Category: Uncategorized

Lora Hubbel is mass spamming e-mail boxes this morning, using a list that many think she appropriated from the Minnehaha County Republicans.

I may have been musing about the “eat your babies” part in the post title, but her new rant today regards House Bill 1058, which seems to be a simple bill to clean up language, and make it applicable to diseases that aren’t specifically codified into law, so they wouldn’t have to have a special session if someone brought Ebola to the state.

Predictably, Lora takes that premise and says that if you have a fungus, she thinks THE STATE could seize your vehicle and luggage:

My take on HB 1058 (see link…you may want to print it out and follow along) http://legis.sd.gov/Legislative_Session/Bills/Bill.aspx?File=HB1058P.htm&Session=2015&cookieCheck=true has been written by the Executive branch (that in and of itself is a violation of our SD Constitution…even though we have allowed this for a long time). HB 1058 takes our current state law on managing Tuberculosis (SDCL 34-22) and guts it…replacing all the intensive state laws that used to be reserved for TB (SDCL 34-22-7), a single bacterium, and now applies state control over “contagious/communicable” diseases (both terms mean the same medically) This bill’s definition of contagious/communicable is very broad and could be construed to include the common cold and thousands of viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites, toxins, etc.

I find it interesting that right after President Obama makes an Executive Order to further implement ObamaCare making respiratory diseases subject to government control, isolation and quarantine…* The SD Dept of Health does even worse in this HB 1058.

Obviously if the state wanted to keep us safe from Ebola (as they are lobbying) they can just refer to Category I reportable diseases (Ebola’s generic name is Viral Hemorrhagic Fever…see http://doh.sd.gov/documents/diseases/infectious/RptDiseaseList.pdf )

What could happen if you have a contagious/communicable head cold? South Dakota wants to be able to:

1) Seize your vehicle and luggage, etc. They use the word “conveyance” which means “vehicle” when used as a noun, or “to transport” when used as a verb (Section 2).

2) Slap a Class II misdemeanor on you if you possibly have a cold and expose yourself to others in a public place (Section 4).

3) Control sick people by monitoring, quarantine and isolation (Section 7-5)

4) Demand that you be supervised to take the prescribed medical treatment and procedures for prevention (vaccines?) (Section 7-8)

5) Surrender to prescribed screening for state testing of communicable diseases (Section 8)

6) AND the personnel gathering your blood and administering treatments/vaccines do NOT need to be licensed (Section 9)

7) The STATE has authority to consult with doctors and others in diagnosing your cold or suspected cold (contagious disease)

8) The STATE wants the authority to enforce eradication of communicable diseases (they seriously wrote this!) which is a “cold” by this definition… through isolation, prevention (vaccine?) and treatment. (Section 12)

9) All confirmed cases of communicable diseases shall be under the surveillance of the department, which will diagnosis, control, and declare treatment of communicable diseases. (Section 14)

10) All category I reportable diseases (this is the first place the new bill mentions category I diseases and Ebola is already on this list under its generic name “Viral Hemorrhagic Fever” see link above) And a person suspected of having a communicable disease (possibly a cold) proclaimed by the department SHALL ACCEPT DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OR IS GUILTY OF A CLASS 1 MISDEMEANOR. (Section 15)

11) You may hire your own doctor BUT ALL SUSPECTED AND CONFIRMED COMMUNICABLE DISEASE shall be under surveillance of the department (section 16)

Jeez. My head hurts from all the crazy.