The Josh Haeder for State Treasurer campaign has released a campaign video to facebook this morning:

The Republican nominations for State Treasurer and other constitutional offices will be held June 20-23 at the State Republican Convention in Pierre.

Can’t say I would have pegged District 30’s Republican Rep. Tim Goodwin pushing a Medical pot message.

An odd press release was sent out by the city of Sioux Falls on Friday:

As with most things related to Mike Huether, it seems pretty self-serving. And coming from city staff, I’m not sure of any way it might be proper to have them issue anything about his future plans, especially if it’s of a political nature.

We’ll find out more on the propriety tomorrow, I suppose.

Happy 57th Birthday wishes to South Dakota’s Senior United States Senator John Thune!

Let’s Keep the Momentum Going
By Sen. John Thune

The Republican-led Congress had a successful 2017. We confirmed a record number of the president’s nominees to fill circuit court judgeships, and we confirmed Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court. We used the Congressional Review Act a record number of times to roll back burdensome regulations implemented by the Obama administration. We closed the year by passing historic legislation that reformed our outdated tax code and cut rates for all taxpayers, repealed Obamacare’s unpopular rule that forced Americans to purchase an insurance product they might not want or can’t afford, and opened additional land for domestic energy production.

I hope we can keep that momentum going in 2018, and it starts with finding a responsible solution that funds the federal government through the remainder of the fiscal year. While I’ve never been a fan of the congressional budget process, and I strongly support reforming it so it works more efficiently, it’s important for all Americans, particularly our men and women in uniform, that the government is funded for the long term. My goal is to ensure that it is.

I’m also hopeful that early this year we’ll be able to find a bipartisan solution that strengthens U.S. border security. Our national security depends it, and it’s long overdue. As part of this effort, I expect Congress will address several immigration-related issues, too. In particular, those faced by children who, at no fault of their own, entered the United States illegally. While the previous president acted unilaterally, without congressional buy-in, I’ve always believed this was an area where Congress should be responsible for finding an acceptable long-term solution.

At the Senate Commerce Committee, which I chair, we made significant progress in 2017, and I look forward to continuing our important work on self-driving vehicle technology, expanding access to broadband internet – particularly in rural parts of the country, like South Dakota – and improving transportation security and other infrastructure needs.

Finally, it’s never too early to start working on the next farm bill, as I like to say. The current bill, which I helped write, expires later this year, and it’s important that we complete our work on the next bill on time. That’s why I spent 2017 writing seven individual farm bill proposals that cover multiple portions of the overall bill. I hope that by doing a lot of this work early, we can get a final farm bill to the president before the current one expires.

On New Year’s Day in 1983, President Reagan said, “[L]et us thank God for life and the blessings He’s put before us. High among them are our families, our freedom, and the opportunities of a new year.” I’m looking forward to what 2018 has in store for South Dakotans and the rest of the American people, and I can’t wait to continue my work in Congress on their behalf.  

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Tax Reform Can Enhance 2018 Goals
By U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.)

As we turn the page to a new year, January is a time in which many Americans take the opportunity to make positive changes in their lives. Business owners may seek to expand their businesses, entrepreneurs may seek to start a new enterprise, and families may wish to purchase a new car or save enough to buy their first home. With the recent passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the opportunity to achieve these goals – whether personal or professional – is greatly enhanced.  Now if you’re looking to lose weight, this probably won’t help you!

The average American family will get to keep more than $2000 this year under The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. In addition to lowering the rates for every income bracket, this law doubles the standard deduction, doubles the child tax credit and repeals Obamacare’s individual mandate which imposed an unfair tax on mostly lower-income families making less than $50,000 a year. Businesses will also see relief, with a new corporate tax rate of 21 percent (from 35 percent), taking the U.S. from one of the highest to one of the lowest corporate tax rates in the world.  Small businesses also benefit, as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act creates the first-ever 20 percent deduction for pass-through business income.

The American economy is already responding. The stock market is breaking records this month as the Dow reached 25,000 for the first time ever. Businesses are announcing new investment and bonuses for staff. Over 100 U.S. companies have already announced plans to increase wages, pay yearly bonuses, increase 401K matches and expand charitable contributions because of the tax reform bill. Wells Fargo, which is chartered in South Dakota, has announced that it plans to increase its minimum wage to $15 per hour, effective in March 2018. We expect even more businesses to follow suit in coming months, as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provides companies with the capital and stability to reinvest in themselves, their employees and the economy.

Agriculture, South Dakota’s largest industry, is poised to benefit from tax reform as well. In a Farm Forum article from December 26, 2017, Wheat Growers CEO Chris Pearson calls tax reform a “win” for farmers. This is due to an amendment in the final bill that stops a massive tax hike for farmer co-ops that was projected to cost them $2 billion annually.

Individuals can expect to start seeing the amount of taxes coming out of their paychecks decrease within the next few months, possibly as soon as February. This is great news, and will benefit the majority of South Dakota workers. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act includes a reduction in individual tax rates, doubles the standard deduction and doubles the child tax credit from $1,000 per child to $2,000 per child.

For far too long, Americans have been saddled with high taxes and an overly-complicated tax code. As we welcome in this new year, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will finally provide the tax relief they deserve. In 2018, I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress and President Trump on other legislative priorities to further grow our economy and make life even better for all South Dakotans.

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New Year, New Tax Code
By Rep. Kristi Noem

It’s a new year, and Americans have a new tax code. On January 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act took effect, delivering relief to families across the spectrum. I’ve received many questions from folks since the bill’s passage: How will it impact my family? What does it mean for South Dakota? During the first few days of January, I fought the frigid temps and hit the road to answer many of these questions.

The first stop was Black Hills Bagels in Rapid City. Debra Jensen first opened the bakery in 1997 and has since expanded to two locations. South Dakota is home to around 83,000 small businesses like this. They employ nearly 60 percent of our state’s workforce, and through tax reform, many will have access to a new small business deduction, lower tax rates, and better expensing tools. Each of these provisions were designed to keep more money locally, better ensuring that what we make in South Dakota is spent in South Dakota to grow wages and create jobs at home.

After making a few more stops in Rapid City, we headed east. In Brookings, I dropped by the home of Luke and Emma Perkins. They’ve been married a little over four years, have two beautiful children with another due in March, and work for Equip Campus Ministries at SDSU. For young families like theirs, we double the standard deduction, meaning the first $24,000 a couple makes is tax free. The Child Tax Credit is doubled to $2,000 per child. And on top of that, we lowered tax rates.

Let’s say Luke and Emma make $78,000 as a couple. Under the old tax code, the family’s 2018 tax bill would be more than $2,600. With tax reform, it would drop to $99.

Next, I held a lunch with some young, Sioux Falls moms. We talked about the standard deduction and Child Tax Credit as well, but we also spent some time discussing the Child Care Credit. South Dakota has the highest rate of working moms in the country. The Child Care Credit is specifically designed to reduce the burden of day care expenses for working families.

Additionally, we touched on some of the other individual benefits that are there to give a little boost when you reach big life milestones. This includes the mortgage interest deduction, retirement savings options, and the enhanced 529 education savings plans.

After a stop at Double D Western in Huron and a night at home with my own family, I stopped in at Titan Machinery in Watertown. Farmers need a lot of expensive equipment to operate each year. To help producers manage cashflow, tax reform includes immediate expensing of the equipment they buy at places like Titan.

The week’s final stop was at Aberdeen’s 3M plant. By bringing our business tax rate in line with the rest of the developed world’s, we make America a more competitive place to do business. Through tax reform, we also eliminated the incentives that currently reward companies for shifting jobs, profits, and manufacturing plants abroad. It’s time to put America first.

Already, we’re seeing new jobs being created while dozens of American companies have given hundreds of thousands of employees significant raises or bigger Christmas bonuses as a result of tax reform.

I believe it’s incredibly important that South Dakotans understand exactly what was included in the tax reform package, which is why I took to the road in recent weeks. There’s a lot of misinformation out there and you deserve the facts. While no tax reform package will be perfect for every family, this legislation is packed with benefits for hardworking South Dakotans that keep more money in your pockets and our communities. I was proud to be part of negotiating this landmark legislation. Happy New Year – and welcome to a new tax code.

Another Way To Manage The Cold
A column by Gov. Dennis Daugaard:

With the extremely cold weather we have recently experienced, I am reminded how important it is to plan for it. This doesn’t just mean stocking long underwear and packing emergency kits in cars. It can also mean incorporating energy efficient designs into our homes and businesses. This can help keep heat bills under control and keep us comfortable everywhere, not just next to a heating vent.

My interest in energy efficiency goes back to the 1980s when Linda and I built our home on the family farm. I began reading about wall assemblies and window sills in my free time. Back then, the energy efficient lingo of the day was “super-insulated.” I made sure that the R-values in the walls and ceiling would keep my energy costs low. I put no windows on the west side and only one small window on the north side. To reduce electric demand, and help cool the house in summer, I installed a heat-pump water heater.

I am very proud of the house, and Linda and I are very eager to return there once we finish our stay in Pierre. It remains comfortable and solid yet today. The energy cost savings I have realized have paid for the extra costs at construction many times over.

Since then, some features in my house have become more mainstream and energy efficiency has become a more common aspiration. Building science has seen additional advances since the 1980s and I’ve recognized a few mistakes that I made in building my house. Today, the leading standard for energy efficient building is the Passive House standard. The standard defines needed elements with rigor, but still allows customization. It can be tricky to build a home that meets all passive house standards, but even if a building cannot meet the full standard, many of the concepts can be applied to provide significant savings. The standards are outlined at phius.org.

We have applied some of these standards to the Governor’s House program. The program builds houses for income-qualified individuals and families using inmate labor. A few years ago, we upgraded insulation, tightened the envelope in the homes and added an air exchanger. More recently, we added a high efficiency heat pump system. The homes are comfortable and affordable to heat and cool.

If you are considering remodeling your current home or building a new one, I encourage you to look towards energy efficiency. A modest investment in the short-term can reap long-term rewards by making your house more economical and more comfortable.

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