Legislature May Allow Members to Participate Remotely

After some cruel and reckless pushback from Rep. Steven Haugaard, it sounds like the Legislature will accede to the very sensible health concerns of Rep. Linda Duba and others and allow legislators to participate in the 2021 Session remotely. Yesterday the Legislative Research Council announced these proposed safety protocols for legislating during the coronavirus pandemic:

• Allowing legislators to attend and vote remotely under certain circumstances and with leadership approval;
• Requiring face coverings for all individuals in spaces under the jurisdiction of the South Dakota Senate;
• Encouraging face coverings for all spaces under the jurisdiction of the South Dakota House of Representatives;
• Limiting seating in the Senate and House galleries;
• Providing personal protective equipment (PPE) for members and staff;
• Encouraging remote testifying during legislative committee meetings; and
• Promoting the use of digital documents [LRC, press release, 2021.01.06].

LRC’s release doesn’t make clear if the criteria for remote participation will be broader than those discussed back in November, which proposed to allow legislators to Zoom in only if they have coronavirus, have to quarantine due to close contact with a positive case, or live with someone with a pre-existing condition that increases coronavirus risk. But on Veto Day last March and in the Special Session in October, the Legislature demonstrated that it could conduct business effectively with legislators beaming in from all over the state. The Legislature should follow its own example and set a good example for the entire state that, when effective technological alternatives are available, we should avoid face-to-face meetings during a pandemic and allow people to work from home.

But Bob Mercer notes that every legislator will have to make at least one trip to Pierre. Article 3 Section 8 of the South Dakota Constitution requires that every member of the Legislature take the oath of office “in the hall of the house to which the member… is elected.” Mercer notes that Article 3 Section 8 does not specify that the oath take place at a specific time, so instead of the traditional mass swearing-in, the Legislature could arrange for legislators to come early, beat the crowds, and take a nice, safe, socially distanced oath in their respective chambers before the Legislature convenes next week Tuesday, January 12, at noon.