Lawmakers Support Balanced Budget Amendment

    PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - A survey by The Associated Press indicates
South Dakota lawmakers are likely to endorse Gov. Dennis Daugaard's
proposed constitutional amendment that would require a balanced
state budget.
     About 70 percent of the lawmakers responding to the survey said
they support Daugaard's plan to require that the governor propose
and the Legislature pass a balanced state budget every year.
     Officials have long said the constitution requires a balanced
budget. But those words are not actually in the document, which
instead limits state debt and provides for taxes to wipe out any
deficit.
     If the Legislature approves the governor's suggestion, the
proposed amendment would be placed on the November ballot so voters
statewide could decide whether to change the constitution. Daugaard
says the change would improve the state's bond rating.