Category: Uncategorized

In case you didn’t catch this hot item from a dark musty corner of the Internet:

5 Things You Didn’t Know About the Annette Bosworth Case

On July 1, 2015, former U.S. Senate Candidate was sentenced to 24 years in the state penitentiary to run concurrently, the harshest sentence ever leveled at a candidate.

Read it here.

28 years in the pen? Er, yeah. No wonder no one has ever heard of the Women’s Party.

(…..After that….. Must resist joke that would earn me an arm punch from my daughters….)

South Dakota Marks Fourth Consecutive Fiscal Year End With Surplus
PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota state government closed the 2015 budget year on June 30 marking the fourth consecutive year with a surplus, Gov. Dennis Daugaard announced today. The state general fund budget for Fiscal Year 2015 ended with both higher revenues and lower expenditures than budgeted. 

Revenue growth for the completed 2015 fiscal year exceeded estimates adopted by the Legislature last March by $10 million, or 0.71 percent. In addition, state agencies also demonstrated fiscal restraint, spending $11.5 million less than appropriated, or 0.84 percent. In total, the state’s financial picture improved by $21.5 million from the March fiscal year 2015 estimates.

“When I took office, balancing the budget was my number one priority. Now, for four years in a row, we have maintained structural balance in our budget and we’ve done so without using one-time revenues or rainy day funds,” said Gov. Daugaard. “We had a strong finish to the fiscal year. Our ongoing revenues came in higher than projected and our expenses came in lower than budgeted. This leaves us in an enviable position as we begin the new fiscal year and increases our ability to continue responsible budget practices for Fiscal Year 2016.”

South Dakota’s sales and use tax receipts, the state’s largest revenue source, finished the fiscal year right at the projections, growing 0.03 percent over the revised projections and 1.6 percent over last year’s levels. Collections from the sales and use tax accounted for 61 percent of ongoing general fund receipts in FY2015.

Other notable revenue increases came from the contractor’s excise tax and insurance company tax, which grew 10.7 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively, over FY2014. Notable revenue reductions include the bank franchise tax, declining 20.4 percent , and ongoing unclaimed property at 11.5 percent, compared to the prior year. Ongoing receipts to the general fund totaled $1,381,384,943, which combined with nonrecurring receipts of $36,404,005 yields total general fund receipts of $1,417,788,948.  

State agencies again remained within their appropriated budgets in FY2015. Collectively, the three branches of state government spent $11,535,637 less than appropriated. The lion’s share of this – over $5.1 million – was seen in the Department of Social Services, where utilization growth in Medicaid has remained lower than estimates. Another $5 million of unspent appropriation was by the Department of Education, where reduced enrollments and increased tax assessments provided savings to general funds during the FY2015 fiscal year. 

South Dakota state government ended FY2015 by transferring $21.5 million to the Budget Reserve Fund, as required by law. The state’s Budget Reserve Fund now has a $126,737,303 balance, and the Property Tax Reduction Fund which has transitioned to the General Revenue Replacement Fund has a $44,000,048 balance. 

The combination of those two funds, totaling $170,737,351, represents a combined reserve of 12.3 percent of total general fund spending for FY2015.

For more information, go to the Bureau of Finance and Management’s homepage at bfm.sd.gov.

                   -30-

Sad news from the Capital Journal, apparently State Representative Tim Rounds has taken ill, suffering a stroke:

State Rep. Tim Rounds is hospitalized after suffering what was apparently a stroke, sources said Sunday.

“That’s what we have been praying about all weekend,” one legislator told the Capital Journal.

But the family and some legislative members of the Republican legislator, who is 55, have kept the news pretty low-key. More than one Pierre area party leader hadn’t heard yet Sunday about Rounds’ hospitalization.

Rounds is from a big family. One of his 10 siblings is his older brother, U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D.

Read it all here in the Capital Journal.

Scary stuff. I just saw Tim a few weeks ago in DC, where he was visiting at the same time I was. Please keep he and his family in your prayers.

Governor Daugaard was just noting on KCCR radio that he doesn’t think a special session is going to happen, simply because the Blue Ribbon task force is only part-way done:

South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard says while he respects the ability of state legislators to call themselves into a special session, he doubts it will happen.

And…

Daugaard says he doesn’t think there is a consensus on any approach to education funding…

Daugaard says he thinks most legislators want to wait and see what the “Blue Ribbon Task Force on Education” comes up with…

Read (and listen) to it all here.

Emerging Leaders 2015 Review
by Representative Mathew Wollmann

I was first informed about the Emerging Leaders program at the close of this past legislative session. I heard nothing but great things about this challenging but rewarding opportunity and was graciously nominated by Representative Dean Wink, the speaker of the House. After being nominated I was required to submit my resume, answer a multitude of questions, and give reasons why I wanted to attend the program. The program receives over 200 applications from across the United States, while only 50 are chosen. I was honored to be selected to attend this year’s program.

Monday July 6^th I left Sioux Falls airport and made my way to the historical University of Virginia. Upon arrival I got settled into my room, and got ready to meet the staff, faculty, and legislative members I would be working with for the next three days. Before attending it was required to read the books, “The Second Machine Age”, “Plato’s Republic”, and “What got you here won’t get you there”. These assignments also included multiple exerts regarding nutrition, leadership, and economic development.

That first day we started bright and early discussing economic inequality and the new machine age we are finding ourselves in. Professor Edward Freeman the faculty leader led the discussion. I very much enjoyed this discussion being the youngest participant and growing up with technology my entire life. I almost feel that we as a generation have been shaped and molded along with the technology we live with on a day to day basis. Education and technology drove most of the conversation. It was agreed upon among the group that we as a society need to start from a young age teaching kids what a computer really is, and how powerful of a tool it can be. And we as legislators need to keep up with technology ensuring that society can benefit the most from it, that being economically or socially. When it comes to technology you have producers and consumers. Today’s society is able to see media and information at extremely fast rates, while being anywhere in the world. No more Pony Express. It’s alright to be a consumer, but in order to fully optimize the technology in your hands society must teach each other to become producers. Instructing our youth & youngsters to not just consume what technology has to offer, but produce new technology & innovations for others to consume. This can be accomplished by providing computer science courses within elementary schools, emerging today’s youth into coding classes at a young age.

We transitioned from technology and started to discuss Plato’s Republic focusing on the cave allegory with Professor Dominic Scott leading the discussion. We were in fantastic hands being that Scott is a visiting Fellow at Merton College Oxford. This passage describes what it’s like to spend life in a cave, to leave the cave, and then to return only to be disappointed on how difficult it is to bring your ideas across. No matter how great the idea there will always be those that disagree completely, are hesitant, or those that will follow you out of the cave to see the light. I saw this from multiple different standpoints, and at no time ever thought that as a legislator I am the only one attempting to find the light. One fantastic idea emerged from the discussion that multiple other states already implement. During a designated amount of time, state legislators would switch districts and hear from a different group of constituents to try and gain a better idea about what can be done at a state level to help all citizens. I would like to see something like this within South Dakota to keep us all out of the dark. My favorite quote from the class summed this section up very well. Education is not a matter of instilling knowledge, like putting sight into blind eyes, it is a process of reorientation involving the soul in its entirety.

Next on the agenda was public and private partnerships led by Professor Mary Margaret. Mary is an Associate Professor of Business Administration. This was very interesting because we had a room full of around fifty legislators from across the U.S, along with representatives from corporations such as Comcast, Wal-Mart, and Darden Restaurants who each brought a different perspective. Phenomenal discussion was had and it became clear how businesses are more than just a store for consumers. They are an integral part of a community. The success of local businesses can make a community either thrive, become stagnant, or worse fail.

We also discussed how regular exercise helps. Registered Dietitian Jodi H. Harris led the discussion. I firmly believe that it is a balance between mental, physical, and spiritual strength in order to achieve great results. To sum up the class, cut mindless eating, ditch the sugary drinks, even your fruit juices, and always make time in your day for exercise.

Simulations were also implemented to let us all work together to solve simulated problems. Our first tested our ethical behavior and put us in charge of a toy department. It was all computer based, and we were instructed to take our newly developed toy and properly market and distribute it to make the most profit. We found out later on that our toy was made with a certain plastic that 1/100,000 children and adults were allergic to. This among other problems tested our ethical behavior, and gave us a score at the end. The next morning in class we not only dedicated the whole morning to ethics, but discussed our scores as a group. My personal favorite was where we discussed ethical issues each legislator has seen within their state. My eyes were opened to unethical behavior that is just not seen at the South Dakota level. This made me very proud to serve in a state that doesn’t need an ethics commission to remain ethical.

We all have bad habits. Even the best leaders the world has seen had bad habits. But the key is to distinguish those habits and learn to suppress them. That is exactly what we covered in the book, “What got you here won’t get you there”. In the book, the author lists 20 bad habits that challenges our interposal behavior. These habits include adding too much value, or always having the desire to add our 2 cents to every discussion, providing needless sarcasm or cutting remarks, starting sentences with negatives, not listening, passing the buck, or even failing to express gratitude. We discussed each of these in depth, and even took 45 minutes to pair up and discuss personally what we ourselves need to change to become a better leader. I highly encourage everyone to search for these twenty bad habits online, and make a personal commitment to change them one at a time.

It all wasn’t classroom material. We had the distinct opportunity to tour Monticello, President Jefferson’s home. I have previously had the opportunity to visit Mt. Vernon and can say that both are must visits. Jefferson’s Monticello shows off his architecture skills as well as his scientific studies and inventions. I can say that both President Washington and Jefferson know how to pick a great location to settle down. This wasn’t our only trip off campus though. Professor Freeman was so kind to invite us all to his personal residence. I believe this just shows how dedicated and down to earth all of our instructors were.

In summary, the SLLF Emerging Leaders Program is by far the greatest leadership conference I have attended. Walking into the classroom, the letters before your name are dropped, and everyone works together to discuss topics without politics getting in the way. The corporate members attending give us an insight to how businesses view politicians and government. There was never a time where I felt solicited, or troubled that they were in our presence. Many individuals may feel that corporate dollars have no place within legislative leadership conferences, but I think it shows the support that the business community has to develop future leaders of America. At the end of the day we all tie our shoes the same way, and all want what is best for future generations.

In closing I would like to thank Speaker Dean Wink for the nomination, the support by The State Legislative Leaders Foundation led by President Stephen G. Lakis, the donations from many business sponsors, the amazing faculty and staff, and of course the other fifty or so members attending the course.

If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Representative Mathew Wollmann at 605-480-3038 or email at [email protected].

South Dakota’s State Treasurer Rich Sattgast had a nice piece written about him in the Rapid City Journal this AM. And according to the article, apparently, he’s Santa:

For South Dakota State Treasurer Richard Sattgast, nearly every day is Christmas. And, to his distinct pleasure, he gets to play Santa Claus.

and…

On a personal level, Sattgast said the program has changed his own world.

“It’s made a great impact in my life,” he said by phone from his Pierre office. “This is definitely the most fun of all the state treasurer’s duties. When is returning something that has been lost not a great feeling? When you’ve found someone’s wallet and you’re able to give it back to them, that’s the feeling I get to feel every day.”

Sattgast said the range of items and their values returned to South Dakotans were quite diverse. Since assuming his post, he said, he has found for state legislators stock dividends that were valued at 25 cents. He also once returned property that looked like a Hot Lotto jackpot.

“When I first became state treasurer five years ago, I was able to return over $1 million to a family in Sioux Falls,” Sattgast recalled. “They actually were a fairly well-to-do family in South Dakota, and the father had passed away. The estate had been settled, but they had missed stock in an oil company in Colorado. They were grateful, I will say that.”

Read it all here.

Protecting Against West Nile Virus
A column by Gov. Dennis Daugaard:

It used to be mosquitoes weren’t much cause for concern. We considered them a nuisance, but otherwise mostly harmless. It wasn’t until 13 years ago when West Nile Virus emerged in South Dakota that the nuisance became a formidable health concern.

Just weeks ago, at the end of June, the South Dakota Department of Health reported the state’s first West Nile case of the year in Brown County. Though there has only been one human case reported thus far, mosquito pools in two counties have tested positive for the virus. History tells us the peak transmission for West Nile in South Dakota is in August – so we can expect to see more cases.

There is no vaccine or specific anti-viral treatment for people who become infected with West Nile. Mild symptoms include fever, headache, body aches, rash and stomach sickness. Less than one percent of those who contract the illness develop serious neurological infections which can be fatal. Still, of 2,168 human cases reported in South Dakota since 2002, 677 individuals have been hospitalized and 32 people have died.

From the first detections of West Nile in South Dakota the state has worked closely with local mosquito control programs, offering educational opportunities and funding support. Over the years the state has provided cities, counties and tribes with more than $6 million in either direct funding or control chemicals. Just a week ago the Department awarded $490,000 in grants to 180 programs across the state to help control mosquitoes and reduce the threat of West Nile.

There are a number of ways to protect yourself from contracting the virus. Use mosquito repellent. Wear long sleeves and pants outside. Limit your time outdoors from dusk to midnight when mosquitoes are most active. Get rid of any standing water in your yard. And support local mosquito control efforts.

Those who are over 50, pregnant women, transplant patients, and individuals with diabetes, high blood pressure, or a history of alcohol abuse should take extra precautions because they may be at greater risk of developing severe symptoms.

The spread of West Nile isn’t inevitable. Let’s do what we can this summer to protect ourselves and others from this harmful virus.

-30-

Hang on! I’m on my way home from yesterday’s awesome Twins game where we had plenty of fun.

What do you do if you don’t like the educational funding task force’s focus?  If you’re Elizabeth May and Phil Jensen, you demand a special session, and ominously warn legislators they’ll be on a list!

The legislators — state Sen. Phil Jensen and state Reps. Elizabeth May, Lance Russell, Lynne DiSanto, Chip Campbell and Sam Marty — are criticizing a Blue Ribbon Task Force appointed by Gov. Dennis Daugaard to help resolve the funding crisis that is keeping teacher salaries low.

At a press conference Thursday in Rapid City, the six said they have been shut out of the task force’s deliberations because their priority is eliminating Common Core from South Dakota education standards. Russell also used the conference to propose possible solutions to the fiscal squeeze.

And…

The group wants a special legislative session to discuss Common Core, which South Dakota adopted in 2010. Common Core outlines specific standards in English language arts, math, history and social studies, science and technical subjects.

And…

May said the group is also working to create a website on which South Dakota residents can see how their representatives voted on the issue. 

“We are not any less elected than the members of the Blue Ribbon Task Force,” May said. “Legislators are elected to lead, and we don’t agree with the way the Blue Ribbon Task Force was set up.”

Read it all here.

Ugh. Are they still perseverating on common core not being part of a study on funding and salaries? Really?

Did they not read the group’s mission statement? According to the Blue Ribbon Task Force’s website:

This task-force will reevaluate the current funding formula, collect and analyze data, engage with stakeholders, and seek public input. The task-force will then make recommendations to the 2016 State Legislature for reform.

We need to understand where teacher shortages are occurring and what can be done to address them. We need to ask why 12 states can spend less per student than South Dakota, yet pay their teachers more. We need to ask why, even as we hear growing concerns about teacher salaries, many schools’ reserve funds are increasing. These questions need to be answered with hard data, not anecdotes or opinion surveys.

Read that here.

The task force is focused on funding and teacher pay. Not curriculum standards that are already argued about ad nauseum already during session.

And who cares if they’re going to have a list of who votes on a special session? I’d be watching it to see who wants to waste taxpayer dollars on a special session.

As a parent with 4 kids left to be educated in the K-12 system, my vote is to let the task force do it’s job.

And really, what’s the hurry? There will be plenty of time to review the task force’s results AND fight about common core next January.