South Dakota bill revises qualifications for consumers power district directors

South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard signed into action House Bill1090 in March, prohibiting a person from serving as a member of a consumers power district board of directors in certain cases, such as those that would create a conflict of interest.

“Though the threat is not immediate or major, House Bill 1090 is still a victory for Heartland by keeping our competitors from serving on our board of directors,” said Heartland CEO Russell Olson. “We thank legal counsel Dennis and Drew Duncan for their work on this piece of legislation.”

Specifically, the bill amends SD Codified Law 49-36-11 to be read as follows:

49-36-11. No person is qualified to hold office as a member of the board of directors of a consumers power district unless the person is a voter of the district or, if the district be subdivided for election purposes as provided in this chapter, of the subdivision of which the person is a voter. No person is qualified to be a member of more than one district board. No person is qualified to serve as a member if the person’s service on the board would be inconsistent with the person’s employment or financial interest.

The moderate partisan bill was introduced by a group of fourteen legislators, including Representatives Westra, Cronin, Gosch, Heinemann (Leslie), Mickelson, Rounds and Wollmann, and Senators Brown, Holien, Lederman, Parsley, Peters, Rave and Sutton. It passed unanimously in both the House and Senate before being signed by the governor.