IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The chairwoman of Iowa Utilities Board is taking the unusual step of withholding funding from the state’s renewable energy research center until its leaders satisfy her questions about its programs.
But Geri Huser’s move may violate a law that requires the funding be appropriated to the Iowa Energy Center at Iowa State University once it’s collected by the utilities board.
If the delay continues, the center may have to suspend grant programs and lay off workers. Huser says she hopes the impasse will be resolved soon without major disruption.
Huser tells The Associated Press she has no indications money has been misspent, but she’s withholding about $4 million as she pushes for an audit of the center’s programs going back five years.
Critics say Huser is overstepping her legal authority.
