By Dana Hess, Community News Service
PIERRE — With just 20 members in the Legislature—eight in the Senate and 12 in the House—Democrats face constant rejection of the bills they offer. However, being a super-minority can have its benefits said Democratic legislative leaders when they spoke to publishers, editors and reporters at South Dakota Newspaper Association’s Newspaper Day on Thursday.
House Minority Leader Spencer Hawley, D-Brookings, said Democratic legislators needed to make their decision to run for re-election during the session rather than after. “We literally are totally beat down” by the end of the session, Hawley said.
“Even as a super-minority, we have had a huge impact on South Dakota,” said Senate Minority Leader Billie Sutton, Burke.
Sutton noted Democratic support for successful initiated measures in recent elections, including the boost in the state’s minimum wage. He said bills brought by Democrats are routinely defeated, only to return in a slightly different form at a later session as a Republican-sponsored bill.
“I’m fine with that,” Sutton said, as long as good bills are working their way through the Legislature.
Sutton pointed to the ongoing discussion in the current legislative session about Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s proposed half-cent sales tax increase as a funding source to raise teacher pay.
“Guess who’s been banging the drum on that for five years,” Sutton said. “We’re actually the ones fighting for what you want.”
Hawley noted how happy Democrats are to be talking about education funding and the governor’s plan to increase Medicaid.
“We probably agree on more of it than his own party does,” Hawley said.
Political parties in the Legislature traditionally caucus so leaders can direct members on how they want them to vote on certain legislation. South Dakota’s Democrats caucus, but the leaders don’t try to sway their members, according to Hawley.
“We end our caucus with ‘vote your conscience,’” Hawley said.
Bringing the Democratic Party out of super minority status may rely on a constitutional amendment that will be on the 2016 ballot. The measure would take redistricting of legislative districts away from the Legislature and give it to a special commission.
Hawley said the general public should choose how the districts are formed rather than allowing the Legislature to do it. He said this results in legislators choosing their own districts.
“It needs to be a totally separate entity,” Hawley said, “a bi-partisan panel.”
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