Iowa’s State Constitution is modeled on that of the United States. Fundamental are three distinct branches of government—legislative, judiciary, and executive. Tragically for our republic, a dangerous mission creep has emerged between and amongst these various competitive branches.
In a nutshell, it is within the SOLE province of the legislature to make law. Only our bi-cameral legislative bodies of House and Senate can INTRODUCE and ultimately pass laws.
The executive branch has zero constitutional authority even to formally introduce legislation. It may only sign or veto. Thus, no lawmaking authority also for the judiciary, although both executive and judicial branches in Iowa historically have usurped constitutional legislative powers, and at a recently more accelerated pace.
The judicial branch’s sole duty is to interpret laws according to stare decisis and codification. Furthermore, the sole duty of the executive branch is merely to administer executive agencies competently, legally, and ethically.
When either judicial or executive branches have a nexus with criminal illegality, the constitutional demands on Iowa’s legislature are to provide checks and balances—and specifically to engage in bipartisan fact-finding in order to root out government corruption, always a grave offense in that it exposes government for its failure in breach of fiduciary duty to taxpaying citizens, to the detriment of the common good.
Therefore, whether it be potential judicial branch information technology security contracts ultimately correlating to felony burglaries of county courthouses, or whether it be executive branch agency possible sign-offs on perverse medical experimentations on disabled citizens at a state facility, it would be an abdication of constitutional oaths taken, to instead ignore proper oversight functions desperately needed to ensure both the restoration of justice, as well as public confidence.
This duty is incumbent on both legislative chambers of Senate and House of Representatives and is self-stipulated by the establishment of the respective ongoing oversight committees dedicated to same.
It is a dereliction of duty, even if by benign neglect, to sweep scandal under the proverbial rug in order to protect the elites at the expense of the folks. Ergo, Iowans—we have much unfinished business to do in this respect, beginning with the two unexplored aforementioned cases.
Only independent investigations by the separate, independent branch, in this case, legislative, can satisfy the obligations of duty of loyalty for the sole best interests of Iowa citizens, without any conflicts of interest or undue influence and duress. That’s precisely why this infrastructure was set up to uncover, rather than to cloak.
As one who works in the financial services industry, every single case I work on is reviewed at least annually and by multiple regulators—OCC, FDIC, SEC, multiple State Departments of Banking, external independent auditor, internal auditor, liability insurance company, Board of Directors, Trust Committee, Trust Administrative Committee, Trust Investment Committee. Why should the elites be exempted? They should not.
The necessity for comprehensive hearings and investigations where apparent government malfeasance and criminality have occurred, must be an engagement undertaken with a serious, bi-partisan, competent, new sense of sobriety and rigor.
The social contract “buy-in” by citizens theoretically would be obliterated instantly by such vices as a “one-trick-pony” agenda animus with predetermined outcomes, bereft of decorum, along with misplaced obsequious fealty, thereby ultimately relegating so many other worthy public beneficiaries unfairly to the expendable discard ash-heap low-rung, while state elites are afforded a “look in the other direction,” and elevated in privileged treatment.
The irony is, such independent outside oversight investigations often validate an impressive array of remedial successes, achieved by that very affected-branch agencies’ post-scandal efforts to address and redress negligent, reckless, or criminal behavior. This process often restores public confidence—redounding to the executive branch agency with favorable critical reviews deemed to be legitimate, and, praiseworthy toward those executive agencies that are now independently adjudged to have identified, and rectified the government mess at hand, once it manifested.
It is a potential LACK of comprehensive, non-partisan oversight that now augers for oversight. Let’s engage, go where no one’s been prior, explore, seek out, go boldly, AND LET THE CHIPS FALL. As the late, great Charley Pride sang—“Let them fall where they may! Our moment of truth…is not far away!” It must be now, and ongoing with vigor. There’s some catching up to do! Get on board, or get out of the way. The train is coming through!
Author: Jon Jacobsen, B.S.B.A., J.D.
Rep. Jon A. Jacobsen, J.D. (R-Council Bluffs), is newly re-elected member of the Iowa Legislature, as Iowa State Representative from District 22 (Pottawattamie County). Jacobsen serves in the House as Vice-Chairman of the Commerce Committee, Vice-Chairman of the Ethics Committee, and in addition is seated on the State Government and Agriculture Appropriations Committees. Jon won his 2016 election by the largest percentage margin of votes in modern district history, engendering a huge voter turnout of nearly 75% of all registered district voters for a mid-term, non-Senate cycle. A married father of three, Jon is a bank senior trust officer/vice president, attorney (Univ. of Iowa Law alumnus), and has won a dozen Iowa Broadcast News Association Awards for Radio programming, including for Political Coverage, Public Affairs, In-Depth Series, Feature, and Overall Best Use of Online Media.
