Advisory Task Force on Open Meeting Laws
History
The South Dakota Open Meetings Commission was established in 2004 pursuant to SDCL 1-25-8. The Commission is composed of five attorneys appointed by the South Dakota Attorney General. It typically convenes twice each year to review and address alleged violations of the state’s open meetings laws.
Mission
Building upon experience and the evolving understanding of issues brought before the Commission, now is an appropriate time to seek input from key stakeholders regarding potential updates to South Dakota’s open meetings laws.
At this juncture, it is proposed that an Advisory Open Government Task Force be convened to conduct a series of meetings with stakeholders, gather feedback on possible legislative amendments to Chapter 1-25, and develop formal recommendations for consideration by the Attorney General and potential legislative action.
The Task Force would be chaired by Attorney General Marty Jackley (or his designated representative) and include members representing the following stakeholder groups:
OMC Attorney board member representatives:
Michael Smith, Clay County State's Attorney
Austin Hoffman, McPherson County State's Attorney
Governor's appointed representatives:
Karla Engle, Chief Legal Counsel for the Department of Transportation
Kirsten Jasper, Chief Legal Counsel for the Division of Revenue
Non-OMC State's Attorney representatives:
Tracey Kelley, Custer County State's Attorney
Dylan Kirchmeier, Roberts County State's Attorney
News media representatives:
Dave Bordewyk, South Dakota News Media Association
Steve Willard, South Dakota Broadcasters Association
School Board Member representatives:
Shane Roth, DeSmet School District Board President and Associated School Boards of South Dakota President
Garret Bischoff, Huron School District Board Vice-President and Associated School Boards of South Dakota Immediate Past President
County Commissioners representatives:
Geoffrey Gray- Lobe, Clay County Commissioner
Cole Heise, Minnehaha County Commissioner
Municipal/ city representatives:
Kellen Willert, City Attorney for the City of Belle Fourche
Towns & Township representatives:
Terry Sletten, SD Association of Towns and Townships Executive Director
Jum Urban, SD Association of Towns and Townships Board of Directors Member