A new kind of pass is available for frequent visitors to the South Dakota Capitol who want to get through security quickly.
Applications for Capitol Access Passes are available beginning Monday from the Highway Patrol, the Capitol Security Office and the Bureau of Administration website.
Lobbyists, delivery drivers, members of the media and others who frequently visit the Capitol in Pierre are encouraged to apply and submit to a background check.
Successful applicants will show their pass at the Capitol’s new security room and bypass the screening process, said Craig Price, secretary of the state Department of Public Safety.
“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.
The Capitol’s new security room was announced in October. It was constructed near the Capitol's north entrance for about $60,000 with funding from the Department of Public Safety and the Bureau of Administration, Price said.
The Capitol’s new, permanent security-screening process begins Jan. 13, one day before the start of the 2020 legislative session.
Pursuant to a state law adopted last year, people who have applied for and received an enhanced concealed-carry permit may carry a concealed pistol in the Capitol after providing 24 hours’ notice to Capitol Security.
Other visitors cannot carry a concealed pistol, or other items that might compromise security, into the Capitol.
The stepped-up security will be a change for South Dakotans who’ve grown accustomed to a Capitol that has not previously had a permanent security checkpoint.
Price said the changes are meant “to improve the security and hopefully make it the best environment to keep things safe for folks that visit and work in there and come to see our beautiful building.”
