Justices Pepper Regents About Withholding Utilities Deal Secrets

Before they divulge to the state auditor secret records involved in a huge $1.165 billion public-private partnership at the University of Iowa, attorneys for the Board of Regents this week sought cover from the Iowa Supreme Court.“Once you have a subpoena in hand that says, ‘Yes, this is an audit and the auditor gets the confidential information,’ then the risk shifts from agency to auditor,” Iowa Solicitor General Jeffrey Thompson, representing the regents, told the high court during an appeal of a lower-court ruling compelling the UI to hand over details of the massive deal — including names of investors that have been kept private.“It’s still risk that the state has,” Thompson said.