Assessing Government Transparency: An Analysis of South Dakota's Open Records and Meetings Laws

Government transparency is crucial for an effective and responsive democracy. The pursuit of such transparency underlies state open records and meetings laws. South Dakota’s open records law strives to open government records to the public. However, it also contains an array of exceptions that prevent the disclosure of certain records. When denied access to government records, the public possesses a statutory right of appeal. This article examines the workings of that appeal process. Open meetings laws also serve to give the public a role in government deliberations and to make those deliberations transparent. Those laws, including South Dakota’s law, provide remedies for members of the public who believe a government entity violated a statutory command of openness. This article examines the resolutions of public complaints concerning South Dakota open meetings law violations.