Lawmakers have rejected a bill to require quarterly flight records for each state aircraft. The report would have listed the purpose of using the plane, the names of people aboard and costs associated with flying.
The quarterly report from the transportation department would have required details on each trip. The purpose, who was traveling and the cost of the flight.
Senator Troy Heinert sponsored the bill. He says information on the use of state aircraft is unclear. Heinert says an online article published by Raw Story raises questions about how Governor Kristi Noem has used state travel.
“But what that article did show was that it took an investigative reporter to match FAA flight logs and go back through the governor’s twitter feed to decide or discern where she was and for what purpose.”
In 2006, voters approved a ballot initiative that requires all state aircraft to be used for state business only.
The state Department of Transportation opposed the proposal. Attorney Bill Nevin says it would be difficult to provide all the information in a timely manner.
“The bill would require DOT to obtain that information concerning the purpose of the trip and the landing and departure times for each location, along with all the other information, either through BOA obtaining it at the time of booking of the flight or somehow from the various agencies for each person on the flight which results in substantial duplication of effort.”
The committee used a legislative procedure to kill the bill.