The South Dakota House of Representatives has approved a bill defining the Government Operations and Audit Committee's subpoena power.
Representative Jean Hunhoff of Yankton sits on the committee and spoke in favor of Senate Bill 125. She says GOAC had trouble getting some people related to the state's GEAR UP program to testify last summer in front of the committee. She says the committee wondered if they could use a subpoena and then reached out to several state officials.
"There was a lot of debate; we talked with LRC co-counsel, we talked with the Attorney General, and we never really got a straight answer - yes or no if we had that authority to issue subpoenas for people to come and testify. As a result, this bill is coming forward to clarify that, yes, in fact, GOAC can use subpoenas if they need to bring the information forth. With that being said, there's a caveat though, that certainly opens up a door. What kind of subpoenas, how often, frequency, or whatever. So, there really needs to be some type of check and balance on that,” Hunhoff says.
Rapid City Representative David Lust spoke in support of an amendment designed to further explain the committee's means to issue a subpoena.
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"You know, I think we need to have some checks in place so that the ability to subpoena doesn't get abused. I think we've seen the potential for that in the past - and I think this amendment merely indicates that if GOAC decides to use its subpoena power, that power must be ratified by the executive board of the legislature, in part. The other part of the amendment just clarifies that the subpoena can extend to not only persons, but also documents as well. So, I think both components of the amendment are important," Lust says.
The House passes an amended Senate Bill 125 on a 59-5 vote. The bill now heads to the Governor's desk.