PIERRE, SD (KELO.COM) Governor Dennis Daugaard on Friday signed into law five measures to replaced concepts of Initiated Measure 22.
IM 22 was approved by the voters in November, but repealed by the State Legislature because of constitutional issues and because of what Daugaard called sometimes "bizarre" unintended consequences.
“State officials of all stripes undertook the difficult work of replacing Initiated Measure 22 with constitutional, workable legislation that meets the goals advanced by the IM 22,” said Daugaard. “Public servants from West River and East River, on the right and the left, and in the legislative and executive branches came together on these bills.”
Among the bills signed was House Bill 1073, the lobbyist gift ban bill brought by Speaker Mark Mickelson. HB 1073 prohibits legislators, statewide elected officials and heads of Executive Branch agencies from accepting pricey gifts from lobbyists.
Daugaard also signed House Bill 1076, Rep. Karen Soli’s bill to establish a government accountability board. The board is made up of four retired judges and has the authority to turn issues of concern over to the Division of Criminal Investigation. Rep. Soli worked with her colleagues across the aisle and Executive Branch officials to form the proposal.
The Governor also signed:
HB 1052 – An Act to provide certain protections for public employees.
HB 1165 – An Act to provide for annually updated financial interest statements for any person elected to statewide or local office.
SB 131 – An Act to revise certain provisions concerning the period of time certain persons are prohibited from lobbying after leaving office.
Minority Democrats in the Republican controlled State Legislature fought against repeal and replacement, arguing that it was better to fix the problems in the existing ethics reform package. They said that repeal and replacement thwarted the will of the voters.