South Dakota Lawmakers Don't Report Travel Paid for by Special-Interest Groups

From the ArgusLeader.com comes this report on the lack of required reporting for South Dakota lawmakers' travel paid for by business or special-interest groups. South Dakota does not require lawmakers to report how much money pays for such travel or which corporations are involved.

South Dakota lawmakers have been debating whether to put more restrictions on taxpayer-funded out-of-state travel.

Aloha!

The U.S. Department of the Interior continues to investigate the travel by hundreds of Navajo representatives to Hawaii last October, with federal officials in California now involved in the review.

Meanwhile, other branches of the federal government itself have failed to comply with the Freedom of Information law after confirming they received requests for data they already might have regarding the number of people sent or the source of funds used for the trips.

The Daily Times reported in its Nov. 3 edition that 362 people with ties to the Navajo Nation each paid the $400 preregistration cost to attend the 2007 National Indian Education Association conference in Honolulu. Most are believed to have attended, with many more registering on site. The combined price tag for the trip is believed to be as much as $1 million, based on the costs for those known to have attended.

More here.