DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State lawyers representing Gov. Kim Reynolds say lawmakers lack the legal standing to bring a lawsuit challenging her use of a reserve fund to plug a budget hole.
Assistant attorneys general defending Reynolds and Department of Management Director David Roederer asked a judge Monday to dismiss the lawsuit, which alleges the two illegally transferred $13 million from the State Economic Emergency Fund in September. A hearing is set for next month.
Democratic representatives contend in the lawsuit that the fund is intended to cover unexpected drops in revenue and that the legal conditions weren't met for the Republican governor to use it.
Reynolds' lawyers argued that lawmakers lack standing because they haven't demonstrated "a personal interest at stake or an injury that is more than abstract."
Lawmakers' attorney Gary Dickey says it's disappointing that Reynolds would "attempt to hide behind procedural technicalities" after her office called the lawsuit politically motivated.
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