Greetings from Pierre. We are entering the final week of the legislative session. So far, government accountability has dominated this session. This November, the voters of South Dakota voiced their distrust of government with the passage of IM-22. But are we really listening?   Last week’s activities suggest we still have a lot of work to do.

On Wednesday, Senate State Affairs heard testimony on SCR 15. This resolution addressed our country’s policy on refugees. The sponsors of this resolution criticizes the refugee program and declared that our refugees in the United States and their children have links to ISIS and other terrorist organizations. If the sponsors had spent a little time researching the refugee process, they would know that this is a grueling 18 month process resulting in very few applicants being accepted. Less than 23% of all applicants are accepted into the refugee program. Many of these refugees applied multiple times and wait years to be accepted. The committee heard testimony for more than 2 hours, then recessed for legislators to vote on bills in their respective chambers. After session, State Affairs reconvened and continued action on SCR 15. The resolution was then gutted and new language inserted to thank President Donald Trump for keeping us safe from radical Islamic terrorism. The resolution was passed out of committee. It was a slap in the face of every refugee that came to Pierre that day.

HB 1150 was heard in Senate Appropriations on Thursday. This bill would allow non-resident military veterans get hunting licenses at the resident rate. The premise of service members getting a preferable hunting rate could be applied to numerous categories. Keeping non-resident at one rate and resident at another is the simplest and most appropriate way for Game Fish and Parks to offer licenses. The proponents submitted a lot of testimony. A military veteran of the Korean War even testified. The insult came when the chair deferred action on the bill. All the proponents left the room and the committee moved on to other bills. At the end of the committee hearing, the chair brought the bill back and the committee tabled the bill. They didn’t have the courage to vote on this bill while the proponents were in the room.

HB 1149 is a tax reduction to the TRS fee on your telephone bill. It has passed both houses and is on the governor’s desk. This tax provides telecommunication services for people with disabilities. For the past decade, the revenues from this tax have exceeded the expenses by 40%. The reduction will align the revenues with the actual need. Because the fund balances in this account continue to grow, it has become fund that is routinely swept and the money used for other purposes. The governor and legislature have used this money to balance the budget and fund projects like the Sanford Underground Research Facility at the Old Homestake Mine. Good tax policy dictates that revenues should reflect expenses. When I heard that the legislature planned to sweep this fund again, I wrote this bill to highlight this practice and promote fiscal transparency. Currently, the legislature still plans to sweep $800,000 to balance the state’s budget. We have a reserve fund for this purpose. If the legislature sweeps this fund, they are basically stealing from people with disabilities.

Finally, the legislature does not intend to honor its commitment to education with half cent sales tax increase from last year. By statute, we are obligated to increase funding to education by 3 tenths of a percent for FY 2018. This equates to $2.4 million dollars to be used primarily for teacher salaries. The real rub came when we had a bill to extend the date for schools to spend down their reserves. This bill would have extended the date to 2020. The issue of large reserves was, in part, created by the legislature. For more than a decade, the legislature has given additional dollars to education as one-time funding. Each time the legislature told schools that this was one-time funding and not to expect it next year. This creates a budgeting problem for schools, because it limits the way money can be spent. For example, you cannot fund salary increases on one-time monies. Legislators stated we had a deal with the passage of the half cent sales tax increase that schools would spend down reserves. The legislature expects the schools to keep their end of the bargain, but they don’t intend meet their obligations.

The legislature needs to conduct itself in a more respectful manner. In the shadow of IM-22, the legislature has learned very little about showing more respect or listening to voters. Legislators continue to think people are not watching their actions. Please don’t let them dismiss you as a constituent. Contact your local legislators and tell them to honor their commitment to education and conduct themselves in a more professional manner.

Thank you for your continued support and thoughtful comments. If you have any questions, please email me at dan.ahlers@sdlegislature.gov or call 940-3071.