The Iowa Judicial Branch Building.
The Iowa Supreme Court has sided with the State Auditor in a subpoena request from the University of Iowa.
State Auditor Rob Sand sought information from the U-I on its plan to lease out its utility system for the next 50 years for lease payment of more than one billion dollars.
The University and Board of Regents fought the subpoena request, saying the auditor was not engaged in a legally authorized audit.
The Iowa Supreme Court ruled it does not need to decide the exact moment the request for information turned into an audit. It says the State Auditor has wide latitude to audit state agencies — and had the right in this case to subpoena the information.
See the ruling here: Auditor verdict PDF