A bill requiring non-returning South Dakota legislators to get permission from the legislature’s executive board to attend out-of-state conferences passes a House committee this morning (Jan. 30, 2023).
The House State Affairs Committee passed the measure on an 11 to 2 vote. House Bill 68 previously passed the Senate.
The bill stems from a legislative trip to Hawaii the former Speaker of the House, Spencer Gosch, and former House Minority Leader took in December with other legislators to a legislative conference in Hawaii. Gosch was defeated in the 2022 Republican primary for Senate, and Smith, a Democrat, lost to Gov. Kristi Noem in her 2022 re-election race.
Proponent Rep. Hugh Bartels, the Republican Speaker of the House and a co-sponsor of the bill, currently decides if House members can go to an out-of-state event. In the Senate, co-sponsor Sen. Lee Schoenbeck, the President Pro Tem, makes that decision.
Bill supporter, Republican Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt of Sioux Falls, said the measure is about legislators’ accountability. She said there might be times when a non-returning legislature might be suitable to represent the state at an out-of-state conference.
Republican Rep. Rebecca Reimer from Chamberlain, an opponent, said, “the more we fix things, the more they break.” She called the bill “reactionary.”
Legislators not returning to Pierre could be because of term limits, defeat in an election or choosing not to run again.
The measure now goes to the Senate.
(The South Dakota Broadcasters Association contributed to this story.)
JANUARY 20, 2023:
A legislative trip to Hawaii last year (2022) by two South Dakota lawmakers not returning to the legislature in 2023 has become the basis for a bill introduced at the State Capitol in Pierre.
Senate Bill 68 would require the legislature’s Executive Board to approve out-of-state travel for any legislator not returning for the next legislative session.
Bill sponsor Sen. Lee Schoenbeck of Watertown says the bill stems from former House Speaker Spencer Gosch and former state Representative Jamie Smith taking the trip even though they were not returning to Pierre for the 2023 session. Schoenbeck says the bill doesn’t ban travel for “lame duck” legislators, but it would provide another layer of approval to ensure members don’t abuse legislative travel, particularly to interesting or exotic locations.
The measure passed 9-0. It now heads to the Senate for consideration.
(The South Dakota Broadcasters Association contributed to this story.)
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