PIERRE, S.D. (MITCHELLNOW) Former South Dakota House Speaker Steve Haugaard is asking the legislature to slow down on funding a new men’s penitentiary. He’s been outspoken about his belief that the new prison won’t fix the real issue, which he says is a lack of effective rehab programs. Haugaard even sent a video to a legislative committee, encouraging them to ditch the prison idea and instead look into the successful prison programs used in states like Texas. VERBATIM: Texas now has a recidivism rate that is less than half of South Dakota’s rate of convicts returning to prison. Our current approach to corrections is not working. On the other side, Corrections Secretary Kelly Wasko argues that a new facility is needed to provide the space for these programs, which she says is something they just don’t have right now. Right now, the bill for the new prison is before the joint appropriations committee.