South Dakota Democrats say they support the Governor’s public safety bill. State House Minority Leader Bernie Hunhoff says the bill is long overdue.
"Really this is something we should have done 30 years ago as the governor said it’s not that were gonna be soft on crime; were gonna finally be smart on crime and I couldn’t agree more with him," says Hunhoff
The bill is seeing bi-partisan support. One point of contention may be the elimination of preliminary hearings for misdemeanors. Critics say the hearings are part of due process. But those in favor of the act disagree, saying it only constitutes a tiny percentage of the total caseload and will save the state money.