Democrats Respond to the Progress Made Today in Democratic Efforts to Honor the Will of the Voters on Campaign Finance Reform
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The South Dakota Democratic Party released the following statement in response to the passage HB 1076 through the House State Affairs Committee and the passage of SB 54 through the Senate State Affairs Committee this morning:
“Democrats in Pierre continue to do everything they can to honor the will of the voters and pass meaningful campaign finance and government ethics reform this session. We’re pleased that HB 1076, which creates a Government Accountability Board, was passed unanimously through the House State Affairs Committee. It is gratifying that after years where similar bills brought by Democrats have been killed in committee on party-line votes, the Republican majority in Pierre has finally decided to work with Democrats to make state government more open, transparent, and accountable.”
“We are also pleased that due to Democratic efforts, SB 54 now contains a provision stating that funds in a campaign account can only be used for purposes related to campaigns or contributed to another candidate, campaign committee, or nonprofit or charity, not a candidate’s personal use. This is a major step forward in campaign finance reform in South Dakota – you shouldn’t get rich by being a politician, and the people who donate to a candidate’s campaign expect the money they donated to be used for campaign purposes, not a politician’s personal use.”
“Unfortunately, with that step forward, there was a big step back. Republicans on the Senate State Affairs Committee, on a party-line vote, blocked Democratic attempts to amend SB 54 to reinstate the campaign finance limits contained in Initiated Measure 22, the Anti-Corruption Act passed by the voters in November. Even more troubling was the last-minute amendment rammed through by the Republican members of the committee to increase the contribution limits even further than the lax limits found in the original bill.”
“During their rush to overturn the will of the voters and repeal IM 22 with no replacement in place, Republicans promised good replacements would be forthcoming. With a Thursday deadline to get bills out of their chamber of origin, time is running out for that to happen. Democrats will continue to make good-faith efforts to work with the Republican majority to make the kind of reforms in campaign finance and government ethics called for by the voters in November. We call on the Republican majority to do the same.”
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