Author Archives: Colton Hall

Session passed the half way point this week and the pace is moving very quickly now.  Over the past week, substantial debate focused on legislation regarding guns, abortion, death penalty, highway funding, taxes and a balanced budget amendment.  Education funding is also a major topic of discussion.  So far the Governor has signed 16 bills into law and an additional 16 bills are on his desk waiting for approval.

On Tuesday the House passed HB 1179 with a vote of 63-4, a bill to change the definition of a veteran so South Dakota members of the National Guard and Reserve would become classified as veterans in state law regardless of whether or not they have seen active duty.  The bill does not make them eligible for federal veteran’s benefits, but it recognizes the service of many of our citizen’s to our state and nation as the National Guard plays a significant role in the defense of our country.  The legislation would impact about 25,000 guardsmen and reserve members who don’t currently qualify.

On Wednesday, the Senate unanimously passed SB 190- an act to clarify health coverage for applied behavior analysis (ABA) which is defined as the design, implementation, and evaluation of environmental modifications, using behavioral stimuli and consequences, to produce socially significant improvement in human behavior, including the use of direct observation, measurement, and functional analysis of the relationship between environment and behavior.   The bill states that every policy, contract, certificate, or plan subject to the provisions of this Act shall provide coverage for applied behavior analysis for the treatment of autism spectrum disorders.  It also sets coverage amounts for different age groups.

On Wednesday, the Senate passed SB 1 with a vote of 26-8.  Senate Bill 1 is the legislation that was originally introduced by the summer study task force chaired by Senator Vehle.  The bill was amended to more closely reflect the bill introduced by Governor Daugaard (HB 1131).  House Bill 1131 is scheduled for hearing in House State Affairs on Wednesday, February 18^th.

This week the Senate and House killed 4 death penalty bills.  The House State Affairs Committee killed two death penalty bills on Wednesday.  HB 1158 would have required that a victim’s opposition to the death penalty be presented at a presentence hearing.  The bill failed with a 10-2 vote.  HB 1159 would have permitted South Dakotans to express opposition to the death penalty when applying for a state issued identification card.  The bill failed 10-2.  Senate State Affairs killed two death penalty bills on Wednesday also.  SB 121 would have repealed the death penalty.  The bill failed 7-2.  SB 122 would have revised provisions to the death penalty including the addition of a requirement that a jury would have to find that the defendant is too dangerous to be incarcerated and is an ongoing danger to the public and the prison community.  The bill failed 7-2.

So far there have been 8 gun bills addressed in committee or seen on the floors.  HB 1096 would revise certain procedures for issuing a permit to carry a concealed pistol.  The bill passed the House 52-5.  HB 1215 would provide for an optional enhanced permit to carry a concealed pistol by enhancing reciprocity with other states.  It passed House State Affairs 12-0.  SB 192 would permit the sergeant-at-arms to carry concealed firearms in the state capital building under certain conditions.  On Thursday, it passed Senate Judiciary 5-2.  HB 1206 would authorize the concealed carry of pistols on public university campuses under certain circumstances.  The bill passed House Local Government Committee Thursday with a vote of 8-5.  HB 1183 would repeal the prohibition against carrying permitted concealed weapons in the state capitol building. The bill has been assigned to House Local Government Committee and has been deferred to next week.  HB1205 would provide for the certification by a chief law enforcement officer of the transfer of certain firearms.  The bill has been assigned to House Judiciary and scheduled for hearing on February 18.  There have been two gun bills that have been killed… SB 129 would revise provisions relating to trespass associated with hunting.  The bill passed Ag Committee 8-0 but failed on the Senate floor 12-21.  SB 162 would permit certain legislators to carry concealed firearms in the state capitol building under certain conditions.  On Thursday, it failed in Senate Judiciary with a vote of 1-6.

Some of the miscellaneous bills are:  SB 57- Authorize and regulate the playing of craps, roulette, and keno within Deadwood.  It passed Senate 27-7.  SB 73- Improve Public Safety Regarding Juvenile Justice passed the Senate 35-0.  HB 1195 – Declare void the transgender policy of the South Dakota High School Activities Association and to establish a determinant in identifying a student’s sexual identity for the purpose of participating in high school athletics.  The bill passed the House 51-16.  HB 1216- Repeal the limitation on the total amount or revenue payable from taxes on real property for all taxing districts, except school districts.  The bill failed the House 22-46.

We have three cracker barrels this coming Saturday the 21^st of February.  The first is in Avon at 9:00 AM in the convenience store on the highway, next is in Wagner at 10:30 AM in Booms Restaurant and then in Lake Andes at 1:00 PM in the Community Building on Main St.  I look forward to seeing many of you at these events.

Thank you again for giving me the privilege to serve you in the South Dakota House.   Please feel free to contact me any time at rep.qualm@state.sd.us or my cell phone (605) 207-0406.   Have a wonderful and blessed week.

Representative Lee Qualm

Chairman of House Ag and Natural Resources Committee

House Local Government Committee

State and Tribal Relations Committee

Week 5 of the 2015 Legislative Session is now in the books, which means that we are over halfway done.  Many big issues are yet to be addressed, with crossover day quickly approaching on the 25th, which means that all bills have to pass their house of origin in order for them to continue through the process.

So far this legislative session, we have seen some encouraging signs that lawmakers and the executive branch are willing and ready to make smart investments in health care.  We are facing serious workforce shortages in health care across South Dakota, and especially in our rural areas.  Many of the challenges facing rural areas are due to low wages.  It can be very difficult to attract and retain valuable employees when fast food chain restaurants are able to offer a higher starting salary than a healthcare provider.  Much of this goes back to South Dakota’s low Medicaid reimbursement rates as compared to other states.  The most critical issue in the healthcare industry is workforce turnover. The Association of Health Care Providers has been tracking turnover since 2011 and shows a turnover of 57% for direct care providers in FY14.  South Dakota’s high turnover rate in our health care industry especially impacts the care of children and those with disabilities as it creates a break in treatment.  The Governor is proposing a two percent increase to provider reimbursement rates and as the session comes to a close I will be looking to find more dollars to put toward provider reimbursement rates.

SB 190 passed the Senate last week and would require insurance companies to offer coverage for Applied Behavior Analysis (“ABA”) for children with Autism.  This has been something that I have supported the last several years, but it hasn’t gotten much traction until this year.  The bill resulted from a Summer Study on insurance coverage for certain types of autism treatment.  Four public forums were held across the state this past summer.  Private insurance or Medicaid in South Dakota generally does not cover ABA services.  Thirty-seven other states have adopted some sort of coverage guarantee for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Treatment of autism is also an important healthcare and workforce issue because it has been proven that new therapies for autism are very successful in helping many children succeed in school and then in the workforce.

The annual maximum benefit would be $36K for ages 0-6; $25K ages 7-13; and; $12.5K ages 14-18.  Some would argue that this does not go far enough, as ABA Therapy can be much more costly than this depending on the need of the child.  Even so, this is definitely a step in the right direction.  It seems that SB 190 is a good compromise after a bitter battle last year, and let’s hope we can get it passed so it will help families with autistic children.

There are a number of bills this Session that seek to make adjustments to a schools capital outlay fund by lowering the cap on mill levies as well as capping the growth of property tax valuations as it pertains to capital outlay.  This proposal would very simply seek to capture some of those future savings and shift them to the General Fund as local effort, effectively decreasing the state’s share of education for future years.  This proposal could potentially be very detrimental to a school’s option to make capital improvements to their buildings and infrastructure as well as letting the state off the hook by shifting more cost for education to property tax payers.

There are 151 school districts in South Dakota and each and every one has a unique story. Every school district has a reason for why they need these Capital Outlay dollars, and that is why we elect school board members.  This is an issue that is dealt with at the local level and that is the way it should stay.

District 21 legislators will be hosting three legislative forum’s this coming weekend, and we want to welcome anyone and everyone to attend in order to get an update on the legislative session as well ask any questions that you may have of your legislators.  All three forums will be held on Saturday, February 21st as follows:  Avon at 9:00 a.m. at the A-1 gas stop, Wagner at 11:00 a.m. at Booms, and Lake Andes at 1:00 p.m. at the Community Building on Main Street.

Even though we are now over halfway done with the 2015 session, we have a lot to do and very little time to do it in.  I encourage anyone to contact me with questions, concerns, and new ideas about how we can improve South Dakota as we move through the rest of this session.  It is an honor to be your Senator, and I will continue working hard for all of you and for the great state of South Dakota.

HYPERLINK “mailto:sen.sutton@state.sd.us” sen.sutton@state.sd.us

605-830-5540

District 21 Senator

Minority Leader

Billie H. Sutton