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2018 SD Legislative Sessions – Tom Pischke Week 6 Update

February 19, 2018 by Submitted

The South Dakota Legislature concluded its sixth week of session Thursday. We are finally starting to get caught up with our heavy workload. 2018 has been one of the busiest sessions in recent history with over 500 bills that have been submitted for consideration. This is among the largest number of bills submitted in over a decade.

HOUSE UPDATES

•HB 1109 would allow inmates who are over the age of 55, have not committed a crime in the first degree, have served ten consecutive years of their sentence, and have a serious medical condition that requires heavy medical supervision to be paroled provided they have a plan for medical care. HB 1109 passed the House Judiciary Committee 10-1 and passed the House Floor 48-17.

•HB 1250 would have raised the legal smoking age in South Dakota from 18 to 21. HB 1250 passed House Health and Human Services 8-4 but died on the House Floor 21-45.

•HB 1268 would change the prefiling date for legislation and would allow legislators to pre-file legislation as early as July. HB 1268 passed House State Affairs 11-1 and passed the House Floor 66-0.

•HB 1199 prohibits collective bargaining by employees of the Board of Regents. HB 1199 passed House State Affairs 8-5 and passed the House Floor 37-28.

•HB 1184 allows for waste disposal lines to be laid along or underneath highways. HB 1184 passed the House Transportation Committee 7-6 and passed the House Floor 45-20.

•HB 1216 would prohibit citizens or entities not from South Dakota or registered with the Secretary of state 4 years prior to the election from donating more than one hundred thousand dollars in the aggregate. HB 1216 passed the House State Affairs Committee 7-6 and passed the House Floor after being reconsidered 36-30.

•HB 1230 would make texting and driving a primary offense. HB 1230 passed the House Judiciary Committee 11-2 and passed the House Floor after being reconsidered 40-26.

•HB 1305 would have allowed Independents to vote in party primaries. However, the bill would have also required the voter to indicate in which primary they would like to vote. HB 1305 passed House State Affairs 10-2 but died on the House Floor 29-37.

SENATE UPDATES

•SB 214 would create an independent commission to set legislator pay. The commission would be set by the executive board and require that no more than 6 members of the same party comprise the board. The commission would examine salaries in other state legislatures and consider a number of factors to determine the appropriate compensation and give this report to LRC each January. SB 214 passed the Senate Committee on Appropriations unanimously and will be heard on the Senate floor next week.

•SB 185 allows for the expungement of criminal charges if an individual avoids going to trail by agreeing to a diversion program. In order to qualify, the individual must finish the diversion program and remain drug free for one year following release from the program. SB 185 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Floor with zero no votes.

•SB 65 changes the criminal penalties regarding drug deliveries. If an individual dies from an illegal substance, whoever sold the substance to the victim is subject to the principle offense being 2 classes higher not exceeding a Class C Felony. SB 65 passed Senate Judiciary 6-0 and passed the Senate Floor 32-3.

•SJR 3 To apply for a convention of states under Article V of the Constitution of the United States to impose fiscal restraints on the federal government and limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government. SJR 3 passed Senate State Affairs 7-2 but died on the Senate Floor 16-18.

•SB 24 extended the effective date of provisions regarding the recreational use of non-meandered water. SB 24 passed Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources 7-2 and passed the Senate Floor 26-9.

If you have any questions and/or comments on these bills or any other legislation, please email me at tom.pischke@sdlegislature.gov

2018 SD Legislative Sessions – Dan Ahlers Week 5 Update

February 11, 2018 by Submitted

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.

2018 SD Legislative Sessions – Tom Pischke Week 5 Update

February 11, 2018 by Submitted

The South Dakota Legislature concluded its fifth week of session Thursday with one of the heaviest legislative loads most of the current legislators have ever experienced. Currently there are over 500 bills that have been submitted for consideration which is among the largest number of bills in over a decade.

HOUSE UPDATES

• HB 1070, a 65-page measure to revise and repeal certain provisions regarding alcoholic beverage laws, many of which are considered antiquated and unenforceable, passed the House of Representatives this week on a 63-5 vote. The ‘liquor law reform bill’ enjoyed unanimous support in committee last week, and is expected to easily move through the State Senate in coming days.

• HB 1157 authorizes alcohol manufacturers and wholesalers to enter into certain licensing agreements with certain alcohol retail licenses. This was a state practice for many years, but a recent interpretation of the law did not allow for it. This bill passed the House Judiciary Committee 11-1 and passed the House Floor 40-27.

• HB 1219 allows sportsmen to use night vision when hunting. However, they may only use certain kinds of ammunition and must receive written permission from the landowner. This bill passed House Agricultural and Natural Resources 10-2 and passed the House Floor 46-21.

• HB 1190 revise the time period for which certain motor vehicle plates are used. Instead of issuing new license plates every 5 years, this changes it to 10 years. The reason for the change is savings to the state of roughly 6 million dollars for the roads and bridges fund. This bill passed House Transportation 9-4 and passed the House on a vote of 41-27.

• HB 1250, a measure to raise South Dakota’s legal smoking age from 18 to 21 passed House Health and Human Services 8-4. The matter is still pending, as a fiscal note was requested. This bill will likely be voted on by the entire house chamber early next week.

• HJR 1001 would change the current law regarding legislator pay and amend the Constitution to make it one fifth of median South Dakota pay. This resolution would submit the issue to the ballot for the voters to approve the change. This resolution passed out of House State Affairs 9-3 and passed the House floor as amended 38-26. HJR 1001 was referred to Senate State Affairs and will be heard next week.

• House Bill 1071 moved through both the State House and the Senate at a rapid pace, with the unusual step of the Senate suspending committee assignment after the House heard it as part of the joint appropriations process. The bill to authorize the relocation of the School for the Blind and the Visually Impaired and transfer of its existing real estate and facilities to Northern State University passed the Senate on a 34-1 vote. This measure will provide for the construction of a new School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, which will cost an estimated $13.6 million, but will be paid for through private donations.

SENATE UPDATES

• SB 137 changes the minimum hunting age in South Dakota from ten years old and effectively leaves the matter to parental discretion. The child must be hunting with a parent or a “hunting mentor.” A hunting mentor is the child’s parent or guardian or any other competent adult who has the written consent of the child’s parent or guardian. The hunting mentor shall be a resident of this state, shall be unarmed except as provided in this section, shall have successfully completed a hunter safety or hunter education course and they must also have a license for the game being hunted. This bill passed Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources 9-0 and passed the Senate Floor 30-4.

• SB 50 allows for the construction of the American Indian Student center at South Dakota State University and allows for an appropriation. SB 50 passed the Joint Committee on Appropriations without opposition and passed the Senate Floor 28-6.

• SB 54 to provide additional funds to counties to pay for extraordinary litigation expenses on an emergency basis passed the Senate 25-9, and now moves to the House. This fund assists counties with the cost of prosecuting criminals, and the additional appropriation reflects higher than anticipated expenses in the current fiscal year.

• House Bill 1043 was passed unanimously by the State Senate 35-0 to provide for the construction of a National Guard Readiness Center at the Rapid City Airport. This represents the first installment of $500,00o to help fund the construction of a $20 million building next to the Guard’s existing Army Aviation Support Facility at Rapid City Regional Airport. The state’s ultimate share of the project cost is expected to be $5 million, while $15 million in federal funding has already been secured.

If you have any questions and/or comments on these bills or any other legislation, please email me at tom.pischke@sdlegislature.gov

2018 SD Legislative Sessions – Dan Ahlers Week 4 Update

February 4, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

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.

2018 SD Legislative Sessions – Tom Pischke Week 4 Update

February 4, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

The South Dakota Legislature concluded its fourth week of session on February 2nd. Below are some of the notable bills currently being considered.

SENATE BILLS

• SB 46 changes the rules for South Dakota schools with regards to the use of restraint and seclusion. SB 46 requires the school to notify parents in the event of a restraint, prohibits prone restraints, and forbids schools to confine children involuntarily. SB 46 passed Senate Education 5-1 and passed the Senate floor 32-3.

• SB 84 prohibits any state agency from entering into a confidential settlement with a third party. All settlements requiring monetary damages or equitable relief shall be a matter of public record. SB 84 passed Senate Judiciary 5-2 and passed the Senate Floor 21-13.

• SB 105 allows a physician to administer a toxicology test on a newborn baby (neonate is the first 28 days of life) if the child exhibits symptoms of illness related to drug abuse. SB 105 includes a provision to exempt a healthcare provider from criminal and civil liability both if this test is administered and if in good faith the provider decides against performing a toxicology test. SB 105 passed Senate Health and Human Services 6-1 and passed the Senate Floor 33-2.

• SB 64 changes the penalties for trafficking a minor. Previously, the criminal penalty for attempted trafficking was less severe than if the trafficking was completed. However, since many human traffickers are caught in stings, which only allows a criminal charge for attempted trafficking, in that scenario the offender would receive half the prison sentence. SB 64 changes statute so that attempted trafficking and trafficking both receive the same criminal penalty. SB 64 passed both the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate floor unanimously.

• SB 79 would allow independents to sign nominating petitions for candidates. Current law only allows members of the candidate’s party to sign nominating petitions. This bill passed State Affairs with no opposing votes and it passed the Senate Floor 24-10.

HOUSE BILLS

• HB 1008 allows the Secretary of Transportation to set temporary variable speed limits in the state trunk highway system and interstates. The bill is meant to be used in cases of severe weather, road conditions, or road work. Violations of the temporary speed limit would be a class 2 misdemeanor. This bill passed the House Transportation committee 12-0 and passed the House Floor 52-16.

• HB 1093 Allows insurance policies to be printed in languages other than English. HB 1093 passed the House Commerce and Energy Committee 9-4 and passed the House Floor 57-11.

• HB 1073 protects free speech on South Dakota’s college campuses. HB 1073 prevents South Dakota’s public college campuses from limiting free speech as outlined in the first Amendment unless the speech involved includes a direct threat or other forms of lawless behavior. HB 1073 will be heard in the House Judiciary Committee Friday February 2nd.

• HB 1081 expands the sunset clause for the non-meandered waters compromise until 2021. This bill passed House State Affairs 11-1 and passed the House Floor 51-12. This bill will be heard in the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resource Committee later this week.

If you have any questions and/or comments on these bills or any other legislation, please email me at tom.pischke@sdlegislature.gov

2018 SD Legislative Sessions – Dan Ahlers Week 3 Update

January 29, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

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.

2018 SD Legislative Sessions – Tom Pischke Week 3 Update

January 28, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

The South Dakota Legislature concluded its third week of session Thursday. Below are some of the notable bills currently being considered.

SENATE BILLS

•SB 67 expunges the criminal record of sex trafficking victims under the age of 18. Minors who are found to have been a part of a trafficking ring may apply to the court for expungement provided they did not engage in other criminal activities. SB 67 passed both Senate Judiciary and the Senate floor unanimously.

SB 56 changes the eligibility and requirements for disabled and elderly individuals to receive refunds for sales tax and property tax. This bill contains an emergency clause and it passed Senate Appropriations and the Senate floor without opposition.

•SB 11 changes the time frame in which a ballot committee may submit their proposal to LRC. This bill passed Senate State affairs with one no vote and passed the Senate Floor 30-3

•SB 10 provides a solution in the event there are two ballot measures in conflict with one another in the same election year. While a Constitutional Amendment would still supersede a change in statute, if two laws conflict the one with the most votes would be the winner. This bill passed both Senate State Affairs and the Senate floor without opposition.

•SB 9 would require a fiscal note, compiled by LRC, to accompany both initiated measures and constitutional amendments to determine the cost or lack thereof to the state upon passage. This bill passed Senate State Affairs 7-2 and Passed the Senate Floor 29-6

•SB 79 would allow independents to sign nominating petitions for candidates. Current law only allows members of the candidate’s party to sign nominating petitions. This bill passed State Affairs with no opposing votes and it passed the Senate Floor 24-10.

HOUSE BILLS

•HB 1058 removes the requirement for the superintendent of the South Dakota School for the Deaf to be proficient in sign language. The reason for this change is that the School for the Visually Impaired and the School for the Deaf have now been combined. This bill passed House State Affairs unanimously and passed the House Floor with two no votes.

•HB 1103 requires State agencies to properly display the Great Seal of South Dakota. This bill contains provisions to protect satirical renderings to remain consistent with the First Amendment. This bill passed House State Affairs with no opposition.

•HB 1032 Exempts credit unions from the requirement to licensed real estate brokers. This bill passed House Commerce and Energy with no opposition and passed the House Floor 46-19.

•HB 1081 removes the sunset clause for the non-meandered waters laws. This bill passed the House Floor 51-12.

•HB 1100 requires a printed name to go along with a signature on all public contracts. The reason for this change is a public contract involving an illegible signature. This bill passed State Affairs unanimously and passed the House Floor with only one no vote.

•HJR 1001 would change the current law regarding legislator pay and amend the Constitution to make it one fifth of median South Dakota pay. This was vigorously debated on Thursday, January 25th. I voted No on the bill but it still passed the House Floor 38-26.

If you have any questions and/or comments on these bills or any other legislation, please email me at tom.pischke@sdlegislature.gov

2018 SD Legislative Sessions – Dan Ahlers Week 2 Update

January 21, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

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

With all the new laws written and approved each session, it is equally important to remove unnecessary laws. In 2005, the state created the South Dakota Beef Program. While this program never really got off the ground, money was put into a Certified Beef Fund to administer this program. Over the last 10 years, the fund has paid auditing fees and has been swept by the legislature to balance the state budget. Today, $564.05 remains in the fund. HB 1089 will repeal this legislation and transfer the remaining money into the Rural Rehabilitation Fund under the Department of Agriculture. The state will continue to maintain the South Dakota Beef trademark and will be able to administer its use through the Department of Agriculture.

During session, legislators often work and vote on bills that cleanup mistakes from previous years or old and redundant language. In HB 1077, I will replace the term “mentally retarded” with “intellectually impaired.” In 2010, Congress passed Rosa’s Law which changed references to “mental retardation” to “intellectually impaired” in federal law. The change comes from the negative use and connotations of the term “mentally retarded.” This term is considered extremely offensive for whom the term is applied.

One of Dennis Daugaard’s priorities during his tenure as governor has been the sale of surplus property. If the state does not have a use for land or a building, it should be sold and returned to the tax roll. The question becomes what is the best use of the money from these sales? Sometimes, the property is held in trust. If trust land is sold, the money from that sale returns to a trust fund under School and Public Lands. The money earned is then used to for the purpose of the trust. For example, when STAR Academy was sold, the proceeds went to a Corrections Trust. Each year, a disbursement from this fund goes to fund the corrections training program.

Last year, we voted to sell surplus property from the Veterans Home in Hot Springs. Because the land is not held in a trust, the money goes to the General Fund. I have introduced HB 1090 to appropriate the money from this land sale to the Michael J. Fitzmaurice Endowment Fund. This fund was created by the South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs to benefit the activities of the veterans at the SD Veteran’s Home. I believe this is the best use of these dollars. If the money remains in the General Fund, we will spend it this year and it will be gone. We can take these same dollars and place them in the endowment. Doing this will cause the endowment and the annual disbursement to grow each year. The money we invest today will continue to serve our veterans long after we have left this earth.

In Appropriations, we continued` state agency budget hearings. We reviewed 10 state agency budgets including Transportation, Revenue, Tourism, and Game, Fish and Parks. Most departments have requested minimal or no increase in spending. The Appropriations Committee is concerned with the governor’s no increase recommendation in wages for state workers. South Dakota lags behind its neighbors in state wages. The state also pays far less than the private sector for similar jobs within the state. This disparity has made it difficult for state agencies to fill vacant positions. With many “Baby Boomers” retiring from the workforce, the problem is compounded. The Appropriations Committee has made it a priority to find the funding to provide some kind of increase this year for state workers.

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.

2018 SD Legislative Sessions – Tom Pischke Week 2 Update

January 21, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

The South Dakota Legislature concluded its second week of session on Friday. This week’s session included the annual memorial service and finished up the reports executive agencies give to legislative committees.

• SB 44 establishes licensing for gaming manufacturers and distributors and establishes a licensing fee. This provision is for “Associated equipment manufacturer or distributor,” any person who designs, assembles, fabricates, produces, constructs, sells, leases, or otherwise prepares a product or component of any associated equipment.

• HB 1004 allows the state Board of Elections to regulate the font size and the petition size of initiated measures, referred laws, etc.

• HB 1003 is a language clarification of a previously passed bill allowing certain entities to make political contributions. The language in the previous bill did not require these entities to itemize those contributions. HB 1003 requires all donors to political committees to itemize contributions over 100 dollars. This bill has an emergency clause to ensure that political committees are statutorily required to itemize contributions from these entities.

• HJR 1001 fundamentally alters how legislator pay is set. The resolution would change the South Dakota Constitution so that rather than legislators voting on a pay raise, legislator pay would be one fifth of the most recent median South Dakota Household income as provided by law. Other employees of the legislature would stay as is and their pay would still be the purview of the legislature. Legislators have not had a pay increase since 1999. Increasing legislator pay would grow the pool of future potential legislators who at this time simply cannot afford to run for office.

• SB 9 would require a fiscal note, compiled by LRC, to accompany both initiated measures and constitutional amendments to determine the cost or lack thereof to the state upon passage.

• HB 1006 is similar to SB 9. The bill would require the director of LRC to deliver comments on any initiated measure or Constitutional amendment no later than 15 work days after the submission by the sponsor of the measure. The director’s written comments under this section shall include assistance regarding the substantive content of the initiated measure or initiated amendment in order to minimize any conflict with existing law and to ensure the measure’s or amendment’s effective administration. This change is in response to the numerous errors in the IM 22 language and would provide more information and transparency to voters for future ballot initiatives. However, the bill also includes a provision that any initiative sent to LRC from the first day of December to the day of adjournment sine die of session the lrc director shall be given 15 days following adjournment sine die to provide comments.

STATE OF THE TRIBES

At the end of last week the chairman of the tribes delivered the state of the tribes address. Lower Brule Chairman Boyd Gorneau touched on reconciliation, the meth epidemic and urged the legislature to expand Medicaid.

NON MEANDERING WATERS

Governor Daugaard is proposing to extend the sunset by three years, from 2018 to 2021. This week there was an informational meeting about the issue. While the compromise reached this summer could stay in place it is likely this issue will be debated again during the session.

STATE OF THE JUDICIARY

Last week Chief Justice Gilbertson delivered the State of the Judiciary Address. Justice Gilbertson spoke about the rising meth epidemic and the issues surrounding it. However, he was optimistic that the state’s experiment with drug courts is working and urged the legislature to expand the program to include inpatient treatment for the most severe addictions.

EXECUTIVE APPOINTMENTS

On Thursday 3 executive appointments had hearings in the Senate Education Committee. Former state representative Jacqueline Sly was appointed to the South Dakota State Board of Education Standards. Becky Guffin was also appointed to the South Dakota Board of Education Standards and Don Kirkegaard was appointed to be the interim Department of Education Secretary. These appointments passed the Senate Education Committee and will be heard in the Senate on Monday.

VETERANS CEMETERY

Veterans groups have been advocating for a state cemetery on the east side of the state. The bill for the project would be around 600,000 dollars. However, most of those funds will be secured from the federal government. Ongoing maintenance costs would be paid by the state. However, a portion of those fund are likely to be raised privately by veteran’s groups.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Rep. Tom Pischke

District 25

2018 SD Legislative Sessions – Tom Pischke Week 1 Update

January 16, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

On Tuesday, Governor Dennis Daugaard gave his final state of the state address as Governor of the great State of South Dakota. State government faces several challenges as we prepare to budget for the coming year, but there are many bright spots on the horizon.

– Sales tax revenues continue to lag behind projections and revenues are tight. We will need to continue to watch revenues over the next two months to ensure we adopt a structurally balanced budget in March. Part of that is due to weak sales tax collections from a strained farm economy, and part is due to on-line and out-of-state retailers.

– The state has taken several steps over the years to try to collect more online retailers to encourage them to remit taxes. The state has reached an agreement with Amazon to collect and remit state and local sales taxes in South Dakota. Amazon began to voluntarily to collect sales tax on February 1st and began remitting in late March.

– Over the past six years, the legislature has passed a repeal over 4,000 sections of obsolete or unnecessary laws and rules, accounting for nearly 470,000 words. We will be proposing more of these bills this year.

– Two years ago, we started to create new conflict of interest standards for state employees. After one year’s experience, there will be legislation this year to clarify and streamline that law so that boards, commissions and school boards can achieve our objective of bringing transparency to these situations.

– South Dakota has now obtained AAA ratings – the highest possible – from all three major credit agencies. The AAA rating saves money when our tech schools, universities, and hospitals issue bonds – we get a lower interest rate because of our bond rating. We have balanced our budget for 128 years and recently placed an explicit requirement for a balanced budget in the constitution.

– Regular maintenance of state-owned facilities prevents larger problems in the future. But we also need to constantly reevaluate our need for the facilities that he have. The Governor is proposing to sell and repurpose unneeded and obsolete State-owned buildings across the state. We owe it to taxpayers to keep the state’s footprint to a minimum, to avoid spending tax dollars on maintenance of unneeded facilities and to return these properties to the tax rolls when possible.

– The total prison population today is lower that it would have been without reforms, but it is higher than we predicted it would be when we passed the Public Safety Improvement Act. We believe it’s due to the increase in methamphetamine trafficking. The Governor is proposing a joint drug interdiction task force, comprised of four new Highway Patrol officers, joined by designated agents of the Division of Criminal Investigation. There is a very close correlation between the increase in drug trafficking and the increase in meth arrests and convictions in South Dakota. We need to stop meth from coming into South Dakota.

– The Governor stressed that we need to find a way to stop out-of-state organizations from experimenting with South Dakota’s constitution and laws. These groups have no ties to our state and often don’t even disclose the source of their funds. They are using our state’s low signature requirement and cheap media markets to attempt to pass 15 constitutional amendments and initiated measures that advance their national agenda but don’t address problems seen in South Dakota. This session, we need to work together to find a way to protect our state from interference by out-of-state groups, while preserving our citizens’ access to direct democracy, so issues that do concern our grassroots can be raised, but not by people who don’t even live here.

If you have concerns about upcoming legislation or ideas to make our state better, please contact me at Tom.Pischke@sdlegislature.gov.

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