Author: @SoDakCampaigns

In the Press Release that just went out, Governor Noem signed Senate Bill 182, brought by Senator Herman Otten.  While not a big or flashy piece of legislation, it’s a measure that will do some good for families who have children with disabilities.

What Senate Bill 182 does is to provide a modest and logical addition to the tax code for property taxes to help support parents of adult children with disabilities.

This bill seeks to add language regarding who can claim “owner-occupied” for property taxes to include an “adult child with a disability”. The current statute as written already includes “a parent.” This means, currently, I purchased a home for a parent, it would be classified as “owner occupied” and we would be taxed at that rate. What the bill did was to also include “adult child with a disability” so families like my own who might purchase a home to rent to their adult child with a disability would be categorized as “owner occupied” and taxed at that rate.

What the bill does is offers a slight bit of relief as families try to balance assisting their child with a disability, while helping to give them a sense of independence. In my own case, my wife and I have a 16 year old daughter with Autism and her future is always on our minds. Providing this small change in law will provide a much needed and appreciated support for families as we parent our adult children with disabilities and help them to reach their highest level of independence in their home communities.

Thank you Governor Noem for signing SB 182 and Senator Otten for bringing this measure to help families of people with disabilities.

Governor Noem Signs Remaining Bills into Law

PIERRE, S.D. – Governor Noem has signed sixteen bills into law:

• SB 17 authorizes the South Dakota Department of Corrections to purchase certain real property.
• SB 95 provides protection for actions assisting an impaired lawyer or judge.
• SB 144 makes an appropriation to provide for a crisis stabilization unit.
• SB 167 establishes criteria for a regional nursing facility designation.
• SB 182 revises provisions regarding owner occupied dwelling requirements.
• SB 186 makes an appropriation for behavioral and mental health service support in crisis stabilization.
• HB 1013 makes an appropriation to fund tax refunds for elderly persons and persons with a disability.
• HB 1064 makes an appropriation for and the establishment of peer support and critical incident stress management training for first responder organizations.
• HB 1065 adopts the emergency medical personnel licensure interstate compact.
• HB 1139 requires that assisted living facilities create and post visitation policies.
• HB 1154 prohibits employment contracts restricting competitive health care practices.
• HB 1179 provides for physician wellness programs.
• HB 1228 revises provisions regarding industrial hemp.
• HB 1261 revises certain provisions related to the training curricula required of a person appointed as a guardian or a conservator.
• HB 1263 provides price transparency for healthcare costs.
• HB 1265 makes an appropriation for the improvement of the radio system in South Dakota.

Governor Noem has signed 247 bills into law this legislative session. There are no remaining bills awaiting action by the Governor.

Governor Noem Signs Pro-Life Bills into Law

PIERRE, S.D. – Governor Noem has signed four pro-life bills into law, includingHB 1110, which bans abortions based on a diagnosis of Down syndrome.

“The Declaration of Independence summarizes what we all know in our hearts to be true: God created each of us and endowed all of us with the right to life. This is true for everyone, including those with an extra chromosome,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “I look forward to the day when the Supreme Court recognizes that all preborn children inherently possess this right to life, too. Until that time comes, I am pleased to sign a ban on the abortion of a preborn child, just because that child is diagnosed with Down syndrome, as well as several other important pro-life bills.”

The three other pro-life bills include:

• SB 183 declares certain contract provisions regarding abortion as unenforceable.
• HB 1114 provides a definition of abortion.
• HB 1130 establishes requirements for the presentation of a written statement regarding the discontinuance of a drug-induced abortion.

Previously this session, Governor Noem signed HB 1051, which maintains the life of any child born alive.

Governor Noem has signed 231 bills into law this legislative session.

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The Governor is offering some suggestions to legislators in advance of Monday’s return of legislators for Veto day advocating for a legislative fix for the mess that was the medical marijuana initiated measure:

Letter to Legislators on Medical Marijuana by Pat Powers on Scribd

As detailed in the letter, the Governor has offered the following as draft legislation:

Draft Legislation for Medical Marijuana by Pat Powers on Scribd

What are your thoughts? Will legislators fix this on Monday, or are we going to a special session?

From Facebook:

Sneak peak for tomorrow’s @MPRnews Capitol View politics newsletter (subscribe: https://t.co/1YbkEqCTuX) pic.twitter.com/0M32rQy7Hv

— David H. Montgomery (@dhmontgomery) March 26, 2021

The latest from our neighbor to the east has a lawmaker proposing a measure to allow counties to secede from Minnesota and join South Dakota:

A bill being introduced at the Minnesota State Capitol seeks to allow Minnesota counties to secede and join South Dakota.

Representative Jeremy Munson (R – Lake Crystal) wants to amend the state’s constitution to allow counties the right to leave Minnesota.

Read that here.

I imagine there would be a few advantages to that.

Such as Vikings fans (generally east river) would outnumber Broncos fans who tend to be in the west, The darn speed limit would be a lot more manageable if you were heading to Minneapolis for the weekend, and I’m sure we could think of a few more.

But realistically, I don’t think this one is going to happen.

State Senator and Senate President Pro Tempore Lee Schoenbeck was interviewed by Public Broadcasting recently, and is one of the dissenting voices on House Bill 1217, noting that he believes the bill is unnecessary because the High School Activities Association dealt with it 9 years ago, and the system works:

Republican State Senator Lee Schoenbeck says her partial veto takes out the worst parts of the bill that are bad for South Dakota, but…

“I still believe the bill should die because it is not needed,” Schoenbeck says. “Our South Dakota High School Activities Association, which is our local school districts dealt with this at the local level nine years ago. The governor had to deal with what was put on her desk. The fact is the train left nine years ago and for political reasons they’re making noise chasing it now.”

In that nine year span only one transgender girl has played on a girls’ sports team. The policy recently rejected a transgender girl athlete, because the South Dakota High School Athletics Association determined the applicant would have a competitive advantage.

Read the entire story here.

You have to admit, that’s a lot of fuss for one student. And it seems like the High School Activities Association actually looked at it fairly.

Without new layers of government.

Rounds, Colleagues Introduce Bill Requiring DNA Border Testing to ‘End Child Trafficking Now’

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) along with Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) introduced the End Child Trafficking Now Act to prevent drug cartels and transnational criminal gangs from trafficking and exploiting migrant children to gain illegal entry into the country.Representative Lance Gooden (R-Texas) introduced companion legislation today in the House of Representatives.

“We need to stop criminals from exploiting our immigration policies and using vulnerable children as pawns to get into the United States,” said Rounds. “Our legislation would help rescue children from human trafficking by mandating a DNA test to verify family ties at the border. If family ties cannot be proven, children will be processed as unaccompanied minors and their kidnappers will not be released into the U.S.”

“After seeing the crisis firsthand, I’m reintroducing legislation to require DNA testing at the border to deter fraud and child trafficking. Adults attempting to slip across our borders under the guise of being a parent or relative to a minor must be DNA tested to prove they are related,” said Blackburn. “Drug cartels and gangs are using children to falsely present themselves as family units and seek asylum at our southern border. These unaccompanied minors are especially vulnerable to trafficking and are often forced to perform sex acts. Making DNA tests mandatory on anyone claiming a family relationship with a minor will send a powerful message that traffickers will be caught and aggressively prosecuted.”

Unaccompanied children made up nearly 10% of the 100,441 arrests for illegal border crossings in the month of February 2021. For the month of March, the government has caught an average of 523 unaccompanied minors a day over the past three weeks, according to The Wall Street Journal. At that rate, March would set a record month, with 16,000 unaccompanied children apprehended.

BACKGROUND

·         The bill requires DHS to deport alien adults if they refuse a DNA test and mandates a maximum 10-year prison sentence for all alien adults who fabricate family ties or guardianship over a minor.

·          It also criminalizes “child recycling,” which happens when the same child is used repeatedly to gain entry by alien adults who are neither relatives nor legal guardians.

·         If family ties or legal guardianship cannot be proven with the accompanying adult, the Act requires HHS to process the child as an unaccompanied minor under current law.

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Governor Noem Signs Criminal Justice Bills into Law

PIERRE, S.D. – Governor Noem has signed SB 135, which enhances training requirements for law enforcement officers, into law.

“Law enforcement does incredible work each and every day to keep us safe,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “In South Dakota, we trust and respect the men and women who put their lives on the line every day. Our objective is to protect and reaffirm this mutual trust, and we believe this enhanced training requirement will help achieve that goal.”

Governor Noem has also signed thirteen other criminal justice bills into law:

• SB 79 makes certain uses of laser pointers unlawful.
• SB 126 establishes the crime of possession, manufacturing, or distribution of obscene dolls.
• SB 150 clarifies the penalty for using fireworks in violation of a county resolution.
• SB 164 modifies the process for civil forfeiture.
• SB 173 revises certain provisions related to competency hearings.
• SB 174 revises provisions related to the automatic removal of certain charges or convictions from a defendant’s public record.
• HB 1061 prohibits smoking and consuming marijuana and its derivatives in a motor vehicle.
• HB 1080 increases the enhanced penalty for the crime of simple assault.
• HB 1081 increases the penalty for protection order violations.
• HB 1096 provides a penalty for sexual contact with a minor by a person holding a position of authority.
• HB 1102 revises certain definitions for sex offender registry.
• HB 1199 establishes the Office of Liaison for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons.
• HB 1204 revises criminal provisions certain visual recordings or photographic devices.

Governor Noem has signed 227 bills into law this legislative session.

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Hey @JoeBiden – come and take it. Careful, she bites too. pic.twitter.com/NOKWlq5aQv

— Senator Mike Rounds (@SenatorRounds) March 25, 2021