(Radio Iowa) – Republicans on the Iowa House Oversight Committee are asking the state auditor for more proof that 27 million dollars in misdirected court fines wasn’t stolen. Court officials say computer coding errors over the past four years meant the Iowa D-O-T, victim services programs and county sheriffs’ offices didn’t get as much money as they should have. State Auditor Rob Sand told the panel no fraud was involved and his office can provide its accounting of the incorrect transactions, if lawmakers present a written request for the list.

“We know that there were no dollars involved here that actually left the state’s or the government’s hands,” Sand said. “…Any dollar that went somewhere through one of these coding errors still went to a public account.” Representative Brooke Boden, a Republican from Indianola, says legislators want to review the documents that trace the misdirected court fines to see for themselves that the money went into the state’s General Fund where nearly all payments to the state are deposited.

“There is quite the tangled web of figuring out where all the money goes every year and where it’s getting allocated,” Boden said. Accounting procedures occupied most of the conversation at the hearing table. However, near the end of the 90 minute session Republican Representative Judd Lawler of Tipton and State Auditor Sand quarreled over a recent law that limits Sand’s authority to access some government records.

“Can I proceed without interruption?” Lawler asked. Sand replied: “Can you fairly represent the fact that we said that this law can stop us in the future.” Lawler, who twice said, “I believe I am,” during Sand’s response, then Lawler asked of Sand: “Are you the only one who owns the truth?” The committee’s chairman intervened and the hearing ended five minutes later.

After the hearing, chairman Charley Thomson of Charles City issued a written statement accusing Sand of downplaying the significance of the misallocation of 27 million dollars in court fines. Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart then issued a statement, accusing House Republicans of engaging in political theater.