Auditor of the State of Iowa, Rob Sand v. An Unnamed Local Government Risk Pool, 988 N.W.2d 705

Iowa Communities Assurance Pool (ICAP) is a local government risk pool formed in 1986 under Iowa Code § 670.7 as an unincorporated nonprofit association with ~800 public-entity members.
In 2019 a news report prompted the Iowa Auditor to investigate alleged out-of-state travel expenses by ICAP board members and request financial records; ICAP voluntarily produced some documents but disputed the auditor’s authority.
The Auditor served a subpoena in January 2021 seeking travel, reimbursement, settlement, meeting, and contract records to support a reaudit under chapter 11; ICAP refused to produce all requested records and sought a declaratory ruling that it is not a governmental subdivision.
The Polk County District Court denied the Auditor’s application to enforce the subpoena, holding ICAP is not a "governmental subdivision" under Iowa Code § 11.1(1)(c) because it was not organized under chapter 28E.
The Auditor appealed, arguing ICAP should be treated as a de facto 28E entity (or otherwise within the auditor’s statutory reach); ICAP maintained statutory formation under § 670.7 placed it outside chapter 28E and thus outside the auditor’s reaudit authority.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether ICAP is a "governmental subdivision" under Iowa Code § 11.1(1)(c) (i.e., an entity organized under chapter 28E)	Auditor: ICAP should be treated as a de facto 28E entity or otherwise subject to auditor because it serves public entities and handles public funds	ICAP: formed under § 670.7, never complied with 28E formation/filing requirements, so not a 28E entity or governmental subdivision	Court: ICAP is not organized under chapter 28E and thus not a "governmental subdivision" under § 11.1(1)(c)
Whether the Auditor’s subpoena to enforce a reaudit may be upheld	Auditor: subpoena falls within reaudit authority and is enforceable because ICAP functions like a 28E/public entity	ICAP: subpoena exceeds statutory authority because chapter 11 covers only governmental subdivisions (including 28E entities), and ICAP is not one	Court: subpoena enforcement denied because statutory text does not authorize auditor to reaudit ICAP as it is not a covered governmental subdivision

Sand v. Doe, 959 N.W.2d 99 (Iowa 2021) (auditor subpoena enforcement standards and scope of auditor authority)
Allis–Chalmers Corp. v. Emmet Cnty. Council of Gov’ts, 355 N.W.2d 586 (Iowa 1984) (purpose and construction of chapter 28E joint-government entities)
City of Windsor Heights v. Spanos, 572 N.W.2d 591 (Iowa 1997) (recognition of de facto authority for officers, not creation of de facto 28E entities)
Hawkeye Foodservice Distribution, Inc. v. Iowa Educators Corp., 812 N.W.2d 600 (Iowa 2012) (challenge to entities formed outside statutory authority and available equitable relief)
Landowners v. S. Cent. Reg’l Airport Agency, 977 N.W.2d 486 (Iowa 2022) (statutory text must govern entity classification and municipal authority)
Ramirez-Trujillo v. Quality Egg, L.L.C., 878 N.W.2d 759 (Iowa 2016) (apply language chosen by legislature; courts cannot rewrite statutes)
Mulhern v. Cath. Health Initiatives, 799 N.W.2d 104 (Iowa 2011) (limits on judicial rewriting of statutory language)