Any time Gov. Kristi Noem travels, state troopers send a security detail with her.
But criminals seeking to do harm to public officials could compromise that security if they know how much it's costing taxpayers.
That's the message South Dakota Public Safety Secretary Craig Price made in an interview with the Argus Leader on Wednesday from his office in Pierre.
"It's not the actual number that causes us concern, it's what that number indicates," he said. "We're just not willing to compromise on that because the responsibility we have, we take it seriously and that's to keep people we're responsible for safe."
Price, along with Gov. Kristi Noem's office, are on the defensive against a legislative effort underway at the Capitol to force the amount of money the state spends on the governor's security detail open to public inspection.
Crafted by state Rep. Taffy Howard, R-Rapid City, a bill to force those costs to be made public comes on the heels of an unprecedented amount of travel by a sitting governor in the state as Noem made frequent out-of-state trips in recent months, campaigning for former President Donald Trump and fundraising for her personal campaign.
Price, along with Gov. Kristi Noem's office, are on the defensive against a legislative effort underway at the Capitol to force the amount of money the state spends on the governor's security detail open to public inspection.
Crafted by state Rep. Taffy Howard, R-Rapid City, a bill to force those costs to be made public comes on the heels of an unprecedented amount of travel by a sitting governor in the state as Noem made frequent out-of-state trips in recent months, campaigning for former President Donald Trump and fundraising for her personal campaign.
The reality, Howard said, is that at least 14 other states and the federal government, including Florida, North Dakota and the Secret Service, disclose the costs of security for their top executives.
"Some of them even go as far to tell you how many troopers are with the governor. We're just asking for the aggregate number," Howard said. "(Price) is trying to get you to look at this shiny object and take your focus off the real issue: Transparency."
Original source can be found here.
