SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A South Dakota legislative committee is trying to clarify how lawmakers can express their religious beliefs while respecting the First Amendment and the history of the Capitol building in Pierre.
After discovering damaged chairs in a room used by state lawmakers prior to election of House Republican caucus leaders on November 19, new policies will be put in place regarding reservation of meeting rooms on the 3rd and 4th floors of the Capitol in Pierre.
The Legislature’s Executive Board took up the issue after two House Republican lawmakers stained five chairs in a Capitol meeting room with oil as they marked chairs with crosses ahead of a meeting last month to elect caucus leaders. It took the Capitol’s groundskeepers about three hours to clean, but the chairs were left slightly discolored. Recommendations are that they be replaced.
In response to the incident, the Legislature’s Executive Board voted 10-0 to formally adopt a tougher set of policies, including a statement that legislators “may not mark on or damage in any fashion the real or personal property of the Citizens’ Capitol.”
Under the new restrictions, non-legislators will be responsible for any damages beyond a $500 deposit, and legislators can be asked to reimburse for damages that occur when they have reserved a room and there are any non-routine cleaning costs or damages found afterward.
Legislators could face withholding a portion of their salaries if they refuse to pay or don’t pay the full amount.
The restrictions also call for a non-legislator to possibly lose future privileges to use a room that was damaged, used irresponsibly or wasn’t used for the stated purpose. A legislator could lose the privilege for the remainder of the lawmaker’s term if the Executive Board determines the room was damaged or used irresponsibly or the purpose was misrepresented.
According to a report in the Argus Leader, the executive board appeared satisfied that the House lawmakers, who were not named, will pay for the $79.80 in wages for the time spent cleaning the chairs. At least one offender expressed regret at the decision to mark the chairs, said Republican state Sen. Lee Schoenbeck, who chairs the executive board.
But the episode — which came alongside a rift in the Republican caucus between moderates and a right-wing — also raised questions about who had access to the Statehouse rooms where laws are formed and to what degree lawmakers, often compelled by their Christian convictions, can leave a mark in the Capitol.
Republican state Rep. Sue Peterson told The Dakota Scout that she marked chairs with oil crosses as an act of prayer before last month’s Republican caucus meeting. She said many lawmakers often pray as they craft state laws.
But Schoenbeck, in the Argus story, said it was important to clarify how First Amendment rights are respected on government property. He said if one religious group is given space for expression, any other group needs to be granted access as well.
