Outgoing South Dakota legislators criticized after taxpayer-paid Hawaii trip

House Speaker Spencer Gosch, Rep. Jamie Smith, both attended national conference in the final month of their tenure in office

Photo by Sean Oulashin on Unsplash

The revelation that South Dakota House Speaker Spencer Gosch was injured during a national conference in Hawaii has turned attention to the Legislature’s travel policy.

Gosch, as well as Rep. Jamie Smith, both went on a trip to Hawaii to attend the Council of State Governments’ national conference in Honolulu. They were among a dozen South Dakota lawmakers to attend.

But neither Gosch nor Smith are returning to the Legislature in January. Both are lame-duck lawmakers. Gosch, a Republican from Glenham, lost his bid for a Senate seat while Smith, a Sioux Falls Democrat, was defeated in his bid for governor by Gov. Kristi Noem.

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