Iowa's piecemeal policy fixes aren't sufficient to combat sexual harassment at the Capitol, giving aid to a toxic culture and potentially exposing taxpayers to millions of dollars in liabilities, advocates say.

Lawmakers have reworked and refreshed their policies after the state made national headlines when former Senate Republican staffer Kirsten Anderson won a $1.75 million settlement in a sexual harassment lawsuit.

But the House's policy, despite emphasizing "zero tolerance," does not conform to standards set by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

And Senate and House legislators disagree about the reach of their ethics committees and whether they can punish lawmakers for bad behavior outside the Capitol.

The first significant test of the Senate's new policies may come when lawmakers return to the Capitol in January.

More:Capitol harassment: Nate Boulton's case will test new Senate ethics rules

Democrats have promised to investigate sexual accusations that prompted one of their own — Sen. Nate Boulton — to drop out of the race for governor before the June primary.

Meanwhile, a top House Democrat said she's worried about a lack of changes.

"From an ethics side, you bet I'm concerned," said Rep. Phyllis Thede, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Ethics Committee. "Just like anything we do, we have some cleanup work ahead."

'You have the fox guarding the henhouse'

Sexual misconduct or workplace harassment claims against lawmakers are hardly unique to Iowa.

Since 2017, accusations against lawmakers or their staffs have surfaced in all but three states — North Dakota, Delaware and Montana — according to a Des Moines Register review.

At least 30 state lawmakers across the U.S. — including Iowa’s former Sen. Majority Leader Bill Dix — have left office over sexual misconduct or harassment claims, the Associated Press reported in August.

And at least 25 others have faced repercussions such as the loss of party or committee leadership positions, according to the AP’s review, which examined the same time frame used in the Register’s analysis.

The sweeping accusations — most against male lawmakers — can be at least partly attributed to society’s renewed focus on sexual harassment issues, said Jonathan Griffin of the National Conference of State Legislators, an advocacy group that is based in Washington, D.C. and has provided states guidance on how to strengthen sexual harassment prevention policies.

The allegations also signal that lawmakers across the nation have failed to properly police themselves on workplace misconduct, said Alisa Kaplan, policy director at the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform.

"They make the laws. They can decide how their members and staffs are sanctioned,” said Kaplan, whose group advocates for government reform. “What we’ve seen in Illinois and other states across the country is that procedures in place to investigate and prosecute are often insufficient.

"You have the fox guarding the henhouse."

Reluctance to address the issue

Almost everyone who testified or who was identified in the depositions in the Anderson case — about 40 people — did not respond to the Register's inquiries or declined to comment.

More:Capitol harassment: Lewd, intimidating conduct has created a 'toxic' Statehouse, staffers and lawmakers say

Multiple legislative staffers and lobbyists told the Register they risked retaliation or the ability to remain effective in their jobs if they spoke.

The reluctance to speak about the general issue was apparent when the Register asked lawmakers and their staffs about efforts to improve sexual harassment policies.

Kate Murphy, the recently hired human resources director, declined an interview for this article. She referred questions to Charlie Smithson, the Senate secretary, and Carmine Boal, a former legislator who is now the chief House clerk.

Boal and Smithson also declined interviews on the topic but answered factual questions via email about their policies.

Smithson additionally directed questions about whether Boulton could face a Senate ethics investigation to Sen. Jerry Behn, R-Boone and chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee.

Behn did not respond to multiple requests for an interview for this article.

Some policies updated but still scattershot

Last year, Mary Kramer, a former Iowa Senate president and U.S. ambassador with a background in human resources management, was appointed to advise the Iowa senators on their workplace culture.

She acknowledged that a culture exists at the Capitol that can turn away from workplace misconduct.

But Kramer, a Republican, also emphasized that workplace investigations must strike a balance between the rights of all involved parties and the public’s right to know.

Rules in both the House and Senate keep complaints against lawmakers confidential until the ethics committees — comprised of three Democrats and three Republicans — make them public.

Valid complaints — those deemed by the committee as "substantially complying with the requirements" — are confidential until the accused has submitted a written response.

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"The pendulum swings many ways," Kramer said. "The egregious things that happen mostly to women have often been ignored, yes. But the pendulum can swing the other way, and we automatically accept what was said as proof of guilt."

Other than the joint decision to hire the human resources director, the Iowa Legislature's policy changes related to its workplace conduct was limited to the Senate.

The House already had a "zero-tolerance" policy that was similar to what the Senate adopted earlier this year, said Rep. Rob Taylor, R-West Des Moines and chairman of the House Ethics Committee.

However, the House policies are scattered among multiple documents and, in some cases, are not easily accessible to the public.

The House Code of Ethics, for example, doesn't specifically define "sexual harassment," instead referring readers to Iowa code for the definition.

The Senate's sexual harassment policy is posted in multiple locations on the Legislature's website. The House's sexual harassment policy, in contrast, is part of its employee handbook and is not linked on the Legislature's page that covers chamber rules and policies.

The House employee handbook applies to its members, but it would be up to the House Ethics Committee to decide how it affects elected officials, Boal said.

The National Conference of State Legislatures last year said all legislatures should prohibit retaliation in their sexual harassment prevention policies. The group also advised legislatures to have concise and clearly defined policies.

Thede, the ranking Democrat on the House Ethics Committee, said she favors an updated and cohesive policy that applies uniformly across all legislative employees and legislators.

Taylor, who is not seeking re-election in November after three terms in the House, believes the current House policies work.

“Of the six years I was there I can tell you there was never a whispering or a complaint that came to me in regards to sexual harassment,” Taylor said. “We did a very good job on both the Republican and Democratic side of policing ourselves.”

How Iowa compares

Iowa is one of many states that have taken steps to revise sexual harassment rules or polices following the recent allegations against lawmakers, including: California, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Michigan, Delaware, New Jersey, Utah, Montana, Louisiana and North Carolina.

The National Conference of State Legislatures last year concluded that state legislatures’ sexual harassment policies should have at least 10 specific elements, including a clear statement that specifically prohibits retaliation for filing a claim.

That's an element adopted in April by the Iowa Senate but still absent in House policies.

Training for employees to identify and report sexual harassment in the workplace is not mandated under Title VII, a federal law that prohibits discrimination against workers. A legislative brief published last year by the National Conference of State Legislatures found that such training for most state legislators occurs at their orientation but not in following years.

A recent review by the Associated Press of sexual harassment and misconduct policies in state legislatures determined Iowa’sto be of moderate strength, ahead of Nebraska but behind Missouri, Illinois and Minnesota.

Jennifer Drobac, an Indiana University law professor and expert on sexual harassment cases, said the human resources position Iowa hired this year is an important step in strengthening harassment prevention policies.

Complainants are otherwise often left to file grievances with offices or lawmakers with direct ties to their alleged perpetrators, which can discourage filing complaints, she said.

Drobac described the harassment issues that have percolated in nearly every state as a “scourge,” predicting updated policies by legislatures will help eradicate the issue.

"It’s like with smallpox and polio," Drobac said. "When people fail to vaccinate, you get outbreaks. You can’t be lackadaisical."

Is it enough?

Kramer, reflecting her past position as Senate president from 1997 to 2003, said she regrets not taking some of those steps two decades ago.

“There were opportunities for me to deal with issues that came up, and I chose to do it very quietly,” Kramer said. “My regret is that we didn’t institutionalize policy and process then. Whether that would have changed behavior (in the Anderson case), I don’t know.”

Sen. President Charles Schneider, R-West Des Moines, helped implement some of this year's policy changes, which require an annual review of sexual harassment policies in the Senate.

“As far as I’m concerned, the important thing is sexual harassment has no place in the Iowa Legislature," Schneider said.

Thede, the ranking Democrat on the House Ethics Committee, agreed.

“This is one of those things that you have to decide: ‘Do you want to do something about it or do you want to ignore it?'" Thede said.

The Senate's new policy

After former staffer Kirsten Anderson successfully sued for $1.75 million, the Senate approved an enhanced harassment prevention policy and updated its code of ethics this year. The new policies:

Outline a complaint process, including examples of conduct that is deemed to be harassment.

Specifically prohibit retaliation in response to complaints.

Create an opportunity for complainants to request that an investigation be conducted by an external investigator.

Establish training requirements for both leadership and managers, staff, other employees and interns.

Require an annual review of the policy to ensure that the Senate is following best practices for both the public and the private sector.

The legislative branch this year also hired a human resources director to work with both the House and the Senate to update personnel guidelines, administer training and assist with handling complaints.