Last fall, certain members of the Iowa Republican Party launched a crusade against the Iowa Supreme Court. They claimed the court had overstepped its bounds and legislated from the bench in its ruling that a ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.

Fast forward three months, and members of the same party are just as guilty of overstepping their bounds.

Iowa Code established the Board of Regents in 1909 to “have and exercise all the powers necessary and convenient for the effective administration of its office and of the institutions under its control.”

Members of the Iowa House of Representatives have introduced multiple pieces of legislation in January and February that would dictate to the Board of Regents how it should do its job.

The first, HF 45, or the Taxpayers First Act, would limit the number of professional development assignments the Regents can approve for faculty members through June 30, 2012.

It would also limit the tuition increase for next year at 4 percent.

We’re all for a limit on tuition hikes, but it is the place of the Regents and the universities’ presidents to determine this amount. This new limit is only slightly less than the proposed 4.7 percent increase the presidents believe is necessary to protect educational standards.

Another bill, HSB 84, which moved out of subcommittee this week, would require the Board of Regents to sell a Jackson Pollock painting currently owned by the University of Iowa.

The painting, which is valued at $150 million, was donated to the university in 1951 by Peggy Guggenheim. The legislation requires the proceeds from the sale to be placed in a trust fund to provide scholarships for in-state art majors at the University of Iowa.

The bill doesn’t include a minimum price, but Rep. Ralph Watts, R-Adel and chairman of the appropriations subcommittee, said a $120 million minimum likely will be added.

The moral of this story is simple: Legislators in Iowa are meddling in the affairs of the Regents instead of focusing on the countless other issues plaguing this state.

They are focusing on social issues and playing party politics instead of working together to solve the economic problems Iowa is facing.

Using legislation to tie the hands of the nine members of the Regents does little for the state.

It doesn’t address years of declining state appropriations and rising tuition. It doesn’t address the lack of funding for all levels of education in this state. It doesn’t address the needs of farmers. It doesn’t address the budget that forced layoffs of nursing home inspectors.

So, students, stand up. Take a stance. Tell your legislator what you would rather see him or her working on. And, most importantly, tell him or her to let the Regents and the university presidents determine how best to run the increasingly student-funded, public universities in this state.