South Dakota Sunshine Law
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The South Dakota Sunshine Law is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of governmental bodies in South Dakota.
The South Dakota Open Meetings Law legislates the methods by which public meetings are conducted.
To learn more about how to make a public records request in this state, please see: South Dakota FOIA procedures.
[edit] Recent news
- See also: South Dakota transparency headlines
Transparency blocking
- University openness lacks consistency 2009-06-17 15:56:56
- State plane info sparks clash 2009-06-17 15:37:19
- State secret: Who owns video lottery? 2009-06-17 15:34:40
More transparency blocking news from across the country.
Litigation
No recent news. If you have news add it here
More FOIA litigation news from across the country.
Legislation
- Open Records Law Discussed 2009-06-17 16:12:21
- Future of state open records law uncertain 2009-06-17 16:09:37
- Open records law helps brighten South Dakota 2009-06-17 15:53:47
More FOIA legislation news from across the country.
Sunshine Guardians
- Lawmaker Knudson honored for his work to open records 2009-06-17 15:51:57
Other Sunshine Guardians from across the country.
[edit] Relevant legal cases
- See also: Court cases with an impact on state FOIA
Here is a list of lawsuits in South Dakota. For more information go the page or go to South Dakota sunshine lawsuits.
(The cases are listed alphabetically. To order them by year please click the icon to the right of the Year heading)
We do not currently have any pages on litigation in South Dakota. To add some see our Sunshine litigation project page.
[edit] Proposed changes
- See sample transparency legislation at the Sunshine Standard
[edit] 2011
We do not currently have any legislation for South Dakota in 2011. To add some, please see WikiProject Proposed state sunshine legislation.
[edit] 2010
Here are a list of 30 random bills from South Dakota from 2010. For a full list, please see South Dakota transparency legislation.
We have no current bill pages for South Dakota from 2010. This may be due to incomplete research. To add pages, please view ourproject page, WikiProject Proposed state sunshine legislation.
[edit] 2009
- Main article: Proposed reforms in state sunshine laws, 2009
[edit] House Bill 1135: Authorizing Posting on the Internet
House Bill 1135 [1] was introduced on January 29, 2009, and it seeks to authorize the state and any municipality, county or school district to maintain an official website. [1]
[edit] Senate Bill 143: Creating a Public Records website
Senate Bill 143, [2] proposed by Sen. Jason Gant (R-Sioux Falls) and signed into law by Governor Mike Rounds on March 30, 2009 requires the continued operation of Open South Dakota.[3] SB 143 requires the state to maintain a searcheable website that provides public access to the financial information of the state, municipalities, counties, school districts and other political subdivisions. [2]
[edit] Senate Bill 144: Requiring State Contracts to be Posted Online
Senate Bill 144, [4] proposed by Sen. Gant was signed into law by Governor Rounds on March 30, 2009. The bill requires all state contracts involving the expenditure of money to be posted online on the Open South Dakota website.[4]
[edit] Senate Bill 147: Public Access to Records
In 2008, the Better Government Association ranked South Dakota as 50th in the nation for transparency.[5] However, things began to around for South Dakota when Governor Rounds signed Senate Bill 147[6] on March 30, 2009. [7] Prior to the passage of SB 147, the prevailing presumption in South Dakota was that all public records were confidential with the burden of proof resting on a requestor to prove that he or should have access to a certain record.[5] Once the bill goes into effect on June 1, 2009, South Dakota will join the majority of states where the presumption is that all records are public unless specifically exempted as confidential.[5]
The bill lists approximately 25 specific types of records as exempt from ready disclosure. These include such things as medical and personnel records, litigation documents, the phone records and memoranda of legislators, and some financial information from private entities seeking to do business with the state.[8]
[edit] Reaction to the bill
SB 147 has garnered praise from the South Dakota Newspaper Association and the Argus Leader Executive Editor Maricarrol Kueter. [9] Kueter said: "The bill is a giant step forward in openness and would bring our state in line with most other states in transparency. Knudson has done an excellent job." [9] The editorial board of the Daily Republic have endorsed SB 147, asking "Who could vote “No” on Senate Bill 147?" [10] Meanwhile, Yvonne Taylor, an official with the South Dakota Municipal League, suggests that the bill goes too far, and that her group will support it only with exceptions built in. [11]
[edit] Transparency report card
A 2008 study, BGA - Alper Integrity Index, conducted by the Better Government Association and sponsored by Alper Services, ranked South Dakota #50 - the worst score possible - in the nation with an overall percentage of 32.40%. [12]
A 2007 study, Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, conducted by BGA and the NFOIC, gave South Dakota 0 points out of a possible 100, a letter grade of "F", and a ranking of 50 out of the 50 states.[13]
A 2002 study, Freedom of Information in the USA, conducted by IRE and BGA, ranked South Dakota's law as the 50th worst in the country, giving it a letter grade of "F".[14]
[edit] Features of the law
Compare States: Sunshine variations: Click on the heading to compare your state's law to other state's transparency laws.
[edit] Declared legal intention
The South Dakota law does not contain a clearly defined legal intention.
[edit] What records are covered?
Records as defined by South Dakota law include all records kept by public bodies in South Dakota, no matter the physical form. [15] The state also offers OpenSD, a search-able website with many public documents available.
[edit] Exemptions
Notable exceptions include but are not limited to:
- Personal information of students or prospective students
- Medical records
- Trade secrets
- Attorney client privilege
- Law enforcement records
- Appraisals of potential land sales or purchases
- Employee information, excluding salary and work contact information
- Security information
- Credit card and bank account information
- Library records
- "Correspondence, memoranda, calendars or logs of appointments, working papers, and records of telephone calls of public officials or employees" [16]
- Archaeological site information
- Applicant information
- Examinations
- records that "would constitute an unreasonable release of personal information" [17]
- inmate records
[edit] Deliberative process
[edit] What agencies are covered?
Public bodies are defined as all branches of government at both the state and local levels.[18]
[edit] Legislature
The legislature falls under the definition of public body found atSouth Dakota law 1-27-1.1 and is subject to the South Dakota Sunshine Law.
[edit] Privatized governmental agencies
South Dakota law incorporates private entities that were both created by a public agency and perform a public function within its definition of public body found within the Sunshine Law. [19]
[edit] Public universities
Status: Presumed Open Popular Exemptions Research Donors Examinations Course Materials [20]
The definition of public body presumably includes public universities within the state. However, the law does explicitly exempt examinations at South Dakota law 1-27-1.5.
[edit] Who may request records?
Anyone may request public records in South Dakota. [21] However, certain records concerning correctional facilities are not available to inmates. [22]
[edit] Must a purpose be stated?
There are no requirements for a statement of purpose within South Dakota law.
[edit] How can records be used?
There are no restrictions on the use of records in South Dakota law.
[edit] Time allowed for response
- N/A
No response times are specified in South Dakota law.
[edit] Fees for records
[edit] Copy costs:
Fees structures are typically left to the disretion of the agency in question. While the act is silent as to fees, certain AG opinions have enforced the notion that reasonable fees can be charged for the duplication of documents.[23] Fees can also include the cost of the equipment required to transfer records across the internet and between various mediums.[24]
[edit] Search fees:
While the act is silent, Attorney General opinions have reinforced the notion that agencies may charge fees to cover the cost of records searches.[25]
[edit] Role of the Attorney General
There is currently no provision within the state open records law that empowers the State Department of Law to enforce the right of the public to access governmental records.
[edit] Open Meetings
Meetings of governmental agencies in South Dakota are open to the public and subject to the South Dakota Open Meetings Law.
[edit] Notable requests
[edit] 2008
State senator Gene Abdalah requested information about the state's fleet of airplanes in November 2008. The agency he asked was the state’s Legislative Research Council (LCR). The LCR then asked the Bureau of Finance and Management. The Bureau of Finance and Management told the Legislative Research Council that the wouldn’t give the LRC the records until the LRC told them who wanted the records and that, in general, they would require notification about who from the legislative branch wants records so they can "better taylor [sic] the information towards the legislator’s knowledge and understanding of the issue."[26]
[edit] See also
- South Dakota FOIA procedures
- South Dakota transparency headlines
- South Dakota transparency advocates
- South Dakota transparency legislation
- Private agency, public dollars-South Dakota
- South Dakota Open Meetings Law
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Text of HB 1135
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Text of SB 143
- ↑ South Dakota Legislature, 2009 Session - Bill History
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Text of SB 144
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 The Volante, South Dakota Amends State Records Statute, April 1, 2009
- ↑ Text of SB 147
- ↑ South Dakota Legislature, 2009 Session - Bill History
- ↑ Measure calls for open records, Argus Leader, January 30, 2009
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Measure calls for open records, Argus Leader, January 30, 2009
- ↑ No good reason to oppose government transparency, Daily Republic, February 7, 2009
- ↑ Open records debate on tap, Associated Press, February 16, 2009
- ↑ Integrity Index available for download here
- ↑ Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, 2007
- ↑ Freedom of Information in the USA, 2002
- ↑ South Dakota law 1-27-1.1
- ↑ South Dakota law 1-27-1.5
- ↑ South Dakota law 1-27-1.5
- ↑ South Dakota law 1-27-1.1
- ↑ Private agency, public dollars-South Dakota
- ↑ South Dakota law 1-27-1.5
- ↑ South Dakota Codified Laws, 1-27-1
- ↑ South Dakota law 1-27-1.13
- ↑ RCFP open Government Guide, SD
- ↑ South Dakota law 1-27-1.2
- ↑ RCFP open Government Guide, SD
- ↑ Argus Leader, "State plane info sparks clash", January 18, 2009
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