South Dakota Public Broadcasting livestreams Senate floor debate on Jan. 21, 2025. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
A committee of South Dakota lawmakers endorsed a proposal Tuesday to provide more video livestreaming of the legislative process and heard how water-damaged technology could affect a special legislative session next month.
South Dakota Public Broadcasting — which is part of state government — already provides video livestreaming of state House and Senate floor sessions, as well as meetings of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee. Other committee rooms are only equipped for audio livestreaming.
The Legislature’s Executive Board, which met Tuesday at the Capitol in Pierre, endorsed a $36,442 plan to put video livestreaming equipment in the other five committee rooms. The proposal will go to the full Legislature as part of a supplemental budget bill this winter.
House Speaker Jon Hansen, R-Dell Rapids, the chairman of the committee, advocated for the plan.
“For the transparency that it brings to this process, to be able to look and see the people presenting, to look at the presentations that are being presented, and also just the awareness of what’s going on in this building during the legislative session, I think it’s great,” Hansen said, “and I think it’ll only enhance that.”
Public broadcasting cuts discussed
Senate Majority Whip Randy Deibert, R-Spearfish, asked whether South Dakota Public Broadcasting will have the capacity to handle the additional responsibility. The organization is considering budget cuts and layoffs after it lost about $2 million of annual support — roughly 20% of its budget — when Congress and President Donald Trump defunded the Corporation for Public Broadcasting last month.
Elijah Rodriguez, chief information technology officer for the Legislative Research Council, said he has assurances from South Dakota Public Broadcasting that it will be able to handle the additional video archiving and management of video livestreams on its SD.net website and YouTube, “regardless of whether they have staff cuts or not.”
House Majority Leader Scott Odenbach, R-Spearfish, asked about the possibility of the Legislative Research Council taking over video livestreaming and archiving duties. The council’s director, John McCullough, said it would require the council to purchase equipment and hire additional staff.
“It could be absorbed,” McCullough said. “It would just cost money.”
Water leaks damage House technology
Rodriguez updated the committee on damage caused by water leaks this summer in the House chamber’s technology equipment closets. He said the leaks occurred during large rainstorms in May and June while the roof was undergoing repairs. There was about $185,000 worth of damage, he said, which he hopes insurance will cover.
But there’s a four-month lead time on replacement equipment, which is all custom-built. Because of that, a Sept. 23 special session to consider a prison construction plan could be affected. Rodriguez said the electronic board that displays roll-call vote results in the House might not be available, and some representatives’ voting buttons at their desks might not work.
“We are building a contingency plan to have a workaround and still be able to operate in the House just in case that equipment isn’t fully functional,” Rodriguez said.
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