MINNEHAHA COUNTY, S.D. (KELO) — No matter how much a South Dakotan loves or hates a piece of legislation in Pierre, it’s just that: only a bill, at least temporarily.
House Bill 1025, which would appropriate $763 million to build a men’s prison in Lincoln County, is still very much alive in Pierre, and it’s not hard to find different people with entirely different views on it.
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South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden and Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken appeared together Friday at a news conference on public safety where the elected leaders also touched on the proposed prison in Lincoln County. With lawmakers now considering HB 1025 in Pierre, KELOLAND News asked how the governor sees support.
Santella: Do you think you have the votes right now in the House and Senate to get that legislation to your desk?
“I don’t know the answer to that,” Rhoden said in response.
However, the governor, who has made clear his wish to replace the state penitentiary, invited the input of other officials.
“I’ll probably spend a little bit of this weekend on behalf of the governor and others trying to help shore up some votes,” TenHaken said at the news conference.
Like Rhoden, TenHaken says the extent of HB 1025’s support isn’t clear.
“Are the votes there? I don’t know if the votes are there,” TenHaken said. “But we’re going to work on that. I’m going to do what I can to help these guys make sure the votes are there because it is, the time is now to build that thing.”
“I don’t know how many different sites that we went through, dozens, trying to find the right site,” Rhoden said. “When we settled on this site, it was very attractive for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is the state already owned it.”
Before the news conference wrapped up, Rhoden made clear that he believes a new prison needs to be built at the proposed site in Lincoln County specifically.
“I am absolutely convinced in my heart of heart: it’s the right place to build it, it’s the right time to build it,” Rhoden said.
Meanwhile, state Republican leaders have shared their hesitation about the cost of building the proposed prison in Lincoln County.
“I’m worried about the finances, but good question on the location,” Republican Rep. Marty Overweg, who serves as assistant majority leader in the House, said Thursday. “I have not dealt that far into it yet.”
“I think it’s just something we have to be careful with,” Republican Rep. Scott Odenbach, who serves as majority leader in the House, said Thursday. “Very careful with, as stewards of the state tax dollars.”
“I don’t think that people are saying no to a prison,” Republican Carl Perry, who serves as assistant majority leader in the Senate, said Thursday. “What they’re saying is maybe no to the financing the way it’s set up.”
It’s common in Pierre for a bill to simply need the support of a majority of lawmakers in both the House and Senate. The House has 70 members, so 36 votes in support would be needed for passage. The Senate has 35 members, so in that chamber 18 aye votes would be needed.
But HB 1025 would appropriate money from the incarceration construction fund to the state Department of Corrections to build the new prison. Since it’s an appropriations bill, legislative rules say it will need the support of two-thirds of lawmakers in each chamber to pass.
Therefore, HB 1025, assuming full chambers, is going to need 47 supporting members of the House and 24 supporting members of the Senate if it wants to make it to Rhoden’s desk.
