City officials across Iowa are being reminded to complete required training on open meetings and public records laws, as the 90-day deadline approaches for those who took office in January.
A law passed in the 2025 legislative session requires all newly elected or appointed city officials to complete a state-approved course covering responsibilities under open meetings and open records laws. Mickey Shields is the Deputy Director at the Iowa League of Cities and tells RadioOnTheGo News the requirement applies to officials serving on library boards, planning and zoning commissions, boards of adjustment, and other local government bodies.
“Everything they do is through an open meeting, making sure the public has access to their governmental representatives and all the decisions they’re making on behalf of the public. So that’s always been near and dear in the effort of transparency, as you mentioned, and really important for everyone to follow. The legislature did adopt a law, as you mentioned, that did require new members of those governmental bodies to take open meetings and open records laws training. Again, it was really focused on new people, new to office and making sure that they understand better the requirements that come from the state code of Iowa to really boost that transparency on behalf of the public.”
The Iowa Public Information Board (IPIB) oversees the training and may authorize other entities to provide it. Courses must last at least one hour but no more than two, and each participant receives a certificate of completion. Shields says the training is accessible for all officials, including those who may be less comfortable with online formats.
“And that’s something that for us at the league, we are definitely mindful of and not just with this, all of our training, really, we always try to make sure that there’s multiple ways for our members to access us. And like you said, from different spectrums, whether that’s age, generational, some folks, whatever their age are, some are computer and tech savvy and some are not, we know that. And so thus far the league has focused our training on the webinars really just because it’s free and affordable and efficient, but we do have larger goals to provide in-person training and other opportunities. I know the Iowa Public Information Board has said the same thing, knowing that not every Iowan has easy access to Zoom or any of the other video conferencing methods.”
The law also strengthens penalties for violations: accidental breaches carry fines of $500 to $2,500, while knowing violations range from $5,000 to $12,000. Repeat violators may be removed from office, underscoring the importance of timely compliance.
More information can be found here
