(Radio Iowa) – A settlement with the governor in an open records lawsuit is now final. A-C-L-U of Iowa attorney, Thomas Story, says there will be some oversight along with the payment in case. “We have now settled this case by an agreement that the court has approved and adopted We are pleased that the governor’s office has agreed to a one year term of judicial oversight of its compliance with the open records law,” Story says.

Clark Kauffman and The Iowa Capital Dispatch, Randy Evans and the Iowa Freedom of Information Council, and Laura Belin and the Bleeding Heartland blog sued after the governor failed to turn over records requests during the pandemic. An Iowa Supreme Court ruling against the governor led to the settlement. “We look forward to working closely with the governor’s office to ensure our clients can access public records in a timely manner and report on state government so that we the people can understand oversee and engage with our elected officials,” Story says.

Iowa Freedom of Information Council executive director, Randy Evans, says the settlement will hopefully send a message to others. “The governor’s failure to comply with the law would cost Iowa taxpayers 135-thousand dollars. Those are 135-thousand reasons why state and local government officials and employees should understand they cannot ignore their duty to comply in a timely manner with records requests,” Evans says.

Story and Evans made their comments in a news conference on the finalized settlement.