LRC: Repealing Circulator Registry and Badges Won’t Affect Budget. AG: Let’s Make Videos!

The Legislative Research Council needed just eighteen days to study SD Voice’s latest proposed initiative and determine that, by their best guess, repealing the new and odious ballot question petition circulator registry and badging laws won’t cost the state a dime:

This office received an initiated measure to repeal chapter 14 of the 2019 Session Laws. After reviewing this measure in greater depth, it has been determined that this measure will not have an impact on revenues, expenditures, or fiscal liability of the state and its agencies and political subdivisions. Therefore, a fiscal note is not required [LRC Director Jason Hancock, letter to Secretary of State Steve Barnett, 2019.07.16].

Repealing the circulator registry and badging laws created by this year’s House Bill 1094 would actually save the state some time and money in collecting, maintaining, and distributing circulator contact information and printing and delivering badges. However, such repeal will also deny the state the chance to charge paid circulators for the privilege of collecting signatures and maybe charging people for access to the public circulator registry. LRC apparently figures it’s a wash.

But whoo-hoo! Take “big liberal spending program!” off the list of bogus arguments Rep. Jon Hansen and his demophobic GOP will throw at that initiative effort.

Meanwhile, the Attorney General’s office has had this new initiative proposal in its hands for almost 30 days, and they still haven’t been able to provide their required legal explanation. (Pssst! Jason! Hint! It’s pretty simple: people circulating ballot question petitions wouldn’t have to register with the state, paid circulators wouldn’t have to pay fees to circulate, and paid and volunteer circulators wouldn’t have to wear badges. You’re welcome.)

Perhaps keeping the AG’s office from getting around to interpreting this simple, one-line initiative are vital law enforcement tasks like fixing their YouTube technical difficulties and comping up with compelling online content like this week’s “What’s New” entry highlighting a photo op:

Notice: the AG’s staff didn’t just spend time arranging a photo op; they also made a video of the photo op, complete with gently distracting background music.

Someone in the AG’s office also had time in June to come up with that fancy WN logo. But those letters—”WN”—packed into a circle like old attorneys general into a Capitol seem familiar. Where have I seen that?

No, that can’t be it. Maybe WN is just a thinly coded shout-out to let refugees from Leith know they can come to South Dakota instead of running away to Canada.

Less video and iconography, Jason—more explanation! Chop chop!