Greetings from Pierre. This week, I will provide an update on three bills I sponsored as well as an update on the Appropriation budget hearings.

HB 1076 will allow townships to use an existing tax levy to support emergency medical services. The bill allows local government the flexibility to use property tax in a way that best serves local needs. Local government could create an ambulance district, but it would require a vote to increase taxes. This bill has passed through the House of Representatives and just passed Senate Taxation 7-0. It will be on the Senate floor on Monday.

HB 1154 will allow cities to extend municipal lease-purchase agreements to 20 years. Currently, these agreements are limited to 10 years. This bill will benefit communities that are considering a community center or similar projects that involve real estate improvement and construction. The lease-purchase agreement has several advantages over bonding. Bonding will have a slightly lower interest rate, but require significant investments in time and money to comply with regulatory debt restrictions. Municipal lease-purchase agreements do not require a bond election, underwriting fees or long term administration of the bond. This bill passed the House 67-0 and moves to the Senate.

Finally, HB 1155 will create an advisory board under the Department of Education to assist with the education of deaf and hard of hearing students. Since the South Dakota School for the Deaf closed its campus, deaf and hard of hearing students have been relocated to their local school districts. Outreach services provided by the School for the Deaf do not involve daily instruction and often do not involve interaction with the student. Due to the natural language barrier, a deaf student often struggles in a typical classroom. A deaf student often becomes isolated when he/she is unable to communicate with peers. The best example to illustrate this situation is to imagine a Spanish speaking student in an English speaking class without anyone to assist in translating classroom instruction. This board will be comprised of professionals, parents and representation from the department of education. The board will create benchmarks for students and resources for schools to assist in the education of deaf and hard of hearing students. The bill aims to reverse the trend of students with this disability graduating at an average 3^rd to 4^th grade reading level and improve post-secondary success. HB 1155 passed out of House Education 13-1.

In Appropriations, we heard budget requests from the Tech Schools and Department of Education. The department outlined 4 outcome goals: 1) All students enter the 4^th grade proficient in reading; 2) All students enter the 9^th grade proficient in reading; 3) Native American students will have increased academic success; 4) Students graduate high school ready for postsecondary or the workforce. These goals will be challenged by the governor’s recommendation for a zero inflationary increase to the per student allocation. The governor has also recommended a zero inflationary increase to teacher salary. This recommendation creates a paradox since, in 2016, the legislature passed the ½% percent sales specifically to increase teacher salaries in an attempt to stay competitive with surrounding states. The Appropriations Committee to this point has remained committed to finding additional money for education. We will do revenue projections this week and receive an economic forecast for the next fiscal year.

It will be important to hear from you during session. I would appreciate your input on any issue or concern. You may email me at dan.ahlers@sdlegislature.gov.

Greetings from Pierre. This week, I will provide an update on a few bills of interest as well as an update on the Appropriation budget hearings.

A reoccurring theme this session has been the need for more skilled workers in South Dakota. We have workforce shortages in many areas of our economy. Even our state agencies struggle with recruitment. Higher wages in our neighboring states has been a contributing factor. Despite these shortages and low wages, some legislators are submitting bills that jeopardize workforce recruitment. HB 1197 and 1199 seek to strip local school teachers and higher-ed professionals of their collective bargaining rights. Keep in mind, unions in South Dakota have very little power and that neither school districts nor universities are supporting these bills. Collective bargaining can be a tool to ensure a competitive living wage. These bills send a message to potential job seekers that we don’t value education or job experience.

Last year’s ballot initiatives and constitutional amendments enacted policies that some lawmakers were unwilling to accept. The result was a repeal of IM-22 passed by the voters in 2016. This year, some legislators are trying to limit your voice at the ballot. HJR 1008, if passed, would require any constitutional amendment passed by the people of South Dakota to be approved by the legislature. SJR 1, if passed, would require a 55% majority for any amendment to the constitution. A constitutional amendment already requires more signatures than a ballot initiative. Both resolutions suggest that voters are not competent to make an informed decision. If legislators were doing a better job of listening to the voters, these resolutions, ballot measures and constitutional amendments wouldn’t be necessary.

In Appropriations, we heard budget requests from the Board of Regents. The universities budgets remain relatively flat compared to last year. Mike Rush, the executive director, emphasized the importance of funding a needs-based scholarship program. In South Dakota, we average about $14 per student. Surrounding states fund needs-based scholarships at an average of $1,000 per student. In order to adequately fund this program, Dr. Rush says we would need to appropriate approximately $3.3 million in funding each year. Keeping the cost of post-secondary education down is another way for this state to develop a stronger workforce. Having a robust needs-based scholarship could provide additional opportunities to students who could not otherwise afford a degree.

BOR also outlined legislation for facility construction and renovation. The USD Dakota Dome will be getting a face lift. The Dakota Dome was built in 1979 for $8.2 million and seats 10,000 people. This upgrade will be a $26 million renovation. The renovation will include an upgrade to bathroom facilities, additional seating and a new HVAC system. Improvements will also include upgrades to the exercise facility, classrooms and field functionality. The money for this project will come from bonds, donations and the higher education facilities fund.

The School for the Blind and Visually Impaired is building a new $13.5 million facility. HB 1071 will allow for the construction of a 50,000 square feet building. The new facility will include classrooms, gym, residential area, staff offices and a playground. The current facility is 55 years old and requires significant maintenance and repair. The building would require new lighting, HVAC and wiring to meet today’s electrical and technology standards. If the state would decide to renovate, it would be at the expense of taxpayers. The new facility would be paid for by a donation.

SB 50 will authorize the construction of the American Indian Student Center at SDSU. The current student center is located in the basement of another building. President Dunn made improving student services to Native Americans a priority. Because many native students come from poverty and troubled backgrounds, Dunn believes it is essential for these students have a secure and supportive place at the university to ensure a higher level of success. President Dunn cites the success of similar programs in states like Montana. The new facility will be paid for through $4 million in donations and a $500,000 expenditure from the School and Public Lands annual allocation.

It will be important to hear from you during session. I would appreciate your input on any issue or concern. You may email me at dan.ahlers@sdlegislature.gov.

Greetings from Pierre. This week, I will provide an update on a few of the bills that I am bringing this session as well as an update on the Appropriation budget hearings.

Last week, I talked about HB 1089, which repeals the SD Certified Beef Fund. Some members of the agricultural community reached out this week and wanted to salvage this underutilized program. In the spirit of cooperation, I recommended to the committee we hold of action on this program for 1 year. During the summer, we will look at ways to improve the current program and sources of funding. Last year, the legislature voted (which I opposed) to sweep $100,000 from this fund to balance the state budget. The fund sweep left the current balance in this fund at $564.05.

On Thursday, HB 1076 passed out of House Taxation by a vote of 13 to 1. This bill will give townships the ability to use their current tax levy for fire protection to include emergency medical services. Many of our local townships had been supporting ambulance services until a judge ruled that it violated state law. I was approached by the President of the Minnehaha Towns and Township Board to sponsor this bill to fix the problem. This bill does not raise taxes, but it allows more flexibility and control at the local level.

In Appropriations, we continued state agency budget hearings. We reviewed budgets for the Department of Corrections, Military and Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services and the Attorney General’s Office.

Despite the Governor’s criminal justice reform initiative, prison populations continue to grow. We are near or at capacity in all of our prison facilities. In order to help address some of the challenges facing our corrections system, the Appropriations Committee will recommend the department go through the LEAN process. The LEAN approach is aimed at waste minimization. The goal is to improve the process used to release and integrate non-violent offenders back into the population and reduce the recidivism rate. The Appropriations Committee has recommended that other departments like BIT and the Department of Revenue complete this process. The results have been encouraging. Each of these departments has improved its customer service and shown an increase in productivity without increasing costs.

Humans Services provided their annual report on provider reimbursement rates for community-based service providers. This year’s appropriation was intended to get providers to 100% of cost. Unfortunately, it appears this reimbursement rate scale is flawed. Providers, like nursing homes, still struggle to pay competitive wages and keep up with rising health care costs. Many nursing homes are contracting with temp-labor agencies to fill vacant positions. Due to low Medicaid reimbursement rates, many nursing homes are turning away high risk patients. Many of these patients end up in facilities out-of-state and away from their families.

The Attorney General’s Office gave a positive report. Last year, the AG forecasted increased costs and the need for additional staff due to reporting requirements from Marsy’s Law. In this year’s budget, Jackley recommended a reduction in spending authority and staff because Marsy’s Law did not have the anticipated increased expenses. Jackley also recommended that we reinstate the Governor’s proposed cuts to Elder Abuse Task Force. The Governor’s cuts include one prosecutor and one investigator. These positions are needed due to an increase in elder fraud cases. This program has been highly effective and in 2017 resulted in restitution of $232,476 from convictions.

It will be important to hear from you during session. I would appreciate your input on any issue or concerns. You may email me at dan.ahlers@sdlegislature.gov.