South Dakota Senators think the state’s investment council is fine just the way it is. House Bill 1099 sought to add the Bureau of Finance and Management Commissioner as a member to the investment council. The council currently has eight members, and supporters of the bill say it’s better to have an odd-number in case of split decisions. But opponents to the measure disagree with changing a system that’s one of the best in the nation. Senator Jason Frerichs says the proposed legislation could create more disagreements.
“Even boards are out there, it’s not that we always have an odd number and that’s the case right now at this point in session—we have conference committees; three from here and three from over in the other chamber. As we know is the case, you have to have some consensus to push out an idea or product from that conference committee. When we look at this investment council, we definitely want that investment council to have that consensus and maintain the integrity,” Frerichs says.
Despite proponents’ arguments that you can still improve a successful structure, the BFM Commissioner will not be added to the investment council, as House Bill 1099 fails in the Senate by a narrow vote of 16 to 19.