Coming at the end of the legislative session, the last day for purposes of considering Governor’s vetoed measures can sometimes also be a time to fix those last minute things that legislators feel is important. Including a problem legislators saw with juvenile justice:
But thanks to a ‘suspension of the rules’ lawmakers were able to pass S.B. 179 in just one day.
“Once we have an idea that is going to make South Dakota better, there’s no reason to wait a year to implement it,” says Sen. Al Novstrup, a sponsor of S.B. 179.
The new bill increases the current maximum length of probation for juveniles from 4 months to 6 months.
Sen. Novstrup says it’s needed to ensure juveniles have enough time to get through the programs a judge requires them to complete.
“It gives the probation officer, and the person on probation more time to figure out which way they are going in life,” says Sen. Novstrup.
Minnehaha County Deputy State’s Attorney Carole James says before legislation reduced the maximum length to 4 months, the average time assigned was actually 6 months.
She says going back to this amount will help decrease program wait-lists and increase early releases.
The Governor has already indicated his willingness to sign the measure.
Good job legislators, and Senator Novstrup!