organization, which is affiliated with the Heritage Foundation, hadn’t registered a position on the bill or filed reports required of those who lobby state government.”

“The Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board is charged with enforcing state laws on lobbying the executive branch. Earlier this month, Marshall asked Anderson to ‘disclose the nature and extent of Heritage Action’s communications with any state agency or statewide elected official in the past year relating to legislation, administrative rules, or executive orders.’ He also requested relevant records from the governor’s office. The six ethics board members discussed the investigation in closed session during their May 26 meeting, after which board chair James Albert summarized their deliberations in a Zoom meeting open to the public. He said Marshall had informed the board that ‘they have seen no evidence of any lobbying of the governor’s office’ and ‘no evidence that Heritage Action encouraged the governor to sign this bill.’ Rather, documents obtained so far indicate ‘Heritage Action asked the governor’s office to include them in announcing the bill and marketing the bill.’ He said Marshall told them the governor’s office ‘has been very cooperative.’ Nevertheless, the legal counsel asked the board to authorize a full investigation, which would include subpoena power, if needed, ‘to track down any other evidence’ of wrongdoing that falls within the board’s jurisdiction.”