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Republican State Senator and (IMHO) awful person Julie Frye Mueller has issued a poorly worded & canned statement to the media which tries to downplay the negative interaction she had with an employee of the Legislative Research Council which got her stripped of her legislative committees and booted from caucus:

From Dakota News Now:

In a statement to Dakota News Now/KOTA Territory, Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller (R-Rapid City) accused Senate President Pro Tempore Lee Schoenbeck (R-Watertown) of “stripping the people of District 30 of representation on important topics that effect (sic) our district.”

and..

Frye-Mueller acknowledged that the reason for the controversy stemmed from a conversation that she had earlier this week with a Legislative Research Council (LRC) staffer, but said that that conversation did not revolve around the COVID-19 vaccine and it’s efficacy, as has been speculated in the State Capitol.

and..

“It is a sad day in America when advancing freedom becomes a crime,” Frye-Mueller said

Read the entire story here.

Aside from the fact that she’s denying it had anything to do with vaccines, I wonder who wrote this for her….  effect is a noun.  I probably don’t have to wonder, but I’ll wonder out loud anyway.

Did her ghostwriter actually say “It is a sad day in America when advancing freedom becomes a crime” in response to the accusation of Mueller being verbally abusive to a legislative employee?

With her defiance, I think we’re watching her dig a bigger hole for herself which is demanding that a Select Committee on Discipline be called in response.

(Here’s a soundbite that’s going to be played again and again.)

Today in the Democrat Leadership press conference, Democrat Assistant Majority Leader Erin Healy of Sioux Falls, whom no one would mistake as bring pro-life, referred to abortion as the “killing of a fetus”

Yes, abortion is “killing.” Thanks for saying the quiet part out loud, @SoDakDems.

No, women will not be prosecuted in South Dakota. Doctors who break the law will. pic.twitter.com/dnRgWyXYmR

— Ian Fury (@IanTFury) January 26, 2023

The Dakota Scout is reporting a bit more detail today regarding what I had mentioned in a comment last night, that “there was an interaction between an LRC staffer and JFM that left this person pretty upset.”

Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller was removed Wednesday from her assignments on the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and Local Government Committee after a legislative staffer complained that Frye-Mueller had been verbally abusive about the staffer’s family vaccination decisions.

Read that here (subscription required).

Julie Frye Mueller is accused of being verbally abusive? Perish the thought.

My question is that if they convene a Select Committee on Discipline, will Frye-Mueller’s attorney be R. Shawn Tornow or Steve Haugaard?

Congressman Dusty Johnson is the presiding officer for a time at the podium in the US House of Representatives today.

Possibly trying it on for size? You never know. He could be Speaker someday!

Bills Proposed to Strengthen Election Laws
Republican Lawmakers Announce Election Integrity Legislative Package

PIERRE–Republican lawmakers today announced the Stronger and Safer for 2024 legislative package to strengthen South Dakota’s election laws in an effort to protect the public’s confidence in the election system, reduce opportunities for fraud, expand transparency and improve the accuracy and security of the state’s voter registration system.

“As policy makers, it is our responsibility to make sure we have fair and honest elections with dependable results,” said Senate Majority Leader Casey Crabtree (R-District 8). “The people of South Dakota should have full confidence in our election results. These proposals are a step in the right direction to make sure South Dakota has some of the strongest election laws in the nation.”

“Republicans stand for fair and honest elections,” said House Majority Leader Will Mortenson (R-District 24). “In South Dakota, we have a good system, run by honest and capable local officials. We promised the voters we’d look under every rock to make it better and we have a package of legislation to do just that. Anyone who believes in election integrity is welcome to join the coalition.”

This package of common sense legislation is being introduced this session so that the updated laws are in effect for the 2024 election cycle. The coalition of lawmakers have spent time talking with voters, election officials, policy experts, and fellow lawmakers to develop legislation that enacts best practices from other states and makes common sense updates to our election process. 

Stronger and Safer for 2024 includes proposals to: secure ballot tabulation machines, establish a postelection audit process, establish distance requirements and poll watchers’ rights, ban unmonitored drop boxes, ban ballot harvesting activities, and clean up the state’s voter rolls. If enacted, these measures will strengthen South Dakota’s already strong election laws and further protect South Dakota’s reputation for fair and honest elections.

Republican lawmakers are committed to common sense solutions to strengthen South Dakota’s election laws with the Stronger and Safer for 2024 legislative package.

 

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I’m hearing lots of rumors on what happened today to get Julie Frye Mueller stripped of her committees.

And I’m being told from people at the Capitol that Senator Mueller, the spouse of the Pennington County GOP’s new Vice-Chair, may have also been barred from the Republican Senate Caucus.

Word is that she was way, way off base with a LRC employee, so we’ll have to wait for a report, and see if they have to convene a select committee on discipline.

Several rumors say it started with Mueller expressing her views, and then went downhill from there.

Just for the sake of a blast from the past from JFM, if you’re wondering how deep down the rabbit hole she might have been, for recommended viewing/reading….

from Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller still spreading crackpot theories on school handbooks. (2021)

and..

You can watch the video for yourself by clicking here.

 

WHOA!  I don’t know if this has ever happened in my 35 years of interacting with the legislature, but it looks like the awful State Senator Julie Frye Mueller has been stripped of her committees!

Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller (R-Rapid City) has been stripped of her two committee assignments because of an interaction she had with an LRC staffer earlier today. pic.twitter.com/evJoi5cJ8L

— Austin Goss (@AustinGossSD) January 25, 2023

I’m sure that was just Julie being Julie. But we’re going to hear more about this!

In House State Affairs Committee this AM, Phil Jensen found it to the be killing fields for at least one of his outrageously bad resolutions.

House Concurrent Resolution 6006, expressing sympathy for the people who raided the US Capitol, assaulted police, and were generally committing acts of violence and insurrection, was defeated on a 12-0 vote.

Thune, Tester, Rounds, Booker Reintroduce Bipartisan Beef Labeling Act  

Senators’ bipartisan legislation would reinstate mandatory country of origin labeling for beef

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), a longtime member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) today reintroduced the American Beef Labeling Act, legislation that would reinstate mandatory country of origin labeling (MCOOL) for beef. This legislation would require the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), in consultation with the secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to develop a World Trade Organization-compliant means of reinstating MCOOL for beef within one year of enactment. USTR would have six months to develop a reinstatement plan followed by a six-month window to implement it. If USTR fails to reinstate MCOOL for beef within one year of enactment, it would automatically be reinstated for beef only.

“Transparency in labeling would benefit both producers and consumers,” said Thune. “Unfortunately, the current beef labeling system in this country allows imported beef that is neither born nor raised in the United States, but simply finished here, to be labeled as a product of the USA. This process is unfair to cattle producers and misleading for consumers. When you see a ‘product of the USA’ label on the grocery store shelf, it should mean just that.

“South Dakota cattle producers work tirelessly to produce some of the highest quality beef in the world,” continued Thune. “To ensure the viability of cattle ranching in this country, the system in which producers operate must be fair and transparent. As a long-time supporter of MCOOL, I am proud to lead this legislation, and I will continue fighting to get it signed into law.”

“If you go to the store to buy a cut of beef you shouldn’t have to guess where that meat was born, raised, slaughtered, and processed,”said Tester. “For years, the big packers have been misleading consumers with deceptive labeling that undercuts the Montana ranchers who produce the best beef in the world. Reinstating Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling will add transparency to the marketplace, giving Montana producers a fair shake for their premium beef. I look forward to working with my colleagues to get it done.”

“It’s time to restore MCOOL for beef once and for all,” said Rounds. “Consumers deserve to know where their beef is coming from. America produces some of the best beef in the world. Right now, beef imported from overseas does not undergo the same health and safety standards as the quality beef grown in the United States. This is wrong, and consumers and cattle producers deserve better. The four major packers have unfairly influenced this market for far too long, and we need a national campaign to see this across the finish line. This bipartisan legislation is an important step in restoring market integrity for both cattle producers and consumers. For those of us who support MCOOL for beef, this is just the start. The nine major cattle-producing states won’t get this done alone, which is why it is key that consumers help drive and carry this policy debate.”

“This bipartisan legislation will help Americans know exactly where their beef is coming from,” said Booker. “More transparency will enable consumers to support local family farmers and ranchers, and I look forward to working with Senator Thune and Senator Tester to get this bill quickly enacted into law.”

U.S. Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) are cosponsors of the American Beef Labeling Act. The bipartisan legislation is supported by the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association, R-CALF USA, the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association, and the National Farmers Union.

Last year, Thune and Tester penned an op-ed in Agri-Pulse highlighting their commitment to building bipartisan support for MCOOL ahead of the next farm bill.

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Legislative Committee Unanimously Passes Attorney General Bills

PIERRE.S.D.  – Two additional South Dakota Attorney General bills were passed unanimously Tuesday morning by the state Senate Judiciary Committee.

Senate Bill 48 would enhance the penalty for attempted first degree murder of a law enforcement officer. Senate Bill 50 would revise the crime of witness tampering and provide prosecutors with a clearer authority to charge someone who corruptly influences witnesses.

“These bills are about the protection of law enforcement officers and witnesses,” said Attorney General Marty Jackley. “We need to protect our law enforcement officers who place themselves in harm’s way to protect us. We also need to make sure witnesses are allowed to present facts and information to judges and juries without being subject to any improper influence.”

Both bills now move to the Senate floor where they will be heard by the full Senate.

Out of the five bills presented by the Attorney General Jackley this session, only Senate Bill 49 has not yet had its initial committee hearing. That bill would prohibit the improper storage and disposal of records containing personal or protected information and provide a penalty.

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