In 2025, the Levin Center conducted a study of all 50 states to examine how legislatures ensure government programs work effectively for citizens. Factors such as legislative oversight committees, routine engagement with executive agencies, collection of casework data, digital transparency tools, and user-centered policy evaluation were of particular importance. The full report can be found here.
State Summary #
The state of Iowa has four committees dedicated to oversight listed on its legislative website, however, only two of these committees were actively meeting as of 2024. The House Oversight Committee allows users to submit written testimony and see feedback from others. This committee also has several public reports available on its website.
Iowa has an open data platform with an impressive selection of data that may lend itself to conducting oversight, though many of the datasets could include a greater focus on operations and user experience (e.g., processing times for certain citizen-facing processes rather than just cases closed or claims filed).
