Open Government

Pierre, SD -  South Dakota ranked 50th out or all 50 states in a recent survey of openness and government integrity.  

 

The Better Government Association, an independent and non-partisan government watchdog group, released their 2008 survey findings on transparency, accountability, and limits in government.  The survey ranked each of the 50 states in five areas of law: open records, whistleblower protections, campaign finance, open meetings, and conflicts of interest. 

 

“South Dakota didn’t beat out any other state” said BGA Executive Director Jay Stewart, “and there is clearly a lot of room for improvement.  If you look at the percentage score, South Dakota received 32%, the equivalent of a F letter grade, hardly a cause for celebration.”

 

South Dakotans supported open government reforms in a June 2008 McLaughlin & Associates scientific public opinion poll.  Over 70% of those polled supported reforms that would: stop taxpayer dollars from being used for lobbying and political campaigns, stop politicians from handing out “pay-to-play” government contracts, making the relationships between government contractors and elected officials transparent, stop golden parachutes, and placing the current common sense public disclosure laws and ethics reforms at federal level in South Dakota law. 
  
Lee Breard, Executive Director of the SD CAC, said, “Clearly from this study there is a problem and polling shows there is overwhelming public support for reform.  South Dakotans largely agreed with the major concepts in Initiated Measure 10 but obviously believed the initial approach was flawed”  
 
“Now is the time to take the issue of openness and transparency in government back to the people and the peoples’ representatives,” said Breard.  “While voters were confused with the specific language of Measure 10, largely due to the $1 million TV campaign by National Education Association union officials in Washington, D.C., fighting to preserve the status quo, there is overwhelming public support for openness and reform.”
 
“With South Dakota ranked last in openness and integrity clearly the status quo is not acceptable and just walking away from common sense reform is not an option,” said Breard. 

 

Breard noted that in an editorial, the Black Hills Pioneer agreed.

“After seeing efforts to open government fail during the 2008 legislative session, we have to agree that the Better Government Association has a point,” the Pioneer said.  “South Dakotans may be open, friendly people, but their government is closed and hostile to anything it perceives as an intrusion on its authority.  The report makes it clear that South Dakota has failed to adapt to modern demands for openness.”

“Measure 10, which was resoundingly defeated last week, was supposedly an effort to create a more open government,” the Pioneer continued.  “It had many flaws, but its central point was worthwhile: far too much happens behind closed doors in this state, be it government contracts — ‘millions are awarded annually in no-bid processes’ — pardons and court proceedings.”
http://www.bhpioneer.com/articles/2008/11/12/opinion/editorials/doc491b11c81bd27205749055.txt

  
Follow this link to read the full report from the Better Government Association.  

 

 

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