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Republicans trying to inject integrity into an election system already dripping with it
It seems that South Dakotans should be upset about the integrity of their elections. If the long list of bills in the current session of the Legislature is any indication, our elections are all fouled up. A recent South Dakota Searchlight story noted that there were 43 — count ’em, 43 — election-related pieces of […]
Lawmakers love ‘local control,’ until they want the power
If you want to get South Dakota lawmakers to talk in hushed, reverent tones, just say these two magic words: local control. Legislators purport to love the fact that local citizens serve on their school boards to decide on budgeting, personnel and a thousand other decisions that go into the care and feeding of a […]
Salivating over a surplus: Tax cut proposals are enticing, but shortsighted
Most national news about the economy seems to be filled with worries about whether or not the nation is heading for a recession. In South Dakota, we’re worried about what to do with this avalanche of tax revenue. In this state, tax revenue projections are traditionally conservative. Lately, they have also been wildly inaccurate. In […]
Bill on public comments at meetings doesn’t go far enough
Whenever the topic is citizens being mistreated by their local government, it’s not uncommon to hear the phrase, “There oughta be a law.” Well, if you’ve been mistreated by a local government entity and your friend is a member of the state House of Representatives, a new law is what you’re going to get. That’s […]
Judging by some bills, South Dakota must have no real problems left to solve
Everything is OK in South Dakota. We’ve taken care of all our problems, big and small. We’re on the right track and no one can stop us now. Cynics who read the above paragraph and don’t believe it should direct their attention to the Jan. 25 meeting of the House State Affairs Committee. During that […]
Attempt to change legal newspaper status fails in committee
PIERRE — An attempt to change the rules governing the definition of a legal newspaper was defeated Wednesday morning by the Senate Local Government Committee. SB 80 would allow free distribution newspapers to publish public notices like local government minutes and bid notices if they had a minimum of 200 paid online subscribers and distributed […]
Term limits lead to legislative whack-a-mole
In the 1990s, term limits were a hot topic in a variety of states, including South Dakota. In 1992, voters here endorsed a constitutional amendment that would limit U.S. senators to two consecutive six-year terms, U.S. representatives to six consecutive two-year terms, state constitutional officers to two four-year terms and state legislators to four consecutive […]
Lawmakers rightly kill anti-democracy bill for many of the wrong reasons
Sometimes lawmakers do the right thing, but for the wrong reasons. A case in point would be the defeat of House Joint Resolution 5001 early Friday morning by the House State Affairs Committee. HJR 5001, sponsored by Rep. Fred Deutsch, R-Florence, would require that backers of a defeated constitutional amendment wait one general election cycle […]
Leaders needed to reconcile the races in South Dakota
In December of 1989, Gov. George Mickelson wrote to Lakota Times publisher Tim Giago asking for his help writing a proclamation that would declare a year of reconciliation between the races in South Dakota. In the letter, Mickelson noted that racial harmony in the nation had been helped along by the work of Martin Luther […]
Two-and-a-half party system operating in Legislature
The first week of the legislative session is feast and famine for Capitol reporters. The famine is in the mornings when committees are supposed to meet. In that first week, some of them won’t meet at all. Others will meet to “organize.” Few, if any, will make any news that first week. The feast is […]
Don’t let party loyalty trump voting for competent candidates
There will be some new faces in Pierre this month as legislative and executive oaths are administered. One face, however, will be familiar. Marty Jackley will return to serve as attorney general. Jackley’s previous time in the office was highlighted by competence and integrity, two qualities missing during the tenure of his successor, Jason Ravnsborg. […]
Democrats deserve blame for one-party rule
The South Dakota legislative session is about two weeks away and it should be an interesting one as it offers impressive dueling tax cut plans. Gov. Kristi Noem wants to cut the state sales tax on food, while a group of Republican legislators have an idea for cutting property taxes. There is some concern about […]