South Dakota attorney general convenes task force to review open meetings laws

(South Dakota Searchlight) A 15-member task force established by South Dakota’s attorney general will review the state’s open meetings laws and ponder possible changes.

South Dakota already has an Open Meetings Commission that reviews alleged violations of the state’s open meetings laws and can issue disciplinary letters to offending government bodies. The commission was established in 2004 and is made up of five state’s attorneys.

The Advisory Task Force Committee on Open Meetings Laws, announced Tuesday in a press release from Attorney General Marty Jackley, will have a different focus on the laws themselves and will include a wider array of stakeholders.

Among the 15 members appointed by Jackley are the heads of the South Dakota News Media Association and South Dakota Broadcasters Association, a lawyer for the state Department of Revenue and representatives for townships, cities, counties and school boards.

“Government, funded by the taxpayers, should be transparent,” Jackley said in the press release, adding that the goal is “to increase government transparency within our state.”