State House passes measure to make legislature more independent

From Todd Epp at KELO AM Radio comes a story about House Bill 1001, and the efforts of legislators to make a more independent body:

House Bill 1001 would remove a number of statutes passed in 1939–50 years after statehood–that put into state law the operation and organization of the legislature. In short, HB1001 would remove those laws and depend upon the state constitution and House and Senate rules to set things like hiring legislative staff and pay, how they organize their bodies, and other procedural issues.

For proponents of the change like House Speaker Steve Haugaard (R-Sioux Falls), the matter goes to the independence of the legislative branch from the executive. If the House and Senate rules are in statute, then they then have to be signed–or vetoed–by the governor.

“We want to get things to the point where we run our own affairs,” Haugaard, one of the bill’s sponsors, said in the hour and a half debate.

Read the entire story here.

I don’t think it’s inappropriate for the legislative bodies to set their own rules as governed by rule and the state constitution.

And in fact this seems to be one of those unusual members where they can make for a stronger legislative body without being at the expense of infringing on the executive branch.