Senate concurs in House amendments to Senate Bill 62 after floor debate; substitute motion passes 20-14

The South Dakota Senate voted to concur in the House amendments to Senate Bill 62 after floor debate, adopting a substitute motion by Senator Wheeler by a roll call of 20 yeas and 14 nays.

Supporters said the House changes strengthen internal controls and supervisory guidance. Senator Wheeler argued the amended bill ‘‘is a good win for our state’’ and asserted that it provided new guidelines for supervisors to improve reporting and reduce opportunities for fraud and theft within state government.

Opponents, including Senator Jim Melhoff, said the House amendments were not ‘‘friendly’’ to the Attorney General’s office, which had sponsored the agency bill, and urged a conference committee so the governor’s office and the Attorney General could negotiate unresolved issues. Melhoff said a conference committee would allow the parties to ‘‘hammer out their final differences and reach compromise.’'

Other senators weighed procedural considerations. Senator Roll recalled earlier floor debate in which the Senate had allowed the House to consider amendments, and said it made sense to concur now rather than return to a conference committee. Senator Hulse said she favored concluding the matter on the floor because the parties had been at an impasse for weeks.

Senator Wheeler’s substitute motion to concur was put to a roll call as the final disposition of the bill; the secretary recorded 20 yeas and 14 nays, and the president declared the motion carried.

The action concludes the Senate’s consideration of whether to send the bill to a conference committee; with the substitute motion carried, the Senate formally concurred in the House amendments.