Author: @SoDakCampaigns

Thune, Smith Introduce Bill to Ease Application Process for the Impact Aid Program During COVID-19 Pandemic

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) today introduced the Impact Aid Coronavirus Relief Act, legislation that would allow school districts participating in the Impact Aid Program to use their student headcount from the 2020-2021 school year, which have already been calculated, on their Impact Aid applications for the 2021-2022 school year. School districts will begin to complete their Impact Aid applications for the 2021-2022 school year this fall, and this bill would ensure that schools do not need to recalculate federally connected students during the uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Impact Aid is a program that reimburses school districts located on federal property or for their students that live on federal land and, therefore, collect less in local property taxes to fund their schools.

“There are several school districts throughout the state of South Dakota that rely on the Impact Aid Program to help support their schools and students,” said Thune. “By allowing these school districts to use prior-year student headcounts on their Impact Aid applications this fall, we can ensure that school districts across the state will have the funding they need during these uncertain times and will continue benefiting from this important program.”

“As we continue to respond to the coronavirus pandemic we need to make sure that schools in Minnesota have strong investments so students can keep learning,” said Smith. “We have a special obligation to federally impacted schools, which are located in school districts with a significant amount of nontaxable land and because of that receive direct federal payments. I’m glad to work with Sen. Thune to help ensure that next fall’s Impact Aid applications and student counts are not disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.”

“As federally impacted school districts develop our plans for the next school year, we appreciate Senators Thune and Smith for addressing our concerns about conducting accurate Impact Aid student counts,” said Chad Blotsky, president of the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools and Finance Director of the Todd County School District. “This legislation is a commonsense way to enable all 1200-plus federally impacted school districts – including Indian lands, military and federal property school districts – to submit timely applications while keeping our staff and communities safe. In my state of South Dakota, there are 37 Impact Aid school districts, representing all aspects of the program. The National Association of Federally Impacted Schools supports this legislation and thanks Senators Thune and Smith or their leadership.”

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Thune, Schatz Introduce Legislation to Update Section 230, Strengthen Rules, Transparency on Online Content Moderation, Hold Internet Companies Accountable for Moderation Practices

Bipartisan PACT Act repeals immunity from civil actions brought by federal agencies, empowers state attorneys general to enforce Section 230, protect consumers

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation and the Internet, today joined Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), ranking member of the subcommittee, in introducingthe Platform Accountability and Consumer Transparency (PACT) Act, new bipartisan legislation to update Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The PACT Act will strengthen transparency in the process online platforms use to moderate content and hold those companies accountable for content that violates their own policies or is illegal.

“There is a bipartisan consensus that Section 230, which governs certain internet use, is ripe for reform,” said Thune. “There is also a bipartisan concern that social media platforms are often not transparent and accountable enough to consumers with respect to the platform’s moderation of user-generated content. That’s why I’m proud to join Sen. Schatz in introducing the PACT Act, which would strengthen online transparency, accountability, and consumer protection. It would, among other things, require technology companies to have an acceptable use policy that reasonably informs users about the content that is allowed on platforms and provide notice to users that there is a process to dispute content moderation decisions. The internet has thrived because of the light touch approach by which it’s been governed in its relatively short history. By using that same approach when it comes to Section 230 reform, we can ensure platform users are protected, while also holding companies accountable.”

“Section 230 was created to help jumpstart the internet economy, while giving internet companies the responsibility to set and enforce reasonable rules on content. But today, it has become clear that some companies have not taken that responsibility seriously enough,” said Schatz. “Our bill updates Section 230 by making platforms more accountable for their content moderation policies and providing more tools to protect consumers.” 

Enacted in 1996, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1934 offers broad immunity to internet companies for hosting user-generated content and provides protection for platforms that take an active role moderating content on their sites. More than two decades later, while Section 230 has allowed the internet economy to thrive, these protections have led to inconsistent, opaque content moderation practices, a lack of online platform accountability, and an inability to enforce federal regulations in the digital world.

The Schatz-Thune PACT Act creates more transparency by:

• Requiring online platforms to explain their content moderation practices in an acceptable use policy that is easily accessible to consumers;
• Implementing a quarterly reporting requirement for online platforms that includes disaggregated statistics on content that has been removed, demonetized, or deprioritized; and
• Promoting open collaboration and sharing of industry best practices and guidelines through a National Institute of Standards and Technology-led voluntary framework.

The PACT Act will hold platforms accountable by:

• Requiring large online platforms to provide process protections to consumers by having a defined complaint system that processes reports and notifies users of moderation decisions within 14 days, and allows consumers to appeal online platforms’ content moderation decisions within the relevant company;
• Amending Section 230 to require large online platforms to remove court-determined illegal content and activity within 24 hours; and
• Allowing small online platforms to have more flexibility in responding to user complaints, removing illegal content, and acting on illegal activity, based on their size and capacity.

The PACT Act will protect consumers by:

• Exempting the enforcement of federal civil laws from Section 230 so that online platforms cannot use it as a defense when federal regulators, like the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission, pursue civil actions for online activity;
• Allowing state attorneys general to enforce federal civil laws against online platforms that have the same substantive elements of the laws and regulations of that state; and
• Requiring the Government Accountability Office to study and report on the viability of an FTC-administered whistleblower program for employees or contractors of online platforms.

From Twitter, the Sioux Falls City Council recount is in process:

Theresa Stehly is talking with Alex Jensen, asking him why he has attorneys with him. He responds that it’s to ensure the laws are followed and the recount is done in a fair process. pic.twitter.com/AEClnRiodq

— Joe Sneve (@Argus_Joe) June 24, 2020

Why do I have this mental picture of Theresa Stehly waving her hand in front of Alex Jensen like a Jedi, muttering the words you don’t need that due process….

I’m hearing there’s a lot happening with legislative recounts resulting from the primary election.

In District 9 House, I’m hearing Bethany Soye picked up 3 votes to strengthen her lead to 11 votes over her opponent Michael Clark. No word on challenges. (Update – according to Michael Clark, he “congratulated Mrs Soye, shook hands, then handed her a check for a campaign contribution.“)

In District 17 Senate, I heard from several sources that Art Rusch lost 2 ballots in Turner County, narrowing his lead to 4 votes over Nancy Rasmussen, but today Clay County came in holding numbers. There are 5 days for that to be challenged after it’s officially filed, so that may yet be coming.

I’m hearing word from several sources that the District 19 House race is actually in flux.. so wait for the official on that..

What I was told was that one of the auditors located ballots that had erroneously not been counted. The number of votes for Overweg weren’t close to what you would expect to be able to flip the race in his favor, as there was a lot of distance between he and Jessica Bahmuller – more than a recount might have been expected to change.

But hang on – as is being noted elsewhere, there were a lot of votes found, which completely changed the outcome.

On primary election night, Bahmuller finished second to Kent Peterson in the District 19 vote count, tallying 1,741 votes to best Marty Overweg by 21 votes. The top-two vote-getters earned seats in the Legislature. But on Monday, Bahmuller was told there was a discrepancy in the final numbers. There were 86 votes not counted on election night from Douglas County and one not counted from Hutchinson County.

Unofficially, Bahmuller was told there were no changes in Bon Homme, Hanson and McCook counties and one vote changed in Hutchinson County. In Douglas County, there were 52 additional votes for Marty Overweg, 23 for Kent Peterson and 11 for Bahmuller. The new tallies put Overweg ahead of Bahmuller by 20 votes and, if accurate, would give Overweg the spot in the Legislature.

Read that all here.

Er… not found but mis-reported? Ugh. What a mess. And both candidates involved are nice people. There are no winners in a screw up like this.

I’d expect that one will end up in a courthouse for further argument.

The Public Utility Commission contest heated up this weekend with the two major parties choosing candidates to join the Libertarian already in the contest – so now that the slate is set, here’s what they all have had to say in the last few days:

Gary Hanson, Republican Candidate for the PUC:

Hanson says it’s important to have people in the position who are knowledgeable about utilities.

“We rule on average 170 dockets a year,” Hanson says. “Some of those are dozens of pages, or a dozen pages, and some are thousands and thousands of pages. And so, about 97 percent of what we do is reading. That’s very technical in many respects.”

Read that here.

Remi Bald Eagle, Democrat Candidate for the PUC:

“Everything from our utility rates in the urban areas, to what’s happening in regards to our agricultural industry,” Bald Eagle says. “I’d like to try to be a voice that represents the great diversity in this state.”

Read that here.

Devin Saxon, Libertarian Candidate for the PUC:

Saxon on ‘Alfalfa from ‘little rascals’ movie arrested for huffing air duster:’  “The government had nothing better to do in a time like this than to arrest more people for victimless crimes? This has to stop”

Read that here.

Well… at least two of the candidates are focusing on running for PUC.

Maybe the PUC can branch out to regulating the huffing of spray paint and air duster, that way Saxon might have something to add to the contest.

Not on my watch. https://t.co/U6gGap5Ib6

— Governor Kristi Noem (@govkristinoem) June 23, 2020

TRISH LADNER WINS COURT ORDERED RECOUNT AND IS RECOGNIZED AS THE WINNER OF THE DISTRICT 30 PRIMARY FOR THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Hot Springs, SD – Candidate for the House of Representatives, District 30 Trish Ladner has won the election after a recount of the votes was conducted by the Circuit Court, 7th Judicial Circuit Recount Board, June 22, 2020. The recount was conducted simultaneously in the three counties that comprise District 30: Pennington, Custer and Fall River Counties.

“I would like to thank the voters of District 30 and to express my heartfelt thanks to them for their confidence in electing me,” said Ladner. ” As I have spoken with many of my constituents, I have clearly heard their concerns to keep our families and economy safe and strong. To the other candidates, Florence Thompson and Kwinn Neff, who ran in District 30 for The House of Representatives, I have enjoyed getting to know you and want to thank you for participating in the democratic process. Our community is better for it. To our re-elected incumbent, Tim Goodwin, Congratulations! I look forward to working with you as a team to advance issues and the best interests of District 30 in Pierre.”

Trish Ladner is a business person with over 35+ years experience in the for-profit and non-profit arenas. She and her husband currently own the PR Marketing Group, LLC a digital marketing company and Visit Hot Springs SD a digital tourism website that promotes business and tourism in the Black Hills. She is a Christian conservative that is Pro Gun, Pro Life, Pro Limited Government and Pro Tourism and Pro MCOOL. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for The Mammoth Site and Main Street Arts and Crafts Festival. She is a Precinct Person in District 30 and recently attended the South Dakota GOP Convention as a Delegate where she learned that she had been that she was selected as a Delegate representing the State of South Dakota at the 2020 National GOP Convention in Jacksonville, Florida in August.

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So this is kind of funny.   On liberal Democrat Cory Heidelberger’s blog this morning, consultant Jordan Mason issued a screed attacking State Senator Lee Schoenbeck for supporting candidates of his choice in the GOP primary as somehow not being in line with his own noble Republican Principles.

Mason started looking like an idiot by trying to conflate Schoenbeck with xenophobia because (seriously) he comes from Watertown, which is the same area that Neal Tapio comes from.

But sadly, this is an ongoing trend with Senator Schoenbeck from Watertown, an area of our state which also brought us the xenophobic and Islamo-phobic Senator Neal Tapio just a few short years ago, and comes as no surprise.

Read that here.

But it gets better!  (Realistically it gets much dumber, but better in that it’s more laughable.)  Because here’s the money quote:

Unlike Senator Schoenbeck, I for one, as a Republican, will continue to adhere to our foundational principles…

Read here as well..

So, Jordan Mason is crying to the state’s Democrat Blog making claims that unlike Schoenbeck, as a Republican he’s going to adhere to foundational principles?  Like when Jordan worked with Democrats this year to put recreational marijuana in the State Constitution?

That’s pretty laughable.

Apparently as we’re also supposed to forget Jordan’s long history of working with SD Gun Owners and his own PAC he uses to attack Republicans?

Realistically, the fact Mason sent an op-ed crying to the Democrat blog about Senator Schoenbeck is more about the fact that several candidates that Lee supported soundly defeated candidates that Mason was working for.

Such as when Schoenbeck sent money to Senator Jessica Castleberry, who utterly destroyed Mason’s candidate and Pennington County’s Most Wanted Kevin Quick.

According to Jordan, it’s bad if Lee supports Republican candidates of his choice, but we should forget about Jordan attacking Republicans, working with Democrats to put marijuana in the constitution, and crying about Schoenbeck on a Democrat blog….?

Okay. Got it.

In case you were looking for the full results from this weekend’s GOP Convention, they’re available on the GOP Convention website, which you can find here.