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Lawmakers Decide Against EB-5 Talks

Lawmakers on the executive board clashed Monday regarding whether the panel should officially discuss investigations surrounding South Dakota’s EB-5 program. Legislators disagree whether it’s the E-Board’s job to talk about the inquiries right now.

The agenda for Monday’s executive board meeting has one item listed simply as "EB-5 Discussion." Some lawmakers began the meeting wanting to remove that item from the lineup. Republican State Senator Phyllis Heinemann from Sioux Falls says lawmakers should wait until they get the investigations’ findings before launching official talks.

"For us to jump in now when there are obviously many other investigations going on, we need to see what the evidence or what the results from those come out, then we need to see where we fit in and what needs to happen in terms of any oversight or in terms of any changes that we need to make," Heinemann says.

A lawmaker in favor of talking about controversy surrounding the EB-5 program is Democratic State Representative Kathy Tyler. The legislator from Big Stone City says the executive board should discuss ongoing state and federal investigations now.

"You have closed your minds to any discussion, and this whole thing with this EB5 thing, it our state’s responsibility to monitor this program, and we didn’t do it," Tyler says. "We don’t even have a clue what the investigation are happening, and to totally ignore this discussion as an E-board is unfathomable."

The disagreement doesn’t split exactly along party lines. Republican State Senator Craig Tieszen from Rapid City says he’s not opposed to members of the E-Board formally addressing the EB-5 investigations.

"I think we ought to give deference to our criminal investigations, both the state and the federal ones. I think we need to keep our powder dry, so to speak, for the time being and see what the results of those are," Tieszen says. "On the other hand, this is an issue for the legislature, and we will be reviewing this at some point. It’s our responsibility to review this, either to review what’s happened and what needs to be done about the past but, maybe more importantly, how we need to protect ourselves from future incidents that may come to light as a result of the investigation."

The majority of lawmakers on the executive board voted not to address the EB-5 investigation at this week’s meeting.

Kealey Bultena grew up in South Dakota, where her grandparents took advantage of the state’s agriculture at nap time, tricking her into car rides to “go see cows.” Rarely did she stay awake long enough to see the livestock, but now she writes stories about the animals – and the legislature and education and much more. Kealey worked in television for four years while attending the University of South Dakota. She started interning with South Dakota Public Broadcasting in September 2010 and accepted a position with television in 2011. Now Kealey is the radio news producer stationed in Sioux Falls. As a multi-media journalist, Kealey prides herself on the diversity of the stories she tells and the impact her work has on people across the state. Kealey is always searching for new ideas. Let her know of a great story! Find her on Facebook and twitter (@KealeySDPB).