Jonathan Ellis

jonellis@argusleader.com

The backers of an initiated measure to create a state ethics commission argued Wednesday that a commission would deter government corruption and restore trust in government.

“There’s nothing wrong with our government,” Initiated Measure 22 co-chair Darrell Solberg said. “There’s a few people in our government that make it stink.”

Besides the ethics commission, IM 22 would restrict lobbyists on gifts they could give lawmakers, make sweeping reforms to campaign finance laws and it would allow registered voters to direct up to $100 in so-called “democracy credits” to political candidates of their choosing.

Solberg took questions about the measure during a forum attended by about a dozen people. Although friendly, several asked pointed questions about the ethics commission and how it would work.

“I’m fearful that it may not be going far enough,” said Dr. James Eckhoff, a Democratic candidate for House District 13.

The five-member commission could not include more than two members of the same political party, nor could it include lobbyists or government employees or elected officials. The law would allow the governor to select three candidates from a list of nominees by the Senate’s majority and minority leaders, and two candidates from a list of nominees from the presidents of South Dakota State University and the University of South Dakota.

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The commission would have subpoena power to enforce campaign finance violations and violations made by lobbyists that restrict gifts to public officials. It could refer violations to the secretary of state or attorney general for prosecution.

Eckhoff said he believes the idea is better than what the state has now, but he worries an attorney general might decline to prosecute violations based on “self interest.”

Another key duty of the commission would be to oversee the democracy credit program, which would enable registered voters to assign two vouchers worth $50 each to participating candidates. Critics of IM 22 have attacked the democracy credit program as taxpayer funded elections.

“They don’t want to talk about the fact that Measure 22 is really about taxpayer funded elections,” said Ben Lee, the Defeat 22 chairman and state director for Americans for Prosperity. “It’s called a publicly funded campaign system. They want to take our tax dollars and give them to politicians to run political campaigns.”

Solberg argued Wednesday that it would enable taxpayers to direct a small amount of their money to candidates of their choosing, and he said the cost of the program would be less than what the state loses in government corruption.