Author: @SoDakCampaigns

Jackley Urges U.S. Senate Confirmation of Pam Bondi as United States Attorney General

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley is part of a 30-member coalition of Attorneys General and Attorneys General-elect who are urging the United States Senate to swiftly confirm Pam Bondi as the next United States Attorney General in January.

“I served with Pam when she was the Florida Attorney General, and she will be a strong advocate for public safety,” said Attorney General Jackley.  “Pam is the right person to put the U.S. Justice Department back on the proper track.” 

In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Minority Whip John Thune, the South Dakota Senator who becomes Senate Majority Leader in January, the Attorneys General group praised Nominee Bondi for her passion for justice, commitment to the rule of law, and her efforts against human trafficking and illegal drugs.

Other Attorneys General and Attorneys General-elect on the letter are from: Alabama, Arkansas, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

The letter can be found here: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/sites/default/files/2024-12/bondi-letter-12.03.24.pdf

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It’s the season, as holiday greetings begin to arrive from our elected officials, and incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune, along with his family, has Christmas greetings out to his many friends across South Dakota:

SD Strong might be an early beneficiary of a fundraiser they had arranged with the Lt. Governor.

With Governor Kristi Noem all but assured to become the director of Homeland Security, the hunt with the Lt. Governor has now become an opportunity for face time with the incoming Governor:

You can buy a ticket to attend the Christmas Party where you can bid on the hunt with Larry Rhoden here.

South Dakota Searchlight has an editorial up today, noting “lawmakers seek solutions for problems best handled by parents” lamenting another attempt at government regulation by legislators who claim to oppose big government:

According to an article in Forbes, the Free Speech Coalition believes the age-verification process is “invasive and burdensome with significant privacy risks for adult consumers.” In the same article, an attorney from the ACLU said the Texas law allows “the government to rob adults of their online privacy and burden their access to protected speech, all under the guise of protecting children.”

and..

Is someone in state government going to be tasked with visiting each site to see if it’s complying with the state’s age-verification law?

A state law that seeks to monitor the internet is not the answer. Lawmakers should put their efforts into making sure parents have the resources they need to protect their children themselves. That could mean literature on how to talk to kids about staying safe online or a state stipend that helps with the purchase of web filters or blocking software.

Read the entire article here at South Dakota Searchlight.

The “not ready for prime time” candidates for SDGOP Chair are still out there lurking. And over the Thanksgiving holiday, the one who was involved in the no on H group sent out a postcard, courtesy of an old laser printer.

It’s nearly illegible, but he sent out a postcard:

The return address was the highlight of what you could read. God help you if you want to contact him, because you’re out of luck on that portion.

Still waiting for somebody good to step in the contest. Because to date, we haven’t even managed to come up with “adequate” yet.

Faith, Family, and Freedom
By Rep. Dusty Johnson
November 27, 2024

BIG Update

Happy Thanksgiving, South Dakota! I love this season – a time to slow down, spend time with my family, and think about all the things I am thankful for, like faith, family, and our freedoms.

I’m looking forward to working with a Republican Senate and White House to protect these values. Faith, family, and freedom are pillars of our nation, and we need to keep them at the center to remain a strong country.

This Thanksgiving, I hope your home is filled with loved ones, a full table, and thankfulness.

BIG Idea

The Indian Health Service (IHS) has failed numerous times to provide payment to healthcare providers for services under the purchased/referred care program within 30 days of completion. Due to the lack of payment by IHS, many Natives are left to pay a bill they don’t owe, or risk damaging their credit. My bill, the Purchased and Referred Care Improvement Act recently passed the House Natural Resources Committee to remedy this issue and make it even more clear that the IHS is responsible for these payments.

Getting this bill passed Committee is a big step forward to righting wrongs for tribal citizens.

Johnson meeting with Oglala Sioux Tribe

BIG News

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently created a group to study transgender medicine, but the group is filled with bias, secrecy, and has rejected scientific evidence. This group is angling to make gender transition medicine widely available with little to no scientific evidence to support their agenda.

I joined 28 of my colleagues to call on the WHO to dissolve this group immediately. If it isn’t ended, many people who suffer from gender dysphoria will be at risk of using improper drugs and medicinal techniques, and countries around the world will be subject to the WHO’s transgender campaign. This group must end.

You can read the letter I sent to the WHO here.

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WEEKLY ROUND[S] UP: November 18-22, 2024

Last week was another busy week out in DC! We took 48 votes on the Senate floor as Democrats attempted to confirm as many of President Biden’s nominees as possible before they lose their majority in January. With leadership elections over, we also returned to more regular activity in terms of meetings, hearings and briefings. I had the opportunity to meet with South Dakota groups, including leaders from several tribes in South Dakota. I also attended a few events to discuss advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) as well. All this and more in my Weekly Round[s] Up:

South Dakotans I met with: Leadership from the Oglala Sioux Tribe, including President Frank Star Comes Out; leadership from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, including newly-elected President Kathleen Wooden Knife; leadership from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, including Chairwoman Janet Alkire; Dr. Julie Thorstenson, Executive Director of the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society and member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe; Dr. José-Marie Griffiths, President of Dakota State University and Dr. Ashley Podhradsky, Vice President for Research & Economic Development at Dakota State University; and Chris Baumgartner and Ryan Norrell from Basin Electric Power Cooperative.

Met with South Dakotans from: Eagle Butte, Lantry, Madison, Mission, Onida, Pine Ridge and Watertown.

Other meetings: Christopher Waller, member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve; Adriana Kugler, member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve; Sam Feist, CEO of C-SPAN; Dr. Jon Kosloski, Director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO); Henry Schuck, CEO of ZoomInfo; Ian Bremmer, President of Eurasia Group; Brian Anderson, President of the Coalition for Health AI; Thomas Tull; Gregory Allen, Director of the Wadhwani AI Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; and Ana Botin, Executive Chairman of Santander Group. I spoke at the American Fintech Council’s Policy Summit and at FinRegLab’s AI Symposium. I also hosted an AI Visionaries dinner where I had the opportunity to sit down with leaders from all across the field and discuss the future of AI in the United States. 

I hosted our Senate Bible Study in my office, where our verse of the week was 2 Corinthians 5:20. I also attended a prayer breakfast with Mathilde Mukantabana, Rwanda’s Ambassador to the United States.

Halifax International Security Forum: This weekend, I joined a group of my colleagues in attending the Halifax International Security Forum in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. This conference is always a good opportunity to connect with our allies from around the world to discuss our international security priorities. I spoke on a panel regarding the challenge we face in supporting Ukraine’s defense of their homeland against Russia. You can watch the clip of that here.

Votes taken: 48 – almost all of these have been on nominations to judicial positions across the country.

Legislation Introduced: I introduced the “Returning Education to Our States Act” which would eliminate the U.S. Department of Education and redistribute all critical federal programs under other departments. Despite the Department spending $16,000 per student per year, standardized test scores have been dropping over the past ten years, further displaying the federal Department’s ineffectiveness on the quality of education for American students. Local school boards and state Departments of Education know best what their students need, not unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. My legislation would redirect critical programs like Title I, special education and tribal programs to Departments of Interior, Treasury, Health and Human Services, Labor and State. Most importantly, there would be NO cuts to current funding levels. Read more here.

Floor Action: I delivered remarks on the Senate floor requesting passage of the Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act. This legislation would place 40 acres of land at the site of the Wounded Knee Massacre, purchased by the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in 2022, into restricted fee status. Unfortunately, my attempt to pass this bill was blocked by Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). I will keep working to get this legislation across the finish line.

Hearings: We had two closed hearings in the Select Committee on Intelligence.

Classified briefings: I attended two classified briefings this week: one on biotechnology as part of my work on the Select Committee on Intelligence and the other on Ukraine as part of my work on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

My staff in South Dakota visited: Aberdeen, Madison, Mitchell, Wall and Watertown.

Steps taken this past week: 51,269 steps or 25.73 miles.

Video of the week: I joined Fox News on Thursday to discuss my new bill “Returning Education to Our States Act” as well as President-elect Trump’s cabinet picks:

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Senator Sydney Davis to Receive CSG 20 Under 40 Leadership Award
20 up-and-coming elected and appointed state officials to be awarded at the 2024 CSG National Conference

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 20, 2024) — The Council of State Governments has selected Senator Sydney Davis as one of 20 recipients to receive the 2024 CSG 20 Under 40 Leadership Award. This year’s class, representing U.S. 16 states and territories across all four CSG regions, is composed of esteemed and accomplished public servants whose hard work and dedication to public service is exhibited through service to their communities.

“I am truly honored to be recognized for leadership on behalf of my district and state. This acknowledgment demonstrates the importance of collaboration, hard work, and the power of public service to create meaningful change. I share this recognition with my family, mentors, and the incredible community I am privileged to serve. It inspires me to continue working tirelessly for a better future for South Dakota and beyond,” said Senator Sydney Davis. “One of the things I’m most proud of as a legislator is that many of the bills and ideas I’ve brought to Pierre originated directly from conversations with friends and neighbors back home. That means so much to me because that’s exactly how our process should work. It should reflect the voices of the people—bringing forward their questions, concerns, and ideas for solutions. I’ve been honored to help turn those ideas into meaningful policy.”

CSG annually welcomes outstanding leaders to join the 20 Under 40 community who exemplify a commitment to bipartisan and innovative solutions. While politically and personally diverse, the 2024 class is united in their pursuit of advancing the common good.

Senator Sydney Davis was elected to represent District 17 in 2020, where she has been a champion for her constituents and a dedicated voice for rural South Dakota. As the prime sponsor, she has successfully guided 16 bills to final passage and co-sponsored 77 bills signed into law, addressing critical issues like health care, workforce development, and small business support. A lifelong South Dakotan, Senator Davis brings a passion for community, a commitment to common-sense solutions, and a collaborative approach to leadership that delivers real results for the people she serves.

“As these exceptional leaders step forward to shape the future of their states, they embody the values that drive our work at The Council of State Governments — civility, collaboration and innovation,” said David Adkins, CSG executive director/CEO. “The 2024 CSG 20 Under 40 Leadership Award recipients represent the best of public service, demonstrating that leadership knows no age. Their achievements inspire confidence in the promise of state government to meet the challenges of tomorrow.”

“Recipients of the CSG 20 Under 40 Leadership Award showcase the incredible influence young leaders are having across the country to make meaningful impact in their states,” said Lorna Patches, CSG director of leadership development. “We look forward to having the opportunity to feature their achievements and celebrate their success during our annual national conference in December.”

The CSG 20 Under 40 Leadership Award was launched in 2020, inspired by the vision of New Hampshire Sen. Lou D’Allesandro, a devoted public servant of more than 50 years. As the 2019 CSG National Chair, D’Allesandro recognized a need for CSG to foster engagement with younger state leaders. Thanks to his efforts, the talents of 100 emerging elected and appointed state officials have since been recognized.

“The young leaders recognized with the award are a diverse group of change makers whose passion for public service matches the enthusiasm Sen. D’Allesandro has brought to his many public service roles,” Adkins said. “Coach Lou’s legacy looms large in the New Hampshire Capitol and his dedication to serve others is embodied in the recipients of the award he inspired.”

CSG 20 Under 40 Leadership Award recipients are selected from a competitive pool of applicants based on their bipartisan work, leadership and work within a specific policy area. Award nominees have demonstrated excellence in one or more of the following areas:

• Ability to engage officials across party, departments, branch and/or state lines in meaningful ways to advance the common good for their state/territory.
• Provide exceptional leadership to a state project, committee, chamber, commission or special
• Serve as a champion of change and seek to enhance the lives of all constituents within a specific policy area.

In addition to being an elected or appointed state official from a U.S. state or territory, nominees must be age 40 or younger on Dec. 31 of the year in which they are selected.

Recipients of the 2024 CSG Under 40 Leadership Award will be recognized at the CSG National Conference, Dec. 4-7, in New Orleans.

To learn more about the CSG 20 Under 40 Leadership Award, visit web.csg.org/20-40. Applications will reopen in spring 2025 for next year’s class of award recipients.

About The Council of State Governments

The Council of State Governments is our nation’s only organization serving all three branches of state government. CSG is a region-based forum that fosters the exchange of insights and ideas to help state officials shape public policy. This offers unparalleled regional, national and international opportunities to network, develop leaders, collaborate and create problem-solving partnerships.

For more information about The Council of State Governments, visit csg.org.

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