Greetings from Pierre. We have completed the final week of session. I will cover the new Precision Ag Center at SDSU as well as provide a breakdown of the additions to this fiscal year and the state budget approved for 2019.

In this final week, the legislature approved a $55 million precision agriculture project at SDSU. SDSU will become the nation’s first university to offer a B.S. degree in Precision Agriculture. Precision Agriculture combines engineering, mathematics, agronomics and environmental analysis to improve traditional agriculture methods. GPS guidance systems in tractors during the 1990’s were the early stage of precision agriculture. An example of today’s precision agriculture combines GPS-based soil sampling, software and variable rate technology to maximize the distribution of fertilizer. Farmers, ranchers, foresters, etc. can use these tools to optimize yields and profits while protecting water, soil, livestock and wildlife.

Each session, we amend the current fiscal year’s budget. Sometimes we make cuts because revenues fall short of projections. Other years, we may have a surplus. During surplus years, we can choose to put the money in reserves or address other unmet state needs. In 2018, we added an additional $5.4 million in one-time money to education. An additional $2 million was approved for the Precision Ag Center at SDSU. We approved money to start the application for the State Veterans Cemetery near Sioux Falls. We also put $4.7 million toward state employee health insurance reserves. The Governor proposed an increase to a group of Medicaid providers to get within 90% of cost in 2019, so the legislature appropriated an additional three months of funding in 2018. We also included an additional $2 million in one-time money to all providers. Finally, we appropriated additional money in 2018 to increase starting wages for correctional officers and employees at the Human Services Center in Yankton. These facilities have experienced high turnover and overtime pay due to non-competitive wages.

For fiscal year 2019, we focused on three main areas: Medicaid providers, state employees and education. For providers, we approved a 1.5% overall inflationary increase. The newspapers reported a 2% increase, but that is not accurate. Our Medicaid providers are classified by a tier system. Providers like Avera and Sanford Hospital will see a .5% increase, while nursing homes will see a 2% increase to their reimbursement. State employees will receive a 1.2% salary policy increase. The legislature prioritized state employee salary policy early in this session. The departments have had a difficult time filling many positions throughout state government. This problem is due to wages not being comparable to the industry median. Finally, education will receive a 1% inflationary increase. This increase will apply to special education, education and technical schools. Newspapers reported that the legislature increased taxes again to give money to teachers. This statement was also inaccurate. The increase given to schools is not required to go to teacher salary. However, those schools that did not make their teacher salary accountability last year will need to use this money for salary in order to make accountability this year. With respect to taxes, the mil levy changes for property tax correspond with the increase in state general fund dollars. These levy adjustments happen each year with changes in state aid.

Thank you for electing me to represent you in Pierre. Your calls and emails during session were valuable in my decision-making process. Please continue to share your input on any issue or concern. Throughout the summer, I will continue to work on constituent issues. Sometimes these issues can be resolved without legislation. Otherwise, I use your input to create legislation for the next session. You may email me at dan.ahlers@sdlegislature.gov.

Greetings from Pierre. We have one week left of session. I will provide an update on some of this week’s bills as well as an update on the Appropriation budget hearings.

During this session, there has been a silent assault on the ballot initiative and constitutional amendment process. SB 9 & 13 are another example of changes to make this process difficult for voters. These bills require fiscal notes to be attached to ballot measures. While understanding the potential cost of a change in law is important, the way in which the information is disseminated is equally important. These bills require the information to be included on the ballot. This requirement makes the ballot longer and more difficult for voters to navigate. Proponents of this measure know that the average voter will vote not to change a law or amend the constitution if the measure appears to be complicated. Another problem with this requirement is a fiscal note is an anticipated cost. As we learned with Marsy’s Law, many of the anticipated costs were never incurred.

Term limits have been part of this year’s issues and bills in Pierre. SB 80 & 89 set term limits for members of the Board of Regents and Board of Education. Full disclosure, I do not like term limits. Term limits set an artificial maximum not based in fact or merit. We have always had a form of term limits called elections. If we do not like our representation, we can elect someone else. Term limits give bureaucracy, lobbyists and other entities more power. These institutions do not answer to the people. When we limit a public servant’s service without cause, we cheat ours institutions of knowledge, experience and opportunity. These bills were brought because of one person that recently retired from one the boards. People felt that this individual had too much power and influence over the process. Regardless of the merits to this claim, we should not legislate due to one bad player. Should we throw out the Electoral College because we have Donald Trump as President? (Maybe that’s not the best example). These board positions are appointed by the Governor and must be voted on by the State Senate. If a person is doing a poor job, then it is the duty of the State Senate to not approve the appointment. If this person really had too much power and was abusing his position, it is the failure of the legislative body that continues to approve the appointment.

In Appropriations, we voted to approve the veteran’s cemetery located near Sioux Falls. The committee will appropriate $600,000 toward the application process. The bill also requires an endowment to be established and minimum $3m in the fund by 2023. This money will go to operational expenses. Once the project is completed, the $600,000 from the state will be refunded by the federal government and be deposited in the endowment. Thank you to all of the supporters that contacted your legislators and encouraged their support.

The Appropriations Committee has started the budget setting process. We break each department down into their individual units and set the budget. For example, in the Department of Revenue under audits, there is request for 5 auditors. The Appropriations Committee denied this request saving $327,293. As we continue this process, the committee will make similar reductions and additions to reflect our spending priorities. This year, there will be targeted increase and an inflationary increase for community based providers, an inflationary increase for education and an increase for state employees.

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 past Friday was crossover day. All bills, in order to continue, must be out of their house of origin. I will provide an update on some of this week’s bills as well as an update on the Appropriation budget hearings.

In the 2016 election, we passed Marsy’s Law to protect victim’s rights. Although many of the concerns by opponents have proven to be false, there have been issues with the definition of what constitutes a victim. HJR 1004 narrows the definition of victim to better allocate resources for victims of crimes. Because Marsy’s Law was a constitutional amendment, voters will have to vote on these changes in the 2018 election. HJR 1004 passed the House 65-0. In conjunction with HJR 1004, we passed HB 1174 which gives a victim cause of action and defines members of the multi-disciplinary team that can have access to information. This bill passed the House 66-0.

Earlier in the session, HJR 1001 was passed to put a legislative salary increase on the ballot as a constitutional amendment. On Wednesday, the House voted to increase legislative salary by the same amount through statute. This bill would not require voters to approve the increase. While this bill may appear as an attempt to by-pass the voters, it is actually a better approach. If voters were to pass the constitutional amendment in November, the legislator salary increase would be put in the state constitution. Amending legislator salary going forward would be extremely difficult and locks in this higher salary rate. In prior elections, attempts have been made to eliminate the five cent a mile travel reimbursement and it has failed each time. Subjects like legislative salary should not be in the constitution. The constitution should be a framework for our government and not a place for public policy. As mentioned previously, we have to vote on Marsy’s Law again to fix problems identified by the proponents of the constitutional amendment. It is another great example of why public policy should be in statute and not in the constitution.

As part of balancing the fiscal year 18 budget, the governor has recommended some one-time transfers. One of these transfers was from the South Dakota Health and Educational Facilities Authority. The money in this fund comes from fees generated from low interest bonds. While this authority was created by the state, it is not a state entity. Because the SDHEFA is not a state entity, HB 1318 which authorizes the transfer, is unconstitutional. The SDHEFA can use this money to support education and health facilities and their activities. In order to make this bill work, I crafted an amendment that would allow a one-time transfer by the SDHEFA board. After this bill passes, the board will allocate approximately 2.5 million in funding to an educational and/or health care facility. HB 1318 passed 49-17.

In Appropriations, we continue to debate SB 91 which provides funding to establish a state veterans cemetery in Sioux Falls. Please contact the members of the Appropriations Committee and encourage them to support this bill. The land will be donated by Sioux Falls and various veterans organizations have raised $100,000 to put in an endowment to help pay for ongoing costs. The funding request from the state is $600,000 which would be reimbursed by the federal government upon completion of the cemetery. A last minute amendment has threatened to derail the efforts of our veterans. This amendment would require 9.4 million dollars in the endowment before the application process could begin. Currently, South Dakota is in a race for this cemetery with Minnesota. If we do not apply by July 1^st, Minnesota will most likely get the cemetery grant and South Dakota would not be eligible due to the proximity of Minnesota’s proposed cemetery location east of Brookings. This amount is more than what would be necessary to annually maintain the cemetery. Annual costs for this cemetery would be $261,000. While the governor has denied this amendment comes from his office, they will not support the bill without this amendment.   Hearings for this bill will continue this week. I encourage readers to voice their support by contacting the governor’s office and emailing members of the appropriations committee.

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 bills pertaining to the initiated measures, referendums and rural healthcare as well as an update on the Appropriation budget hearings.

HB 1282 would require any ballot question receiving more than $10,000 in out of state contributions to include a disclaimer stating it is paid for in part by out of state interests. At first, this bill seemed reasonable, but it became clear the intent was to single out certain ballot measures. The bill did pass out of the House 49-16 and will be debated in the Senate.

HB 1216 would limit out of state contributions by out of state entities to $100,000. Limits on contributions by PACs and other special interests have been adjudicated numerous times. Each time limits like these have been imposed the Supreme Court has ruled it unconstitutional on the basis that you cannot limit freedom of speech. This bill passed the House by a vote of 42-24. Ironically, the sponsors of this bill have asked an out of state entity to help finance a ballot measure to fix problems with Marcy’s Law. The amount of funding needed for this type of statewide campaign will exceed the $100,000 limit proposed in this bill.

HB 1201 will be require any initiated, referred or constitutional ballot measure to include the name, address and compensation for a petition circulator. Opposition to this bill fears a requirement to include personal information like a petitioner’s address could lead to acts of violence. This bill will be heard on the House floor this week.

Workforce development has been a reoccurring theme this session. This week we will vote SB 31 which reimburses $832,972 to doctors and other healthcare professionals that serve in rural South Dakota communities. The Recruitment Assistance Program is designed to assist rural communities recruit physicians, dentists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and nurse midwives. Participants must agree to practice in the community for three years. The Rural Healthcare Facility Recruitment Assistance Program is designed to assist hospitals, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities retain healthcare professionals. Eligible professions receive an incentive payment of $10,000 upon completion of a three year commitment. Participating facilities are required to pay a portion of the incentive payment based on community size.

In Appropriations, we heard SB 91 which provides funding to establish a state veterans cemetery in Sioux Falls. The land will be donated by Sioux Falls and various veterans organizations have raised $100,000 to put in an endowment to help pay for ongoing costs. The funding request from the state is $600,000 which would be reimbursed by the federal government upon completion of the cemetery. A last minute amendment has threatened to derail the efforts of our veterans. This amendment would require 9.4 million dollars in the endowment before the application process could begin. Currently, South Dakota is in a race for this cemetery with Minnesota. If we do not apply by July 1^st, Minnesota will most likely get the cemetery grant and South Dakota would not be eligible due to the proximity of Minnesota’s proposed cemetery location east of Brookings. This amount is more than what would be necessary to annually maintain the cemetery. Annual costs for this cemetery would be $261,000. While the governor has denied this amendment comes from his office, they will not support the bill without this amendment.   Hearings for this bill will continue this week. I encourage readers to voice their support by contacting the governor’s office and emailing members of the appropriations committee.

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.