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SDPB Radio Coverage of the South Dakota Legislature. See all coverage and find links to audio and video streams live from the Capitol at www.sdpb.org/statehouse

Democratic Leader Wants More Accountability

State Democratic leaders are questioning the intention of the Governor’s task force to improve open government in South Dakota. House Democratic Leader Bernie Hunhoff says the bills addressing transparency have been trivial, rather than dealing with the most important issues in the state. Hunhoff says he’d like to see more accountability with economic development. He says other areas such as the governor’s criminal justice reform and the state tourism tax have shown the positives of evidence-based reform.
 
“I really do believe we’re headed in the right direction. If we continue to embrace the Pew Foundation spirit of reform using evidence-based information, providing accountability and transparency, just as you hope you could do across state government, I really think some good things can happen. That’s got to be the criteria—it’s gotta be accountable, it’s gotta be sustainable, has to have the right funding source,” Hunhoff says.
 
Hunhoff says it’s basically impossible to track how much money is currently spent on economic development throughout the levels of government. He says the state legislators have come together and both parties have expressed wanting to create more accountability.