Do Standing Joint Rules Matter in the South Dakota Legislature?

Will the South Dakota senate enforce their own rules?

The South Dakota legislature is a self-governing body by design, and South Dakotans expect their elected senators and representatives to govern in accordance with South Dakota coded law and prescribed decorum and civic decency. The state senate and house of representatives each have an ethics committee to address any violations of the joint rules that govern the official conduct and behavior of all legislators. Two key rules that pertain are Joint Rules 1B-1 and 1B-3:

Joint Rule 1B-1, Maintenance of ethical standards:

The people of South Dakota require that their legislators maintain the highest of moral and ethical standards as such standards are essential to assure the trust, respect and confidence of our citizens. Legislators have a solemn responsibility to avoid improper behavior and refrain from conduct that is unbecoming to the Legislature or that is inconsistent with the Legislature's ability to maintain the respect and trust of the people it serves. While it is not possible to write rules to cover every circumstance, each legislator must do everything in his or her power to deal honorably with the public and with his or her colleagues and must promote an atmosphere in which ethical behavior is readily recognized as a priority and is practiced continually, without fail.

Joint Rule 1B-3, Professional conduct and civility:

The South Dakota Legislature will strengthen and sustain an atmosphere of professional conduct and civility among its members and with all staff and will not tolerate harassment or offensive behavior based on race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, or disability. Harassing or offensive behavior may include the use of electronic communications through social media or otherwise, whether actual or attempted. Legislators must refrain from any and all such harassment or offensive conduct. This prohibition against harassment also encompasses sexual harassment including unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, non-verbal, or physical conduct of a sexually harassing nature, when: (1) submission to the harassment is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of employment or other employment determinations, or (2) the harassment has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.

On 14 September, the following text exchange took place between South Dakota Senate Pro Tempore Lee Schoenbeck (R-Watertown) and acting South Dakota Public Utilities Commissioner Josh Haeder. Per South Dakota law, all lobbying-related communications on topics before the PUC must be publicly disclosed, and the below exchange was made public on the PUC website in October:

Schoenbeck: How long have you been anti ethanol?

Haeder: What?

Schoenbeck: Don’t send me goofy email [sic] responses

Haeder: I’m not following here. I don’t recall sending you an email. I haven’t sent any ethanol emails in any capacity.

Schoenbeck: R u that stupid?

Haeder: I have zero idea what you are talking about.

Schoenbeck: Ur that stupid then

Haeder: What email response?

Schoenbeck: Stop. U anti ethanol people need to be out of public office. Bad for South Dakota

Haeder: I though you were above name calling. I guess I was wrong unfortunately. Apparently you didn’t listen to my comments? Which doesn’t appear to matter based on your messages. Thanks for sharing your opinion.

Schoenbeck: Excuses won’t cut it

Haeder: No excuses my friend. Again thanks for sharing your opinion. Much appreciated.

Schoenbeck: Don’t call me friend. My friends have spines

Haeder: Okay.. have a good one.

Any objective observer would conclude that Sen. Schoenbeck’s comments were improper, offensive, demeaning, insulting, and beneath the dignity and expected behavior of a South Dakota senator and certainly not that of a senator in a leadership position with and for the South Dakota state senate. In addition, his comments clearly violated Joint Rules 1B-1 and 1B-3.

Such behavior might be excusable as a one-off situation on a bad day, but Sen. Schoenbeck has a long history of intimidating and berating constituents, colleagues, and others over the years. Examples include [emphasis added]:

• In 2012, he noted Rep. Stace Nelson’s banishment from the Republican caucus for bucking the leadership by calling Nelson’s antics a “circus act” and saying of Nelson that “the S.O.B. just has it coming.”

• In February 2016, he offensively referred to former GOP Speaker of the House Brian Gosch as a “coward” and “pond scum,” for which remarks he was subsequently banned from the House Republican Caucus [As reported here and here]

• In 2020, he made a series of public references to, and inferences of, senate colleagues as “aberrations,” “crazy,” “heathen,” and “monkey with a switchblade.” [As reported here, here, and here]

• In September 2021, he referred to Citizens for Liberty lobbyist Tonchi Weaver of Rapid City, as being “nuts,” “crazy”: “They are nuts. Crazy wannabes that appear to hate South Dakota. After the next election, we should be rid of those cancerous haters.”

• In February 2023, Sen. Schoenbeck pejoratively referred to county governments: “They are the bastard stepchild of local government in the state of South Dakota.” [As reported here]

• He publicly insulted members of South Dakota Canvassing during their testimony before the Senate State Affairs Committee in 2022 and 2023, calling them “extremists, fanatics and lunatics” that “should be spanked” while referring to “their obsession and fetish” and actions “like some kind of communist.” This resulted in a formal complaint being lodged to Lieutenant Governor Larry Rhoden and Legislative Research Committee Director Reed Holwegner on 19 February 2023. [As reported here]

• During the 2023 legislative session, he threatened The Dakota Leader's cameraman with 20-30 years in prison, and even taking away his camera until after the legislative session [Video record here]

• He repeatedly insults grassroots conservatives, including state legislators, by referring to them as “whack-a-doodles.” [As reported here and here]

The above incidents are uncivil reminders of the low regard Sen. Schoenbeck apparently has for those with whom he disagrees and ostensibly serves, as well as of his disdain for joint rules that are supposed to govern his public behavior. Recidivist actions such as these that are either professional and/or ethical misconduct in violation of standing senate rules should be dealt accordingly by the South Dakota senate’s ethics committee. Surely such actions warrant removing Sen. Schoenbeck from his position as Senate Pro Tempore at a minimum, with censure and suspension easily justified as well.

The South Dakota Landowners group called for Sen. Schoenbeck’s resignation on 26 October. Will the senate act when the 99^th South Dakota Legislative Session is opened on 9 January? South Dakotans who have long been embarrassed by Sen. Schoenbeck’s bad public behavior will be watching closely to see whether or not “self-governing body” is more than just a bumper sticker.

The end.