House lawmakers have rejected a bipartisan bill disclosing protection and security spending for public officials.
The proposal is a response to Governor Kristi Noem’s national travel last year to campaign for then-President Donald Trump and other Republicans.
Representative Taffy Howard is the prime sponsor of the bill. She says taxpayers deserve to know how their money is spent.
“All the costs for our executive protection detail is tucked away in the Highway Patrol budget, so there’s no way for taxpayers to break out how much was specifically spent on the executive protection’s details: travels, meals, lodging, etc.”
Howard says at least 14 states like Montana and Florida have implemented such laws to disclose what’s spent on executive security.
The South Dakota Highway Patrol provides security for the governor and the Capitol building. Troopers are also assigned, as needed, to protect other officials such as supreme court justices and state legislators.
State officials have not disclosed the costs associated with Noem’s national campaign travel, citing security concerns.
Craig Price is the Secretary for the Department of Public Safety. He opposes the bill and says “bad actors” could use the details to compromise the governor’s security.
“Salary dollars and travel details alone would provide enough information to easily determine the size of our security detail. It would also reveal potential threats that are being investigated, location and concentration of security resources and personnel, routines of the person being protected, the training we provide, the equipment we buy and frequently visited locations by the folks that we’re protecting.”
The House State Affairs committee used a procedural move to shift consideration of the bill to the end of session. That effectively kills the bill.