Joshua Haiar, South Dakota Searchlight
A state commission that considers complaints about alleged violations of open-meetings laws will soon have its first hearing in nearly four years.
“This commission’s role is to bring transparency to government proceedings, and its work always has been invaluable,” Attorney General Marty Jackley said Thursday in a statement. “It is my goal to make the commission active again.”
The Open Meetings Commission was established by the South Dakota Legislature in 2004. The commission has not met since December 2020, leaving some complaints in limbo.
The state attorney general appoints the commission’s five member attorneys. The commission went dormant during the administration of Jason Ravnsborg, who served as attorney general from 2019 until he was impeached and removed from office in 2022 because of his conduct after his involvement in a fatal traffic accident.
Jackley has said he doesn’t know why the commission was inactive under Ravsnborg. Since Jackley became attorney general in January 2023, he said, challenges in maintaining a full roster of members contributed to the commission’s continued dormancy. Jackley said earlier this year that a commission member lost a state’s attorney election, and he hired another two members to work in his own office, leaving three vacancies on the commission.
Jackley convinced lawmakers to pass a bill last winter that expanded commission eligibility to include deputy state’s attorneys. Previously only state’s attorneys were eligible.
“It has taken time to reestablish this commission, appoint members, and review open meeting complaints,” Jackley said. “The goal of the commission remains the same – to ensure government agencies at all levels are transparent and accountable to citizens of South Dakota.”
The commission will meet at 9 a.m. Central time Monday on the Microsoft Teams digital platform. The agenda includes introductory remarks, election of officers, procedural discussions, and reviews of pending complaints.
Cases scheduled for review involve accusations against the Bennett County Board of Commissioners, Martin City Council, Piedmont Board of Trustees, Lincoln County Commission and North Sioux City Council, with allegations ranging from improper closed-door sessions to a commission meeting with a quorum without posting a public notice.
The current five-member panel consists of State’s Attorneys Austin Hoffman of McPherson County, Katelynn Hoffman of Turner County, Lance Russell of Fall River/Oglala Lakota County, Michael Smith of Clay County, and Emily Sovell of Sully County.
Another meeting is scheduled for Nov. 25 to hear more complaints against the Carlyle Township in Beadle County, Pennington County Board of Commissioners, Sturgis City Council, City of Lead Commission, Green Valley Sanitary District in Pennington County, Charles Mix County Commission and Tripp City Council.
After reviewing a complaint, the commission may issue findings of fact and conclusions of law and may also issue a reprimand. The renewed activity of the Open Meetings Commission comes amid Jackley’s efforts to emphasize government transparency. In collaboration with the South Dakota NewsMedia Association, his office recently released an updated open meetings guide for the public, the first revision since 2017.