If you don’t want state stormtroopers to stop and frisk you for five minutes every time you enter the Capitol to visit your state government officials or testify on important legislation in committee, you can subject yourself to a different invasion of privacy at the hands of the Noem regime: you can apply for a new “Capitol Access Pass” that “may allow you to bypass security screening operations an immediately enter the State Capitol.” All you have to do is give the state your name, date of birth, address, telephone number, e-mail address, cell phone number, work phone number, employer’s name, and employer’s city and state and submit to a criminal background check.
One way or another, Snow Queen Kristi Noem appears determined to collect information on anyone who tries coming anywhere near her throne.
Bow to the Snow Queen, and Department of Public Safety Secretary Craig Price says you may avoid your daily dose of cancer rays:
“Once they show their Capitol Access Card, they’re going to be shuffled real quickly right through that room and into the Capitol,” Price said Friday, “and they’re not going to have to go through the X-ray machine and everything else that’s set up in that Capitol screening room that other general visitors will have to follow.”
State employees and legislators will have a different pass, called a proximity card, which will allow them to use any entrance. Visitors who lack a proximity card or Capitol Access Pass must go through the security room and the screening process. Price said those visitors should allow extra time when they visit the Capitol [Cara Hetland, “New Security Passes Available for Frequent Capitol Visitors,” SDPB, 2020.01.03].
Note that the pass is no guarantee that you’ll get in fast; the application states that Capitol security personnel can still subject anyone with a Capitol Access Pass to screening at their discretion. So if there’s a particularly controversial issue, like Kristi Noem’s revisitation of her pro-pipeline riot-boosting proposals, coming up for hearing in committee, and if a bunch of activists have diligently applied for and received their CAPs so they can get to the hearing without delay, Governor Noem can tell the security personnel that on that hearing day, they need to search everyone, pass or no pass… or at least everyone who’s not a lobbyist for TransCanada.
I know, what decent South Dakota Governor would do such a thing? But no South Dakota Governor, decent or not, could do such a thing without this regime of security theater that locks down the People’s Temple of Democracy and treats citizens who want to see and influence their government as suspects and threats.
SDPB reports the new Capitol security checkpoint cost us $60,000; no word yet on how much we’ll spend in ongoing costs of processing Capitol Access Passes and staffing the Capitol cattle chute. No fee has been announced yet for the Capitol Access Pass.
Plain and simple this is an attempt to reduce citizen involvement in their government. Just hope you don’t get caught behind three or four bus loads of high school kids visiting the legislature with their government class.
I’d like to see an initiated measure
on the ballot next November that would
require the Queen to be subjected to
a background check and frisk anytime
she LEAVES the Capitol.
AND….
A Drug test because that girl is on
something.
Seriously, why bother going through a background check just to confirm South Dakota’s government does not work for the people when you can get all the necessary info needed from Cory, John T, David Newquist and the plethora of intelligent commenters on their blogs?
I am so old that I can remember when religious voters who purport to take the Bible as seriously as many who support Noem claim to took Matthew 10:28 seriously: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Now, however, they seem to follow the gospel of Wednesday Addams.
See, Nick understands what goes on at the Capitol Building. Many days during session you’ll get kids coming in to learn, you know, CIVICS. What’s the lesson? Government officials are afraid of their citizens. But who gets to cut in line? The fat cat lobbyists, because if you read what you have to spew up to get your “pass,” that is what lobbyists give up to register.. Ah, yes. There you go. Special treatment for the fat cats, but you citizens, “get the hell back in line.”
They should make this cost fee be like $100 to pay for all the extra guards and equipment. One time visitors can do just like they do when they go into the Pennington county courthouse and that takes about 30 seconds even if you’re carrying a whole lunch pail of gravy taters. Charge them big, grudznick says.
Mr. Pay is righter than right. The fat cat lobbists should have to lay out a Benjamin to get this fast pass and have a website should be made with postings of all the lobbists pictures.
First Year’s Free! Gov. Noem should hire CLEAR to run the screening. In Denver they have their own gates and personal item machines at our airport, baseball field, Capital building, and other mass access places. $179 a year and you can bring a kid or two for no additional fee.
Surely, the state gets about half the money.
~ The cost of using Clear at airports is $179 a year ($15 a month). Travelers who get a Clear membership can also add up to three family members to their membership for $50 per year, while those under the age of 18 can enter the Clear lane with a member free of charge.
What are the security arrangements for the tunnels? Do you think the folks coming from DENR are.going to put on coats, run across the street, and get in line?
In Minnesota’s state capital and many county seat buildings visitors’ possessions go into a tub and through an xray machine while people walk through a metal scanner. It takes an extra 30 seconds.
A few years ago an angry man walked into a county courthouse in northern Minnesota and shot a states attorney he was angry with.
I don’t have any problem with simple security like that. I think it’s a good idea.
The intrusive nature of the “security rooms” makes it sound like TSA style security. Same with the info wanted for the pass. All that is unnecessary and way too time consuming.
I’m agreement with those who think this sounds like a way to keep citizens out of The SDGOP’s Government.
Mr. Pay, I suspect they forgot all about the tunnels so now anybody reading this will know they can just go into any other building and just take the mole tunnel over to the legislatures.
Debbo. That’s the exact same way it is in CO. However, if you feel the need to go through a faster line, you can pay the company I spoke of the $15 a month. It’s like the fast lanes on the highway that you can pay extra to drive in. There’s money to be made off the impatient, I suppose. But, the security at the SD capital does seem extravagant. There’s never been a terrorist event. The governor was totally freaked out when living in Washington. Rarely did she leave the capital except to go to and from the airport, never went to parties, and slept in her office. Sounds like even the big town of Pierre is too much for her.
People with little or no experience in big cities think they are death traps with shots ringing out at any time. I know it’s based on what gets reported in the news, but that’s so exaggerated for ratings.
Danger can appear in any location any time, but this security plan in the capitol is nuts. Iran will definitely retaliate in horrible ways for Cadet Bone Spurs idiotic attempt to bolster his shrinking…….., but Pierre, SD, is unlikely to be on their targets list.
It appears, by her actions, that Gov. Noem doesn’t really like people all that much. And, there are certain groups she doesn’t like more than normal folks do. Probably a control freak issue. It’s not because she grew up on a farm because Debbo grew up on a farm and she’s as gracious and kind as can be. Could be a lot of underlying psychology but it’s not fair for a leader to pick sides and exclude their future constituents.
Tunnels? I want a tunnel pass!
Donald, SDPB says that state employees and legislators get a “proximity card, which will allow them to use any entrance.” I assume that means if there’s a tunnel, they’ll have a swiper for those cards.
Did you know they are digging new tunnels?