Representative J. E. Putnam, Chair
Senator William J. Johnson, Vice Chair
Senator Robert M. Benson
Representative William F. Cerny
Representative Michael Derby
Senator Robert Drake
Representative Robert N. Duxbury
Representative Kenneth G. McNenny
Representative Donald E. Munson
Senator Paul Symens
LRC staff present during the meeting included Dale Bertsch, Chief Analyst for Fiscal Research and
Budget Analysis; Mark Zickrick, Principal Fiscal Analyst; Annie Mertz, Fiscal Analyst; and Arlene
Krueger, Senior Session Secretary. A list of guests attending the meeting and all documents
presented are filed with the original minutes.
Secretary of State
Joyce Hazeltine, Secretary of State, directed the committee's attention to page 2 of Document V,
FY 1998 Budget Request Contents Justification which details the agency's $1.6 million revenues.
Tom Leckey, Deputy Secretary, explained that the apparent increase in the number of corporations
is misleading because annual reports for non-profits are filed every three years on a calendar year
basis, so the number bounces up and down. He advised that the Governor's office has put in SB 73
to increase fees, which could bring in $1.1 million not included in the budget. Farm produce liens
won't be affected.
The major change is the requested $263,477 increase in contractual services. Mr. Leckey stated it is time for electronic filing, especially of Uniform Commercial Code documents, and most of this increase is for computer resources. He commented that this is a very preliminary figure as they are negotiating with other states in the region to share programming costs. The idea is to use $3.00 from each filing to set up a revolving account to implement this plan. A suicide clause would revert dollars back, he added. Mark Zickrick, LRC, pointed out that this request for $403,000 contract labor appears on page 7 of document V; the Governor's recommendation did not include this
increase. Mr. Leckey commented that without electronic filing, there is still a $13,477 increase in
Information Services costs. Elimination of encoding with electronic filing could eliminate one FTE
once 50% participation is achieved. A number of potential users have indicated they would use
electronic filing, according to Mr. Leckey.
In response to Senator Symens' comments, Mr. Leckey advised that termination is now prepaid. He
said it is difficult to generate reports on the mainframe, and they want office computers which can
do this and advise banks of terminations.
Senator Symens asked whether any activities cost more than they bring in. Secretary Hazeltine
replied that the Governor has included a change in notaries public fees from $5 for eight years to $10
for four years. With 30,000 in the state, and the movement of people, they have a database with
outdated addresses. She also said trademarks are very time consuming, and are included in the
Governor's bill. Senator Symens asked for another column on page two of Document V to indicate
how much excess general funds are reverted, or conversely how much the activities are short. Mr.
Leckey said he thinks they will be short on employee benefits.
Mr. Barnett advised South Dakota has the smallest attorney staff except for the North Marianas and Samoa, and the worst attendance at national conferences. He said the Law Enforcement Officers Training Fund (LEOTF) generated more money than expected; it should be renamed “liquidated costs.” It supports a number of activities, such as the Chief Justice's training for judges, Department of Corrections trainings, Highway Patrol training, Children's Defense Fund, Defense Lawyer's Fund, and Court Automation Fund. Mr. Barnett advised of the possibility of raising that surcharge another $17 to give to counties for criminal defense attorneys, which would bring it up to $40. Constitutionally, all fines must go to school districts, and the Attorney General warned that the more the surcharge increases, the less inclined judges will be to impose fines. He added that there is the constitutional argument, if the surcharge exceeds the fine, that the surcharge is punitive. Ticket
volume statewide is down remarkably, according to Mr. Barnett. He said an increase shouldn't be
requested until it is needed; the fund is projected to go red in May of 1998. Within the next few
years the Unified Judicial System may want to add $5 to the surcharge for Court Automation. Mr.
Barnett mentioned that every dollar increase generates $100,000. This is a user fee, and a logical
circle in that those who cause work for law enforcement officers pay to educate them. Senator
Symens requested a break down on LEOTF.
Ms. Kay McLain reminded the committee that the FY96 funds for the Drug Task Force were for
the transitional period during the change from local jurisdiction to a state-wide task force. The
Attorney General said local entities were hiring rookies rather than veterans, who would earn more
than the chief of police or the sheriff. They wanted the state to take over the Task Force. He stated
the Governor asked that grant funds be split evenly between “catching and convicting” and
“education, prevention, and rehabilitation.” Mr. Barnett spoke to the Committee last year about
reorganizing the Task Force and the need for ten FTEs to put drug agents in the field; now all
positions are filled and are making drug arrests, he reported. Doug Lake, Director of the Department
of Criminal Investigation, interjected that we now have the same number of arrests after replacing
23 FTEs with ten. These people are still in training, so Mr. Barnett said arrest numbers will go up.
The Task Force consolidation is working well.
Methamphetamine arrests statewide are up 1,000% over the last few years, he stated. We will pay
for methamphetamine in many ways, warned Mr. Barnett: school problems, probation and parole,
prosecution, and murders. He fears the next officer traffic death will result from pulling over a
person on methamphetamine with a gun. Senator Daschle got South Dakota designated a high-
intensity traffic area for drug purposes, so money is coming for a Drug Enforcement Agency agent.
Weapons and illegal Mexican arrests are also up. Rather than deport them and know they will be
back in two weeks, Mr. Barnett prefers to let the feds have them.
North Dakota is no longer the statistical anomaly it used to be, but is reputedly moving in our
direction in terms of percentage of population incarcerated, commented Mr. Barnett. South Dakota
has the shortest average stay in prison in the upper Midwest, although we catch and convict more.
Excluding lifers, average time served in prison is 14 months, but these numbers do not reflect
sentencing changes last year. South Dakota's crime and recidivism rates are among the best in the
nation, according to the Attorney General.
Representative Munson asked the status of the Drug Awareness Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.)
Program. Mr. Barnett responded it is a good program. It is hard to know how much crime a
prevention program prevents, but if we weren't there, it would be a lot worse, he maintained.
Education is better than ignorance. Kids, parents, and teachers love the program. Federal grants are
for a four-year limit except for capture and convict funds, but the Attorney General is unwilling to
drop D.A.R.E., so it is being transferred to LEOTF. All funds go to local support. A good working
relationship with kids in the schools results in vandalism and other crimes being solved.
Mr. Barnett advised that Midwest Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) will be running in three to ten weeks when computers are set up. Minnesota has a $5 million computer and a million print cards, South Dakota has 140,000, and North Dakota's will be included. He clarified
these will be criminal prints, not those used for job searches, etc. We have prints from several major
crimes, and if the perpetrators are ever arrested in these three states we will get a match. It will be
possible to live scan an arrestee's fingerprints into the computer in the biggest cities. We are the first
states to do this as a consortium, and he commented the federal government wants this as a pilot
program with a view toward linking all the states, and eventually Interpol. Ms. McLain pointed out
the first-year funding for AFIS was higher, and not as much spending authority is requested this
year.
She said they also shifted things around for the Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) grant. The DNA
library needs to change from keeping DNA of those arrested on sex offenses to those that are
convicted. The sex offender registry approved last year is in operation.
Representative McNenny noted that the Department of Commerce is planning to hire another
attorney for insurance fraud and asked who decides who does what. The Attorney General stated
the state funds 100 full-time lawyers (28 in the Office of the Attorney General, 20 to 30 in agencies,
and many contracted for child support enforcement). The Attorney General runs about one-quarter
of the state's legal expenses. His position is that all lawyers who speak for the state on matters of
law should be managed by a chief elected lawyer, and cost savings would result. He said his office
pursues legitimate cases of insurance fraud, while states attorneys may feel insurance companies
should be looking out for themselves. He predicted the insurance fraud prosecutor will have more
cases than he or she can handle.
Chair Putnam commented that State Radio needs to be examined, because pursuits crossing county
lines are said to result in officers who can't talk to each other or the state. Mr. Barnett said to move
to new technology might mean $20 million for a system that won't reach as many officers as with
the present system. Different police departments and sheriffs offices are moving at different rates.
This will need to be dealt with eventually.
Mr. Barnett said 911 dispatchers want to be trained and certified, and he will provide training if they
bring the dollars. He stated the phone companies don't like the bill adding 4 cents to the 75-cent 911
surcharge. Jailer training and certification is desired by counties. From a policy perspective, he
noted, once they are trained and certified they will think they should be more highly compensated.
Some locals aren't providing training; state involvement reduces local liability.
Representative Duxbury asked for an Victims Compensation Fund update. The Attorney General
stated it is a huge success. There is not enough money to pay every legitimate complaint, and the
suggestion is to go pro rata. Senator Symens asked about the Senate bill which would move it from
the Department of Corrections to the Department of Social Services. Mr. Barnett responded he
doesn't have a problem with that; at inception DOC wanted to administer it.
Senator Symens moved to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Senator Benson and carried on a
voice vote. The meeting stood adjourned at 11:35 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,