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PROCEEDINGS OF THE BEADLE COUNTY COMMISSION
JUNE 13, 2006
The Board of Beadle County Commissioners met Tuesday – June 13, 2006 pursuant to adjournment of June 8, 2006 with members present: Chairman Mattke, Vice Chairman Chase, Marcus and Dahl. Absent: Ziegeldorf.
The minutes of June 8, 2006 were approved as read with no additions or changes.
Moved by Chase, seconded by Marcus. Motion carried. To approve to declare 9,560 lbs of bridge iron as surplus and sold to Barti Metal for $239.00.
Moved by Marcus, seconded by Dahl. Motion carried. To approve to sign Fixed Price Gas Contract with Northwestern Energy for natural gas for a period of November 1, 2006 thru October 31, 2007 at a rate of $.997 per therm.
Moved by Chase, seconded by Dahl. Motion carried. To adopt the following resolution:
RESOLUTION 06-03-06
“Vote against Amendment E”
WHEREAS, a constitutional amendment (Judicial Accountability Initiated Law) will be submitted to South Dakota voters in November 2006, designated Amendment E; and
WHEREAS, Amendment E was drafted by a resident of California and the petitions were circulated primarily by paid out-of-state persons; and
WHEREAS, the Amendment E petition failed to get more than a few thousand signatures in California, and thus never submitted to California voters; and
WHEREAS, South Dakota voters were told that Amendment E simply provided for a remedy for intentional judicial misconduct; and
WHEREAS, if approved by the voters, Amendment E would actually allow lawsuits against all South Dakota citizen boards, including county commissioners, school board members, city council members, planning and zoning board members, township board members, public utilities commissioners, professional licensing board members, jurors, judges, prosecutors and all other citizen boards; and
WHEREAS, Amendment E would authorize and encourage jury nullification in South Dakota, which was previously overwhelmingly by South Dakota voters in 2002; and
WHEREAS, Amendment E would prohibit summary judgment, a legal remedy currently available and used to quickly and inexpensively rid our courts of frivolous lawsuits; and
WHEREAS, Amendment E would permit convicted felons, whose convictions have been affirmed by our Supreme Court, to sue the prosecutors who prosecuted the felons, the jurors who voted to convict the felons, and the judges who sentenced the felons, thus burdening our courts and citizens with countless expensive and needless lawsuits; and
WHEREAS, the author of Amendment E has publicly stated that with the passage of Amendment E, Judicial Accountability Initiated Law Members from across the country will “purposely drive to South Dakota….just for the privilege of getting a traffic ticket so you can demand a jury trail. I anticipate traffic courts to be among the first courts to all but totally close…,” thus depriving South Dakota Citizens of their constitutional right of access to our courts and making it clear that Amendment E is not intended to help cure any alleged problems with South Dakota courts; and
WHEREAS, if approve, Amendment E would establish a new entity to investigate complaints with an initial budget of two million six hundred fifty thousand dollars, plus the cost of a facility, with authority to hire as many employees as it deemed appropriate without legislative appropriation, review, or approval; and
WHEREAS, the South Dakota Constitution already provides for the Judicial Qualifications Commission, which hears complaints and investigates allegations of judicial misconduct, and operates very economically, with an average annual expenditure of eleven thousand five hundred fifty nine dollars of the past ten years; and
WHEREAS, if approved, Amendment E would likely violate the federal Constitution, thereby subjecting South Dakota taxpayers to millions of dollars in damages and attorney fees; and
WHEREAS, Amendment E would be devastating to the South Dakota economy, harming economic development and driving existing businesses from South Dakota:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: by the Beadle County Board of County Commissioners, that the Commission strongly urges all South Dakota voters to protect our citizen boards, to protect our system of justice, to protect economic development, to protect all our citizens from frivolous lawsuits that would be authorized by the Judicial Accountability Imitated Law, and to vote against Amendment E.
On motion the Board adjourned to meet next on June 20, 2006 at 9:00 a.m.
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Larry Mattke, Chairman of the Board
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Connie R. Muth, Beadle County Auditor
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