Letter to the Editor: Your Voice is Being Silenced in the SD State Legislature

The state motto is “Under God, the People Rule.” But the voice of the public is being silenced in our SD State Legislature and it’s time to stop it.  The case in point? Senate Bill 72 which is an act to revise notification of the public on changes concerning the listing or delisting of endangered and threatened species in our state. This bill will take away “public notice of such proposed action” from the citizens of South Dakota and remove the thirty-day public comment period previously required of legislative actions. Only the governors of states sharing our border need to be notified of any action. So far, this bill has passed through the legislature without opposition. 

This is an egregious denial of the citizens of our state, including our USD community, to have a voice in the policies and actions of their government. If this bill isn’t stopped in its tracks, what other actions of the state will be withheld from public knowledge or possibility of comment? Contact house members and tell them to kill this bill.  SB 72 is an affront to a representative democracy.

Joyce Keifer, Ph.D. 

USD Faculty Member 

(This statement is a personal opinion and does not reflect the position of USD.)