Bill would require supervisors to report suspected misconduct to attorney general; witness described past agency misconduct

Representative Warner told the committee HB2098 aims to promote public integrity by requiring state employees who learn of improper or criminal conduct to report it up the supervisory chain and ultimately to the attorney general, with the sponsor saying the measure would reduce retaliation by putting "another set of eyes" on suspected misconduct.

The committee heard three minutes of testimony from Connie Regugli of the Family Forward Project. Regugli described personal and client experiences with agency misconduct and said South Dakota enacted a similar law and reported 47 unique complaints within six months. "In 2018, employee of the Department of Children Services made false statements in a sworn petition claiming that my client and I had refused to cooperate," Regugli said, describing what she called false allegations that later were reversed.

Several members expressed concern that the bill could criminalize supervisors who fail to report; legal counsel (Matt Mundy) said he was not aware of a statewide hotline and characterized current reporting in many agencies as permissive rather than mandatory. Representative Warner suggested moving the bill forward with amendments in subsequent committees to address criminal-penalty language while preserving the reporting path to the attorney general. The committee ultimately voted to advance the bill; the clerk recorded 3 ayes and 2 nos.