Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate is asking lawmakers to make it easier for his office to dissolve the registration of fraudulent businesses.
Every business that’s incorporated in Iowa must file paperwork with the secretary of state’s office. Pate said some fraudulent companies register using a legitimate street address and the person who lives at that address winds up being harassed by creditors and others looking for the dishonest business owner.
“The bill we’re proposing is a starting point that would give us the authority and the ability to expedite dissolving that company…so those poor homeowners aren’t getting besieged with these kind of creditor calls and things like that,” he said.
The process the Secretary of State’s office has to use in these situations is too cumbersome, Pate said, adding that it takes way too long. “If we know that they’re not real and they’re using a bogus address, we should just be able to dissolve them,” Pate said.
Pate’s office also oversees Iowa elections. Pate says he’s pleased with recently adopted changes in the election recount process and enhanced checks of voter legibility and will not seeking major election law changes this year.
