Court Opinion

ID: 9514843
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-06 22:52:03.522967+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:06:21.542720
License: Public Domain

AMUNDSON, Justice
(dissenting).
[¶ 56.] The legislative record discloses that during the 2001 session, three special appropriations bills were introduced for the transfer of funds and the expenditure of funds. More specifically, Senate Bill 51 providing for the transfer of funds to Social Services was considered on February 16, 2001. The vote was 15 yeas to 19 nays, so it failed, as it did not receive a two-thirds majority. S.J. at 560 (2001). Next, Senate Bill 176, which provided that money from the funds could be transferred for “any other purposes provided by the Legislature,” was passed by the Senate on February 16, 2001 with a vote of 20 yeas and 14 nays. S.J. at 559 (2001). On February 27, 2001, however, the Bill failed to obtain a two-thirds majority in the House with a vote of 22 yeas and 48 nays. H.J. at 754 (2001). Finally, House Bill 1285, which provided money to the State Fair, *75passed through the House on February 15, 2001, with a vote of 49 yeas to 21 nays. H.J. at 528 (2001). The House, however, refused to adopt extensive amendments made by the Senate, such as transferring money to the general fund, which could have been used for any purpose provided by the Legislature, and reducing the racetrack’s disbursement amounts. On March 2, 2001, the House voted not to adopt the Senate amendments with a vote of 66 yeas to 4 nays. H.J. at 842 (2001). The same day the House also voted not to appoint a new committee for this Bill with a vote of 54 yeas to 16 nays. H.J. at 843 (2001). Thus, the third bill at issue also failed to obtain the required two-thirds majority vote.
[¶ 57.] As is evident from the above, these special appropriations did not pass. On the other hand, at the midnight hour they were incorporated into the General Appropriation Act. Notwithstanding the merits of these expenditures, the general appropriation bill should not provide a release valve for the expenditure of public funds in derogation of the constitution. See SD Const art XII § 2. Therefore, I authorize Justice Sabers to state that I join his dissent.