Judge allows lobbyist to return to South Dakota House floor

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) – A federal judge is allowing a longtime lobbyist to again conduct business on the South Dakota House floor.

U.S. District Judge Roberto Lange on Friday granted Yvonne Taylor a temporary restraining order. The order prevents House Speaker Steve Haugaard from barring Taylor from that chamber’s floor.

Taylor heads the South Dakota Municipal League. She alleges that Haugaard barred her from the House floor after she wrote a magazine column saying the number of “wackies” in the Legislature was increasing.

Taylor alleges in a lawsuit that Haugaard said her column made the Legislature look like “a bunch of buffoons.” She accuses him of unlawful retaliation and violating her free speech rights.

Haugaard did not immediately reply to an email from The Associated Press for comment Sunday.

AP-WF-01-28-19