Knudson: Split tourism, development

Gubernatorial candidate wants two separate departments; Rounds not a fan of the change

By David Montgomery
Capital Journal staff
Published/Last Modified on Monday, Feb 01, 2010 - 12:20:40 am CST

PIERRE — A new bill sponsored by a candidate for governor would rearrange the state Department of Tourism and State Development into separate departments.

Sen. Dave Knudson, R-Sioux Falls, introduced SB140, which would create independent departments of Tourism and Economic Development.

“Economic development is probably the No. 1 one issue in terms of importance for South Dakota,” said Knudson, the Senate Majority Leader. “Having a single-minded, single-focused department is the best bet for the future.”

But Gov. Mike Rounds isn’t a fan of the legislation.

Rounds created the Department of Tourism and State Development by executive order when he took office, which both he and Knudson said is the normal way to reorganize state government.

“Whoever the new governor is will have a chance to revise his entire cabinet the way that they want to do it by executive order,” Rounds said.

“I will handle my departments the way I see fit.”

Knudson said if he’s elected governor and his bill hasn’t passed, he’ll issue an executive order implementing his proposal.

Under Knudson’s proposal, the Office of the Arts would fall under the Department of Tourism. The Office of Tribal Government Relations would be moved to the governor’s office.

Cultural and archaeological offices, including the Cultural Heritage Center and State Historical Society but not including the Office of the Arts, would be moved to the Department of Education.

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Comments

1 comment(s)

constituent wrote on Feb 1, 2010 10:54 AM:

" Sen. Knudson, the legislative session is no place to push your campaign platforms. This is simply a campaign ploy to garner support and draw attention to yourself. There are important issues facing this state right now. Focus on your job as a senator before worrying about becoming governor. It's just a few weeks that you need to put your campaign on hold. You'll likely get more votes if you don't muck up session by pushing your agenda. "

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