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Lawmaker withdraws effort to drop bar-exam requirement for lawyers
A bill that aimed to create an apprenticeship program as an alternative to the bar exam for South Dakota lawyers has been withdrawn by its sponsor. House Bill 1076 is sponsored by Rep. Mary Fitzgerald, R-Spearfish. It would have allowed University of South Dakota Knutson School of Law graduates to bypass the bar exam and […]
Gov. Noem touts record low unemployment; also presided over the highest
By two measures, Gov. Kristi Noem has presided over South Dakota’s lowest – and highest – unemployment rate. One of those metrics is the number of tax forms sent in January to those who’ve received certain kinds of government assistance in the previous year. That assistance includes things like agricultural payments, taxable grants or unemployment […]
Legislative roundup: Pipelines and punishment
Aside from transgender health care, the big themes on the Searchlight radar this week were carbon pipelines and criminal justice. At least one media outlet used the term “Pipeline Monday” to describe the first day of the week that marked the halfway point of the main run of the 2023 legislative session. Half a dozen […]
Transgender advocacy group sues state over contract cancellation
On the same day South Dakota lawmakers sent a bill to bar certain kinds of health care for transgender youth to Gov. Kristi Noem’s desk, a transgender advocacy organization filed suit against the state over her abrupt cancellation of a Department of Health contract late last year. The Transformation Project’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. […]
Truth in sentencing cost: $21.5 million
Lawmakers sent a bill to the governor Friday that would repeal mandatory prison-jail cost estimates, but not before one of the last such estimates landed in their laps with a $21.5 million thud. The House and Senate have both approved a bill to repeal a rule that requires a prison-jail cost impact statement for any […]
State clears police and jail staff in young mother’s death, seeks info on meth dealer
Attorney General Marty Jackley wants the public’s help to find the source of the methamphetamine that may have killed Abbey Lynn Steele. The state Division of Criminal Investigation conducted an inquiry into Steele’s death at the request of the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, which runs the jail where Steele’s heart stopped on Nov. 16, and […]
Truth in sentencing bill advances to full Senate
A bill to lengthen prison stays for violent offenders earned an endorsement from all but one member of the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday morning. Senate Bill 146 saw testimony from nine supporters beyond its prime sponsor, Sen. Brent Hoffman, R-Sioux Falls, including police chiefs, sheriffs and Attorney General Marty Jackley. The bill would abolish parole […]
First of multiple ‘truth in sentencing’ bills to see debate Tuesday morning
Repeat offenders and people who commit violent crimes would serve more time if lawmakers pass one of the “truth in sentencing” bills on the legislative docket this session. Sen. Brent Hoffman, R-Sioux Falls, worked with Minnehaha County State’s Attorney Daniel Haggar and other criminal justice officials to draft Senate Bill 146. The bill is set […]
Legislative roundup: Elections, transgender kids and Noem’s first signatures
PIERRE – Aside from the ongoing saga of censured-and-reinstated Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller, elections were the major theme this week in the Legislature. Our own Josh Haiar spent Friday morning in the House State Affairs Committee, where he heard debate on a few of the 46 election-related bills filed as of 1 p.m. Friday. Here’s a […]
South Dakota set to scrutinize its approach to court-appointed attorneys
The state of South Dakota may soon form a team to examine the way it assigns and pays its court-appointed lawyers. Lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee signed off Tuesday on a bill that would create a public defense task force in South Dakota, adding an emergency clause that would allow work to begin immediately […]
Corrections secretary: Millions for prisons will ease overcrowding, boost security
PIERRE – In 2022, some inmates at the overcrowded women’s prison in Pierre were bunked in the gym, which closed the gym for every inmate living there. The gym is open again, lawmakers learned Monday, but now a classroom is closed because it’s filled with overflow inmates. Department of Corrections Secretary Kellie Wasko offered several […]
Legislative roundup: Taxes and tribes, feedlots and lithium
PIERRE — Things really picked up at the Capitol this week, and deadlines had something to do with that. Lawmakers had free reign to submit as many bills as they pleased until 11 a.m. on Thursday, which meant dozens of bills dropped just before lunch that day. Check the list here. Each lawmaker can file […]