District 27 Representative
We’re starting our 5th legislative week and 18th legislative day. This year’s crossover date is February 21st. The last day for all the house of origin bills or joint resolutions be moved out of the house of origin. Crossover is lengthy day where everyone where’s black, in recognition of all the bills that die.
Education, Pro-Life, prisons, border security and pipeline bills are front and center. The Governors HB 1022 would allocate $6 million for the professional development for teachers in the subject of literacy education. Other proposal on the table for the DOE include $15 million grant to Douglas School District for construction of a new school, $10 million for building opportunity through out of school time program, $6 million for professional development to teachers in the subject of literacy education, $1.3 million for SD Hall of Fame Exhibits and classes, $800,000 for teacher apprenticeship pathway program and HB 1226 with a dollar amount to be determined for grants to schools to support telemedicine. All of these bills are still in the Appropriation process and final determination is yet to be decided.
Pro Life bill under consideration is HB 1224 clarifying the protection of the mother and give healthcare providers more certainty in caring for expectant mothers with health complications. There is no change to our substantive law-the measure merely attempts to clarify the impact of the law on protecting mothers and babies. Some medical care providers are confused by the change, while others are comfortable with it. HB 1224 will help our state, mothers, babies and medical providers to provide additional guidance. This bill aims to fill the information gap to educate healthcare professionls about the trigger law and to help the public understand that the law never requires that a woman be denied lifesaving medical care. There should be no confusion though, elective abortions are not allowed in South Dakota. A woman can be treated for a miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy at any time. A woman can be treated to save her life at any time even when it means the baby sadly does not survive.
The Governor has included a substantial prison funding in her proposed budget, which the legislature is considering. Public safety is a core obligation of state government and currently our prison facility are inadequate. The concerns about where the new prison site will be is still under consideration. We recognize that no one wants a prison in their back yard, but the prison site needs to be somewhere with available infrastructure and work force. Stay tuned….
There is currently dozen proposals affecting carbon dioxide pipelines in the House and Senate. The use of eminent domain has drawn strong, emotional reactions, which makes sense.
Next week I plan to write extensively on Education funding. Where we’ve been and where we’re going. In 2016 HB 1182 represented the largest single tax increase in the state’s history. At the time State funding priorities indicated 149 percent increase in state dollars for K12 education since fiscal year 96. At the time 12 states spent less dollars than we do here in South Dakota, yet they all paid their teachers more. Schools Boards across South Dakota in 2016 could not answer why South Dakota teachers we’re not being paid at the level that the state is funding education. I’m afraid just like 2016, funding education bureaucracy dollars end up funding layers of support staff, administration and physical assets. The debate shouldn’t be about how much we fund education, but rather it’s how the monies are spent. I’ll also be looking at the cash reserves that South Dakota schools currently have available. In 2016 South Dakota schools had over $426 million in reserves.