Lawmakers remove felony penalty from AG Jackley public corruption bill
Vote comes amid debate about whether South Dakota needs more felony crimes
PIERRE – Two key pieces of public corruption legislation proposed by Attorney General Marty Jackley got voted out of the House of Representatives Monday, but not before some of their fangs were filed down.
Jackley had asked lawmakers to make it a class-6 felony for a supervisor employed by the state to knowingly fail to report malfeasance or wrongdoing committed by another state employee. But the House voted 38-31 to amend that, taking it down to a class-1 misdemeanor.
That change now must be approved through Senate concurrence, where Senate Bill 62 passed with the felony charge.
