Democrat leader says consumer advocate needs more power

The leader of democrats in the Iowa Senate says the state’s consumer advocate needs more authority to investigate utilities.Senate Democrat Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs says state regulators guarantee utilities some profits, but he’s worried utilities are profiteering. Senate Republican Leader Stewart Iverson of Dows isn’t ready to accuse the utility companies of making excess profits. Iverson proposes eliminating the sales tax on utility bills for a couple of months THIS year, then perhaps permanently eliminating the sales tax during Iowa’s winter months.Gronstal says the sales tax amounts to about seven-dollar-a-month on your utility bill. He calls the G-O-P proposal a “gimmick.”Gronstal and Iverson made their comments during taping of the Iowa Public T-V show “Iowa Press”.