Greetings to everyone in District 21. Another year has come and gone, and once again legislators have gathered in Pierre for the 92nd Legislative Session. I pray that everyone had a very blessed year.
During the first week, we heard the State of the State address, the State of the Judiciary from Chief Justice Gilbertson, and the State of the Tribes from Chairman Robert Flying Hawk.
Governor Daugaard delivered his State of the State address on the first day of the session and highlighted his top priorities for the session, as well as progress made in specific programs. One of the biggest lows for South Dakota is that revenue is down an additional $5.8 million from the time of the Budget Address. This totals $31.9 million from what was expected. This drop in revenue was due to a down farm economy, low inflation, lower tourism numbers compared to a record in 2015, cautious consumers, and online purchases. With regards to revenue, Governor Daugaard’s biggest news was that Amazon will begin collecting sales tax on February 1, 2017. This will help South Dakota fill the gap created with the decreased revenue during the past year. Another piece of good news is that our state obtained AAA bond ratings (the highest possible) from three major credit agencies. Also, the governor was happy to report that teacher salaries have increased 11.9% this year, with the average teacher salary being $46,937.
One of the biggest issues Governor Daugaard mentioned that is facing our state is an increase in methamphetamine trafficking. He listed three goals for 2017 to address this problem: stop meth from coming into South Dakota, educate people to prevent use, and help those addicted to stop using meth. We will be seeing some bills come up this session to address this growing concern. Some of the new proposals we are seeing so far are to make some changes to the Public Safety Improvement Act, incentivize effective completion of treatment, and to propose grants to expand HOPE 24/7 probation to all counties.
Another topic that will be receiving a lot of attention this session is Initiated Measure 22. The governor called on the legislative body to repeal and replace IM-22. Governor Daugaard stated that this signals a need to end out-of-state organizations from experimenting with South Dakota’s Constitution and laws and protect the state from interference from these groups. Regarding this issue, there are a few points I would like to clarify. In December 2016, a South Dakota judge ruled IM-22 unconstitutional and entirely unenforceable. An out-of-state group spent out-of-state money in excess of over $1 million in dark money (meaning they don’t have to disclose their donors) with less than $1000 of SD money used to mislead South Dakotans with a 34 page, 70 section measure they knew was unconstitutional before they put it on the ballot. Also, as it is currently written, IM-22 would cost the state tax payers over $5 million every year to pay for political ads and prohibit teachers, nurses, business owners, and others from serving in the legislature. There are two bills that the Secretary of State has submitted to replace IM-22. SB53 would create a Campaign Finance Ethics Commission and SB54 deals with revising certain provisions regarding campaign finance requirements. There is a lot to iron out with this measure and it will prove to be a source for many interesting discussions.
The ballot measures you voted on this past election were supported strongly with out-of-state money. Only $1 of $10 spent in advertisement and promotion was money from SD in support of the measures. The very reason this process was put in place in the 1800’s when SD was first established was to prevent outside interest groups from running the business of SD. Now, it has turned full circle and out-of-state money is what is driving the ballot issues brought to a vote of the people of SD. This process is being looked at and legislation will be seen to turn this process back to the people of SD.
I look forward to serving you this year. Please contact me at lee.qualm@sdlegislature.gov with your ideas and concerns. Have a wonderful week and stay warm!
Representative Lee Qualm
Majority Leader
Vice Chairman State Affairs Committee
Legislative Procedures Committee
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