Lawmakers are considering legislation aimed at a more open government. Proponents say one of the measures brings transparency to no-bid contracts.
Senator Scott Parsley is a prime sponsor of Senate Bill 163. It requires the disclosure of certain cumulative contracts with the state. He says currently, state grants under $50,000 don’t have to be reported.
“We have cases where folks serve on boards and commissions and have a business that relates to those boards or commissions and have over a hundred thousand dollars in grants through those boards that are governed by those boards that are all below $50,000,” Parsley says. “But cumulatively they add up to over $100,000, and none of those have been bid. Those are all just kind of inside deals within the board or commission and the person that sits on that board and commission.”
Senate Bill 163 says if agencies enter into contracts with a person that cumulatively exceed $50,000, the name of the contractors, the subject, and the value of the contracts have to be posted online.
Governor Dennis Daugaard says that’s already happening. Officials with the Bureau of Administration are talking with Senator Parsley about how to make the website clearer. Daugaard says he supports transparency in state contracts.
“At the same time, you have to realize, every time you impose a requirement on government, taken to an extreme, it can result in bureaucratic processes and expense that really has no benefit,” Daugaard says. “And so we want to be sure that what’s being asked is actually going to be beneficial to the public, and make it transparent, and it’s not just going to create so much volume that you can’t see the forest for all the trees.”
The measure has not yet been scheduled for a hearing.