Gov. Rhoden Signs 14 Bills into Law 

Gov. Rhoden Signs 14 Bills into Law 

PIERRE, S.D. –  Today, Governor Larry Rhoden signed the following 14 bills into law: 

  • SB 1 updates references to certain federal motor carrier regulations; 
  • SB 2 increases civil penalties for commercial driver violations; 
  • SB 5 permits a sheriff to charge a fee for service of process, whether service is completed or not; 
  • SB 10 shortens the time before records of a Governor or a lieutenant governor are opened to the public; 
  • SB 13 clarifies the enactment and effective date of a measure initiated or referred within a political subdivision; 
  • SB 30 removes outdated provisions within the insurance code; 
  • SB 36 repeals the oath requirement for an application for a lodging establishment, campground, food service establishment, or mobile food service establishment license; 
  • SB 38 modifies requirements for a vehicle approaching a vehicle that is stopped or occupying the shoulder of the highway with warning lights flashing; 
  • SB 39 revises the description of highways included in the state trunk highway system; 
  • SB 40 revises Department of Transportation regulatory authority regarding aeronautics; 
  • SB 41 clarifies the minimum age requirements for a hunting license; 
  • HB 1011 revises provisions related to the stenographic recording of certain proceedings; 
  • HB 1022 prohibits the misbranding of any cell-cultured protein product; and 
  • HB 1049 updates the official code of laws.

Governor Rhoden has signed 15 bills into law this legislative session. 

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SB51 – Mandatory Ten Commandments posting bill up today in the House

The ten commandments bill, Senate Bill 51,  which notes in part the following…

Section 1. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 13-24:

The board of a school district shall display the Ten Commandments in each classroom in each school located within the district. The display must be a poster or document that is at least eight inches by fourteen inches. The text of the Ten Commandments must be the focus of the poster or document and must be printed in large, easily readable font.

..proposing to post the ten commandments in every High School swim class and welding class is up for debate today, and I’m already listening to proponents try to pooh pooh the fact that they will have to teach this in every class.

We can hope they get rid of this nonsense and leave schools alone – via local control – to decide what’s in the curriculum of our local schools.

So, are they going to rate themselves poorly in the next election?

Someone had mentioned this in a prior post, but it brings up a good point about what legislators are doing in Pierre this year, versus how they talked about following the Republican Party platform in the last election:

4.0 Education and Cultural Affairs

4.2 Local Control – We support returning control of the school curriculum to the parents and communities that fund it. We support the elimination of all federally mandated requirements.

(From the SDGOP 2024 platform.)

So, when legislators are trying to force items on to local school districts such as posting the 10 commandments in every classroom, are they going to give themselves a de-merit for not giving community school boards local control?

Change of plea hearing set in former Black Hills area TV news anchor Shad Olson’s domestic abuse case

The domestic abuse case against former Black Hills area TV news anchor and Neal Tapio campaign staffer Shad Olson appears to be winding to a close almost a year to the day after allegations first arose from his girlfriend who had called police:

If you recall when the arrest was first made, according to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader:

Olson, 51, was arrested last Sunday after an alleged altercation two days prior in Rapid City, where he “slammed” his girlfriend down on the ground multiple times and chased her around the house, a probable cause affidavit states.

Olson previously served as campaign counsel to Tapio, a Republican candidate who lost to U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson and then-Secretary of State Shantel Krebs in a bid to win the incumbent congressman’s district during the state’s 2018 House of Representative’s election.

and..

The report continues that Olson then “flipped her over and picked her up and threw [her] down on the floor” four or five times.

The victim expressed she felt lucky she was thrown on a carpeted floor, because the alleged assault did not leave her with broken bones.

Read that entire story here.

Olson was charged with felony assault charges, and which left him unable to bond out of jail and petitioning for a court-appointed attorney on the basis of his inability to afford counsel. Until Olson was bailed out of jail on a $5000 cash bond by former District 34 State Legislative candidate Jodi Frye at the end of February.

Moving forward, in November of 2024  in a surprise move the Meade County State’s Attorney dropped the felony charges, leaving the former TV anchor facing two class 1 misdemeanor assault charges.

Olson had requested a jury trial on the misdemeanor charges which had been set for February 6th, however according to court records the hearing that was supposed to happen last week has now been changed to a Change of Plea/Sentencing hearing at the defendant’s request, set to take place on March 13th:

Set your calendars ahead to March 13th, which also happens to be the last day of the regular run of the legislative session.

 

House Ed looks as if it will be a treat at 7:45 AM, with lawsuits for not using proper names, and showing abortion videos to 9th graders

It looks like crazy will be in full force in House Education Committee in the AM, with an awful slate of legislation on deck.  Here’s what legislators – including Phil Jensen, whom House leadership left in place after his embarrassing bill to defund the Huron School District – will be judging the worthiness of to continue to the House Floor:

BILL HEARINGS

  • HB 1177       require an employee of a school district, the Board of Regents, or the South Dakota Board of Technical Education to receive permission of a parent or guardian of an unemancipated minor student before addressing the student with a name other than the student’s legal name and to prohibit the compulsory use of gendered language inconsistent with sex (Introduced).  Introduced by: Representative Rice
    This bill would make School Districts liable for damages is a teacher calls a student by a nickname, such as Bubba, if that was not the child’s proper name, without written parental permission. And it gets into other stuff.
  • HB 1201       establish requirements for school counseling services (Introduced) Introduced by: Representative Manhart
    This is Logan Manhart’s mandatory gay thought reporting bill to make janitors or lunch ladies potentially forced to fill out a report and notify authorities if they have  an interaction with a kindergartner where a girl says “they wish they were a boy.”
  • HB 1180       require that a candidate for election to the board of a school district disclose the candidate’s party affiliation on a declaration of candidacy (Introduced) Introduced by: Representative Rice
    Because she does not believe people are capable of looking it up, Rep. Rice wants to pass a law to add party to nominating petitions for school board.
  • HB 1182        provide for the recall of a member of a board of a school district.  Introduced by: Representative Rice
    As noted. Not sure why we would be able to recall school board members and not the people in the Legislature.
  • HB 1183       amend the other revenue base amount available to certain school districts (Introduced).  Introduced by: Representative Gosch
    Rep. Gosch seems to be messing with the school funding formula for small, sparse schools, possibly making them non-sparse.  This will likely be referred to appropriations.
  • HB 1171       require that a school curriculum include human growth and development within the health curriculum (Introduced) Introduced by: Representative Randolph
    Per Rep. Randolph, Anti-abortion propaganda will be included in all school health curriculum.
  • HB 1172       require that a high school health curriculum include human sexuality and human development within the womb (Introduced). Introduced by: Representative Randolph
    Again, per Rep. Randolph, starting in the 9th grade, High School Students will have to watch videos of babies being ripped apart via abortion, like in a Faces of Death video from back in the 1980’s.

Like many South Dakotans, I find this legislative session just painful to watch at this point.

100th Legislative Session 2025 – Week 4 by Rep. Mike Weisgram

100th Legislative Session 2025 – Week 4
by Rep. Mike Weisgram

It’s Friday after session and I am wrapping up my thoughts and checking my notes for the week. We just completed a five-day week, and the pace of bill hearings and floor activity is accelerating. 

I won’t dwell on the most upsetting thing that happened this week, but I feel I must address it. One of our House members proposed legislation (HB 1224) to deny the Huron School District of any further appropriation through state aid to education. His reasoning, as I understand it, was to protest a bathroom policy that he perceived to allow biological boys to use the girls’ restrooms. This legislation caused a fire storm of controversy, which led him to withdraw the legislation and to his vice-chairmanship of the House Education committee to be revoked. 

On another topic, we talk a lot about “local control” in the legislative body. There is strong sentiment that local control should be a foundational component on which we make decisions and vote. This is a shared mindset among legislators, until it’s intermittently abandoned for bills that dictate to communities what they must or must not do. Unfortunately, several bills came through this week when we, as a legislature, seemed to forget about the local expertise and good judgement of our school boards, city councils or commissions (i.e. local control). While I find this frustrating, I always return to showing my fellow lawmakers respect and communicating in a positive manner to why we have different opinions.  My mother used to remind me that I am not always right, so I temper my emotions and look forward to the times we can reach an impactful consensus.
This week we also received the latest financial update on sales tax receipts. It isn’t encouraging. Unfortunately, it’s a very tough budget year, so while I advocate to restore current funding to the state library and SDPB, I must be honest with you, everything will be on the table. The appropriations committee and our caucus will have to make difficult decisions.

Regarding spending, I have gotten a few inquiries and opinions from constituents about the proposed prison construction, even though it is a hotter topic for citizens in the Sioux Falls area. This is a big deal as it is an 825-million-dollar investment. Yet, in my opinion, it is responsible to replace the old prison sooner than later. My reasons are as follows:

1. It is undeniable that it will need to be replaced in the near future.
2. One-time money from unclaimed property is available for this project (as previously allocated to the prison fund).
3. The building costs will only continue to inflate the longer we wait.

As a legislature, we have never given the SD Department of Corrections a reason to not move forward with planning, preparing, and expending money to have architectural and engineering plans drawn up for site preparation. In fact, we’ve continued to fill the prison construction fund, session after session, with money, which undoubtably gave that department the indication that moving forward was prudent. The Department of Corrections may not have successfully communicated the proposed location of the new prison with residents in the area, but I don’t fault them for going forward. That discussion will come forward next week, and I expect lively, heated, and emotional testimonies… and hard votes for legislators. 

All in all, it was a good week with a couple of bumps in the road. We are moving forward with the goal of doing our due diligence on proposed legislation and casting our votes appropriately.

I choose to be optimistic and will do my best to do good things for South Dakota. 

Senator John Thune’s Weekly Column: Where’s the Beef From?

Where’s the Beef From?
By Sen. John Thune

Grazing cattle are not an uncommon sight in South Dakota. Ranching has long been a part of our way of life, and we take our beef seriously. But when you go to the grocery store, you can’t determine if the beef you’re buying is from the ranch down the road or from another country. You can look at the label on your shirt to find out where it’s from, but why don’t we label the beef we eat?

I’m a longtime supporter of mandatory country of origin labeling (MCOOL) for beef. American beef producers – in South Dakota and across the country – work hard to produce high-quality beef. Many consumers would prefer to know whether the package of ground beef or steak that they’re buying is an American product. Requiring a country of origin label would provide transparency that benefits both consumers and producers.

I supported provisions in both the 2002 and 2008 farm bills that required MCOOL for beef. Unfortunately, in 2015, the World Trade Organization (WTO) struck down America’s labeling requirements. Since then, I’ve worked with many of my colleagues in Congress and successive administrations to restore country of origin labeling for beef. While I appreciate recent U.S. Department of Agriculture changes limiting the voluntary “Product of the USA” label to beef born, raised, slaughtered, and processed in the United States, there is still more work to be done.

I recently reintroduced the American Beef Labeling Act, which would require the U.S. trade representative (USTR) and the secretary of agriculture to develop a WTO-compliant means of reinstating mandatory country of origin labeling for beef. My bipartisan bill would require the USTR to have a reinstatement plan in place within six months and implement it within the following six months. If a year passes without MCOOL being reinstated, it would be automatically restored.

South Dakota beef producers will have a friend at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the Trump administration. President Trump’s choice for secretary of agriculture, Brooke Rollins, grew up on a family-run farm. She understands the needs of farmers and ranchers, and I was pleased that she expressed a willingness in her confirmation hearing to work with me to reinstate MCOOL for beef.

South Dakota agriculture producers work hard every day to produce high-quality food and fuel for America and the world. They deserve fair and transparent markets to sell the fruits of their labor. I will continue to work to keep America’s farms and ranches strong.

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Congressman Dusty Johnson’s Weekly Update: Keeping men out of women’s sports and fentanyl off our streets

Keeping men out of women’s sports and fentanyl off our streets
By Rep. Dusty Johnson
February 7, 2025

BIG Update

The Biden Administration’s open border policies allowed fentanyl to flow across the border for four years. The outcome is tragic. Fentanyl poisoning is the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18-45. This illicit drug has ended thousands of lives, causing heartbreak and distress in families and communities nationwide.

Most of this fentanyl is coming from China, where it’s manufactured and then smuggled across America’s borders. I’ve been leading efforts to get tough on China and voted to pass the HALT Fentanyl Act to prevent fentanyl from becoming street-legal, ensuring law enforcement have the authority to seize the lethal drug and keep Americans safe.

President Trump has been leading efforts to crack down on Chinese fentanyl in America. Working with Congress, we will secure the border and get fentanyl off the streets.

BIG Idea

I met with Clay County Sheriff Andy Howe to discuss the Regional Information Sharing System (RISS). RISS is an important tool that assists law enforcement at all levels to help facilitate information sharing for criminal investigations and protect officers.

Sheriff Howe and Johnson

BIG News

February 5 was National Girls and Women in Sports Day. We’ve heard stories like Riley Gaines’ who had to compete against a biological man in a collegiate women’s swimming event. This is unfair to female athletes who have worked for years to improve and excel at a sport.

This week, President Trump signed an executive order to protect women’s sports. Whether at the elementary, middle, high school, or college level, females will no longer be forced to compete against biological men.

I strongly agree with the President and millions of Americans who want to ensure a level playing field for our daughters, nieces, granddaughters, and sisters. I cosponsored and voted to pass the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act to do the same as Trump’s executive order to permanently prevent men from competing in women’s sports. Now, the Senate must pass this bill so it can become law.

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Week 4 Legislative Report by Rep. Tim Reisch

Week 4 Legislative Report
by Rep. Tim Reisch

Things are getting interesting in Pierre, and not in a good way. In last week’s column I wrote about members of the House Education Committee having to fight off attempts to force South Dakota taxpayers to begin paying for kids to attend private schools. Well, it’s starting to feel like the “lets pick on public education” session of the SD Legislature. Here are a few examples:

Senate Bill 51 is a measure brought by freshman Senator John Carley of Piedmont, and Representative Phil Jensen of Rapid (and others) that would require a copy of the Ten Commandments be displayed in every classroom of every public school in the state. The bill made it across the Senate floor on a 18-17 vote and advanced through the House Education Committee 8-7. School board members and school administrators who have contacted me regarding this bill unanimously oppose it and I plan to vote against it when it gets to the House floor on Monday.

House Bill 1054 was a bill brought by Representative Al Novstrup of Aberdeen and Senator John Carley of Piedmont that would have required school boards to write policies on how they would utilize chaplains (either paid or volunteers) in their school districts. Again, school boards don’t want or need the state legislature telling them what programs they should be implementing. Fortunately, the bill was killed on the House floor 49-18.

In my opinion, the most outrageous bill introduced thus far was House Bill 1224 brought by Representative Phil Jensen. It would have curtailed all state funding to the Huron School District. It was reported that Jensen was targeting the school district for a policy decision regarding rest room usage. Fortunately for everyone involved, Representative Jensen withdrew the bill hours after he had introduced it.

One of the annual highlights of the legislative session, the National Guard Dining Out, was conducted on Thursday night. Many of the legislators’ spouses make the trip to Pierre to be a part of the formal military dinner. A good time was had by all. Many members of the National Guard in attendance were pleased that Senate Bill 82 had been killed earlier in the week. It was a bill brought by Senator Tom Pischke and Representative Aaron Aylward that would have prevented the South Dakota National Guard from being deployed unless war is formally declared. The problems associated with this measure are too numerous to mention here.

I enjoyed meeting with Madison Mayor Roy Lindsay, Madison School Superintendent Joel Jorgenson, Madison Public Library personnel and others during the week. If you want to get in touch with me during the session, my legislative email address is Tim.Reisch@sdlegislature.gov.