SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — It’s been a good year for South Dakota’s Attorney General. Lawmakers passed six bills he championed that will toughen up the state’s laws. Governor Larry Rhoden signed more than a 140 bills into law this year.
Attorney General Marty Jackley says six new laws will strengthen penalties against people who are convicted and boost oversight of state workers. Jackley admits it took a slew of fraud and embezzlement investigations against state workers to get some lawmakers to take his requests seriously.
“If you go back to EB5 and Gear up that should have been enough, in fact some of these laws, the whistleblower I brought back in the wake of EB5 and Gear up and just could not get the support,” said Jackley. “This year we had the overwhelming support, between EB5, Gear Up, six criminal prosecutions, three ongoing investigations, lawmakers saw the need and they acted on it.
SB 60 expands the investigative authority of the state auditor. SB 62 Establishes mandatory reporting related to crime and improper conduct by state employees
“Number one , we wanted to make sure the people’s auditor had access to the records to try to prevent the frauds,” said Jackley. “We also wanted to make sure there was internal controls to try to catch thefts early on, then there was a mandatory reporting not by the state employees but by their supervisors. What we were finding is in several instances, supervisors had been provided information from employees and didn’t act on that information.”
State lawmakers also approved protections for state employees who report improper government conduct. Another new law could mean jail time for anyone caught bringing items to prisoners at the state penitentiary. And SB 58 increases the prison time for those convicted of human trafficking in South Dakota. Jackley says these new laws are a big step in bringing trust back to state government.
