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House amends and passes bill revising Board of Internal Controls’ scope
Summary
After floor amendment 61G, the House approved Senate Bill 61 to revise duties and administration of the Board of Internal Controls; sponsor said the amendment corrects committee changes that would have shifted internal controls toward a political office and created conflicts.
The South Dakota House on March 3 approved Senate Bill 61 as amended with amendment 61G. Representative Heinemann, who moved the amendment and explained the bill on the floor, said the measure is intended to strengthen the Board of Internal Controls' work focused on the executive branch and to avoid concentrating internal-control functions under a political office holder.
Heinemann said the bill originated as a collaborative product among the Attorney General, the State Auditor and the Bureau of Finance and Management, and that committee amendments had substantially altered the bill in ways opposed by the Auditor and BFM. He said amendment 61G restores or clarifies the focus of the Board on executive-branch internal controls and avoids placing internal-controls implementation under the State Auditor, which he said would create a conflict of interest and expand bureaucracy.
"Internal controls must be managed by those who own and perform those daily operational activities. It belongs under the Executive Branch," Heinemann said.
Heinemann argued the state auditor's primary statutory role—pre-audit of payments—would be compromised if the auditor also implemented internal controls. He also cited technical errors in committee process that required revisiting the bill on the floor. Following division/standing vote procedures, the House adopted amendment 61G and then passed the bill on final reading; the clerk later reported 60 ayes, 9 nays, 1 excused.
Representative Heinemann asked colleagues to support the amendment to fix practical implications identified after committee action and to pass the bill as amended. The House adopted the amendment by division and later voted the bill as amended to final passage.
Senate Bill 61 as amended will move forward to enrollment and transmittal to the governor.
