I wish the beautiful weather that we experienced in Pierre this week would follow me home and stay a little while. The report from many veteran lawmakers on the political climate in Pierre this session is very unpredictable in comparison to previous years. I do have some concern when there may be new programs or ideas that require some additional money are usually knocked down; simply because we all know that our State is short on funds. Following the rumblings and progress of education legislation has been my focus. I continue to voice my opposition to any idea that would increase the minimum 100 school enrollment to keep a local school district operating. The number 100 is still foolish, because the State provides funds to local school districts on a per student basis. I've heard concerns from various schools in District 1 who are opposed to HB 1235 which would prohibit schools from running their transportation outside of their district to pick up open enrollment students. Let me know how you feel on this. The House of Representatives approved a bill Wednesday with the intention to stimulate home construction in South Dakota communities. This bill lowers property taxes to owner-occupied status on new homes that haven't yet been sold. This will benefit both the builders and the home buyers. The bills for discussion and action are all enrolled with each Chamber - either Senate or House - and have a number. Check out the Legislative Research Council website at http://legis.state.sd.us for a complete listing of the bills. I am very excited to serve as the Prime Sponsor for House Bill 1299 which will require the State fleet to run on E30 (40% E85 and 60% Unleaded). This bill has gained interest and I hope to find a way to have our State vehicles operating on a cleaner blend of fuel. Ultimately, the goal is to increase utilization of South Dakota made ethanol! As always, I enjoy hearing from you, so please send me an email at rep.frerichs@state.sd.us. I am also providing legislative updates on my website: www.jasonfrerichs.com. Feel free to give me a ring anytime at 949-2204 or 773-3851. Your Representative Jason Frerichs, Wilmot
** Sen. Gary Hanson
There were several controversial bills heard recently in Pierre that aroused intense debate on the floor. On Friday, January 30th the Senate debated SB-82. The bill would provide the right to possess a concealed firearm on campuses of public institutions of higher education. The proponents claimed students have the right to bare arms for personal defense. The opponents claimed that public schools would become less safe if this legislation was enacted and that police would have a more difficult time responding to a crisis if there were multiple students with guns. The argument also was that we are carving out special exceptions. Well we already have restrictions in court houses and the Capitol. The bill was defeated after both sides participated in a rigorous debate. This week on Tuesday, February 3, the Senate heard SB 79, which proposed the primary enforcement of seat belt laws for the purpose of public safety. The bill passed in the Senate, and if it becomes law, the state of South Dakota will be given five million dollars from the federal government. With our state's budget challenges, an additional five million will be helpful in maintaining our road infrastructure. On Tuesday, the Smoking Ban bill was debated in the Senate. SB 83 is an act to prohibit smoking tobacco or carrying lighted tobacco products in certain places and is an indoor smoking ban. The ban would make it illegal to smoke cigarettes in most public places and working areas, but would leave private residences uncovered unless used for daycare. The smoking ban failed in the Senate by 17 to 18. There is a similar bill in the House that may make it over to the Senate later. On Wednesday, February 4, the Senate heard SB 75, which is a bill that would allow hounds to be used in the hunting of mountain lions. The bill failed to pass in the Senate largely because there was concern that the bill would shorten the current mountain lion season because the mountain lion quota would be reached earlier. Additionally, concern was expressed that the mountain lion hunting season would become less equitable to hunters without hounds and would increase instances of trespassing. As you can see, it has been an exciting few days in the legislature. I will continue to keep you informed about the decisions the legislature is making. I appreciate all of the letters and emails I have received so far. Please feel free to contact me about your views on up-coming issues at sen.garyhanson@state.sd.us or call me at (605) 773-4494. Sincerely, Sen. Gary Hanson Sen.garyhanson@state.sd.us
**Rep. H. Paul Dennert
This was a very slow week in Pierre as the legislators only met for four days. All the bills have been introduced with a total of around 500 that will need consideration. I have been contacted by several people concerned with the Governor's budget cuts. There has been some legislation introduced to reinstate some of the programs. It will be interesting to watch the legislation go through the legislative process as it will give an indication whether or not the legislators agree with the Governor on his proposed cuts. Legislation has been proposed for sales tax increases, several fee increases, gas tax increases, and also sales tax on all advertising. Due to today's economy, before I vote for any tax or fee increases, I want to make sure that we have made budget cuts where possible that will least affect necessary programs. When and if I vote for any tax or fee increases, they will need to be progressive rather than regressive so as to not burden those that can least afford to pay. Senate bills 2 and 3 passed this week and will be in for consideration in the House of Representatives soon. This legislation will change the way Ag land is valued for tax purposes; most states at the present time use a productivity model to value Ag land. I will continue to support this legislation as I believe this is the best concept to pursue. There will be some tax shifts, but the legislation proposed spreads the increases and decreases out for a few years. I would be available for anyone who wants to visit with me about this change. It has been about 30 years since legislation has made changes in the way we value property for tax purposes, and I feel this change is best for land owners. There was a special briefing this week on the economy and how long we expect to see this downturn. The projections are that it could last until midyear 2010 and then a very slow rebound. My thoughts still are that if we need to, we should spend budget reserve on trust fund dollars to get us through the next two years. As we continue this process, I would welcome anyone's thoughts on several issues including K-12 education, community-based services, Arts, the Birth To Three program, and any other topics you are interested in. Please contact me about your concerns. Representative H. Paul Dennert
**Rep. Susan Wismer
This week the Appropriations Committee said "no" to funding several programs, including research capacity building at our universities. The presidents of SDSU & SDSM&T appeared to explain the importance of building research infrastructure on our campuses to our students and economic development. We heard funding requests that will probably be denied including adult and farm management education, Northern Crops Institute, a veterinary medicine program, and establishment of a master of social work degree program. School and Public Lands made a presentation that included a prioritized list of dams on their land that need attention. Hickman Dam and Pierpont Lake Dam are close to the top of the list. The ranking procedure included fisheries, recreational opportunity, consequences of failure, use and investment. No sources of funding have been identified, but they estimate the cost of repair of each of these dams to exceed $400,000. Tuesday morning Human Services was before Appropriations. This year we are spending $246 million, half of that federal funds, to provide care to clients at the Human Services Center in Yankton, SDDC at Redfield, Adjustment Training Centers, Vocational Rehabilitation, community mental health, alcohol and drug abuse, and developmental disabilities. This department provides services to more than 60,000 South Dakota residents. The Governor proposed cutting some very sensitive and yet low budget programs in this department for Autism Grant, Birth to Three, and Independent Living Services. The Agriculture Department presentation highlights last week included their pride in the increasing number of dairy cattle in the state, up to 91,000 head. Their contribution to balancing the budget was closing the fire equipment shop, a facility in Springfield that used inmate labor to retrofit fire trucks for rural fire departments. This would save $120,000. In return, the department has made an agreement with volunteer fire departments to take half the savings and fund a statewide training officer who would also help keep training records. Last Friday we heard a proposal by the Democrats to move some excess funds from the REDI Fund and the Futures Fund to help plug this year's budget hole. We're on track to refuse funding for the arts council, the archeological laboratory, (both of which would make South Dakota the only state in the country without such institutions) research infrastructure, the Masters in Social Work program and several other valid economic building blocks that don't happen to qualify through the REDI fund process. It seems to make sense to me to use these funds to help finance some of these other programs whose loss will cost us in several ways, including loss of federal funds. However, at this point, the Governor's office is vigorously opposing the transfer of any these funds that are under his control unless otherwise appropriated to these critical items. Stay tuned for further developments! Feel free to contact me with questions you may have. You may contact me via e-mail at the state legislative address. I'm at Rep.Wismer@state.sd.us
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