PIERRE — South Dakota could soon see a statewide public defender’s office for those who cannot afford their own lawyer when they get involved in the court system.
The House of Representatives voted 60-4 on Thursday to create the office and the accompanying commission.
Added into the bill was a stipulation for term limits. Rep. Chris Karr, R-Sioux Falls, requested that the nine members of the Commission on Indigent Legal Services not serve more than 12 years on the commission.
“I think it is responsible to have a term limit on appointed and elected positions,” Karr said. “If you believe that an elected politician should have a term limit, then in most cases you would want a term limit on individuals that that person has appointed and may have influence upon going forward.”
Commissioners will be appointed by the Governor, the Legislature, the chief justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court and the county commissioner association.
While HB 1057 was in front of the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, Karr questioned why term limits weren’t in the original bill.