The House State Affairs Committee rejected a bill prohibiting the use of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs for law enforcement agencies in South Dakota.
HB 1211 was not supported by police chiefs, law enforcement and the Attorney General’s Office in initial testimony Monday.
Clear Lake Republican Rep. Dylan Jordan is the bill’s prime sponsor. He said it’s proactive instead of reactive, and that he’s not seeing a huge problem in the state currently.
Howard Republican Rep. Tim Reisch questioned Jordan, noting Jordan has no law enforcement background.
“What does the word equity mean in your bill?” Reisch asked.
“Equity means that you treat people in an equitable manner. And, in America we are supposed to be equal under the law and we are all born and created equal instead of treated different by our different situations,” Jordan responded.
“So your bill is, if I’m reading it right, saying that we can’t have law enforcement receive training on Diversity, Equity or Inclusion programs. So, you want them to be unfair, unequal?” Reisch asked.
“There is a difference between equality and equity. I think that that is the key difference,” Jordan responded.
Jordan concluded questioning with Reisch saying the bill would prevent South Dakota’s law enforcement from becoming “watered down” by DEI programs.
Reisch, a former sheriff, opposed the bill. He called it an “overreaction” to Biden Administration policies in the US.
“Something that is perceived across the United States that DEI is bad. I will remind you that DEI is all about fairness. And when President Trump was in for the first four years, I think at the end of his administration we had it about right in this country," Reisch said. "And I think this bill is probably in reaction to the following four years and I can appreciate that. I think this bill cuts too wide of a swath. There’s a lot of things about fairness in law enforcement that we need to continue to work at."
The committee rejected it 10-1. Aberdeen Republican Rep. Brandei Schaefbauer is the only member of the committee to vote against killing the bill.
