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As I was working on a few items related to the installation of the SDGOP’s installation of a new chairman, it jogged my memory regarding the fact that South Dakota Democrats have little more than a month to go for their own party elections in Oacoma next month:

It’s going to be interesting to watch, as I was relating back in November, current chairman Randy Seiler has already announced that he will not be holding the hot potato of Democrat Chairmanship anymore:

SDDP Chairman Randy Seiler chose not to challenge his friend Marty Jackley for attorney general, allowing Jackley to return to his old job without a contest. Seiler plans to retire, leaving the state party in flux yet again.

Read that here.

Republicans had expressed interest in the GOP chairmanship long before 30 days out. Yet, over in the ‘D’ league, Randy Seiler let it be known in early November that he didn’t plan to run again, …and the number of Democrats who seem to be looking at the job is zero. Zip. A null value.

It doesn’t come as a complete shock, with Seiler left the job as Vice Chair in late 2019 to right the ship after the prior chair, Paula Hawks and her Executive Director Stacey Burnette abandoned and literally ran away from the Democrat Party within 4 months of taking office in the face of a financial disaster. This was after a multi-year effort by Hawks to take the reins from prior chair Ann Tornberg, making plans to challenge her leadership of Democrats starting in 2017, and then doing so in March of 2019.

Not to belabor the point, but as Paula Hawks quickly found out, the wrong person in charge can leave you in a fairly disastrous situation. And it doesn’t seem like anyone is eager to line up to be the next Ann Tornburg.

South Dakota Attorney General Jackley Announces Legislative Package

PIERRE.S.D.  — South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has introduced five bills in the 2023 legislative session and all five are scheduled for their first committee hearing this week.

“Our legislative package aims to enhance public safety, strengthen the integrity of our elections, and protect the privacy of South Dakotans,” said Attorney General Jackley.

The five bills, all Senate bills, are:

*** Senate Bill 46: An act to establish the crime of petition circulation perjury and provide a penalty therefor. “Circulating a petition to amend our Constitution, create a law, or place a candidate on the ballot for a public vote is one of our most fundamental rights in our democracy,“ Jackley said. “This legislation will penalize those who violate that trust and then lie about it.”

*** Senate Bill 47: An act to revise exceptions to the imposition of a Class 2 misdemeanor for election law violations when no other penalty is provided by statute. “Under current law there are numerous election law violations with no penalties attached and therefore no enforcement.  This amendment will treat election law violations as Class 2 misdemeanors like other violation of law which have no specific penalty attached,” said Jackley.

*** Senate Bill 48: An act to enhance the penalty for attempted first degree murder of a law enforcement officer. “We need to protect our law enforcement officers who place themselves in harm’s way to protect us,” said Jackley. “We believe those who are willing to harm law enforcement officers in the performance of their duties present even a greater risk and should face an even stricter penalty.”

*** Senate Bill 49: An act to prohibit the improper storage and disposal of records containing personal or protected information and provide a penalty therefor. This bill extends existing protections for digital documents to include similar protections for paper documents. “Protection of personal and confidential information continues to be a threat to our consumers,” Jackley said. “This consumer protection bill provides further guidance on how to protect confidential and private information and strengthens the penalty for those who do not protect confidential information or try to profit from the sale of that information.”

*** Senate Bill 50: An act to revise the crime of witness tampering. “The foundation of our judicial system is to allow witnesses to present facts and information to Judges and Juries to help them make fair determinations.  Unfortunately, all too often there are attempts to tamper with witnesses and evidence, and this amendment provides prosecutors with clearer authority to address when someone corruptly influences witnesses,” Jackley said.

All five bills are scheduled to be heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee starting at 7:45 a.m. Thursday in Room 413 of the state Capitol. The meeting agenda and proposed bills can be found at https://mylrc.sdlegislature.gov/api/Documents/243078.pdf

“We appreciate the chance to present our bills to the Senate Judiciary Committee,” said the Attorney General. “We look forward to the opportunity to discuss why we believe this legislation is good for South Dakota.”

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I was clicking around on the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline website (in advertiser’s row, at the top of the page on the right),  and was reminded of a survey from last year where a massive majority of South Dakotans surveyed expressed that they view ethanol as critical to economic growth, agriculture, and the environment.

AMES, Iowa (April 28, 2022) – A broad, bipartisan majority of South Dakotans support the ethanol industry and believe it is critical to the future of agriculture, the health of the state’s economy, and improving environmental outcomes, according to a new survey of registered voters in 18 counties where Summit Carbon Solutions is proposed to operate in South Dakota.

Key findings of the survey along with a partisan breakdown of the results are as follows:

• 94% of those surveyed believe the ethanol industry is important for South Dakota farmers and the state’s agricultural industry.
  • Republican: 97%
  • No Party: 90%
  • Democrat: 94%
• 88% of respondents believe the ethanol industry is important for the state’s economy.
  • Republican: 90%
  • No Party: 86%
  • Democrat: 89%
• 74% of those surveyed believe ethanol is good for the environment.
  • Republican: 79%
  • No Party: 59%
  • Democrat: 82%
• 88% of respondents believe the ethanol industry has a positive impact on the state of South Dakota.
  • Republican: 92%
  • No Party: 83%
  • Democrat: 86%

“This survey confirms that South Dakotans believe ethanol is not only an essential part of the state’s economic landscape today but a critical industry for our future as well,” Jake Ketzner, Summit Carbon Solutions’ Vice President of Government and Public affairs, said. “Summit Carbon Solutions was formed because we share this belief. If approved, our carbon capture and storage project will open new economic opportunities for ethanol producers across the state and strengthen the marketplace for corn growers.”

Summit Carbon Solutions is a partnership with 32 ethanol plants across the Midwest, including seven in the state of South Dakota. The project will help these partners realize a 30-point drop in the carbon intensity score of the ethanol their facilities produce and allow them to access the growing number of markets that pay a premium to purchase low carbon fuels.

Read the entire press release here.

It came to mind as the Public Utilities Commission seems to be letting opponents drag the permitting process out, and pushing hearings back until to September.

As noted in the article in The Dakota Scout..

The construction of the South Dakota portion of the pipeline runs from the state’s northern border across 18 counties. Ethanol plants located in eastern South Dakota along the pipeline route stand to profit from the pipeline due to the Inflation Reduction Act, which Congress passed last year and includes incentives for energy companies to reduce their carbon footprints to 0 percent, said Walt Wendland, president and CEO of Ringneck Energy in Onida.

“The Inflation Reduction Act really goes into play Jan. 1 of 2025 and we can’t afford to miss that opportunity,” Wendland said following Thursday’s decision.

“So any delay is going to cost the farmers corn price and millions of dollars to ethanol plants,” he added. “It’s going to impact tax revenues for the counties. There’s just a whole string of things. One of the things that the commission promised is they’d have a decision made by a certain date.”

Read that here.

What was on track to be a responsive regulatory process has now been allowed to be bogged down by labor unions and activists, costing farmers and ethanol producers revenue.

Despite the importance of ethanol production to South Dakota’s economy, our energy independence, and a majority of South Dakota’s population.

From Facebook:

The legislative session is here! First and foremost, I want to thank you for once again allowing me the opportunity to keep working for you in Pierre. This year I was selected by the House to serve as a majority whip, and I’m excited to be able to use that role to continue to fight for our communities and state.

Tuesday, we hit the ground running with Governor Noem’s State of the State of the State address. One of the big takeaways was an update on our economy- we have seen growth across many industries including record revenues from tourism, increased investments in agriculture, and a rapid increase in housing across the state. She added that the continuance of this growth will depend largely on workforce and brought forth several initiatives: increasing support for childcare providers, continuing to invest in housing, and incentivizing economic development. I look forward to hearing more about these proposals to see how we can best implement policies that will benefit South Dakotans.

On Wednesday, the legislature heard from the Chief Justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court to discuss the needs of the judicial branch. Crime continues to be a problem in our state, and he proposed taking steps to working with experts to make sure that our courtrooms are safe, rehabilitating young people, and preventing crime through addressing addiction and mental health. Crime impacts everything around us, so I’ll be doing everything I can to help keep our communities safe.

The legislature has already filed over 100 bills this session. I’ll be working to help get a number of these passed, and here are a couple of the bills I’ll be supporting:

• SB 40: This act would bring improvements to how we elect statewide offices by moving the republican nomination for Attorney General and Secretary of State into a primary like the ones of a legislative race. I believe for these offices all Republicans should have a choice in these nominations, and I’m happy to support it.
• SB35: The Sanford Underground research facility has brought innovative opportunities to our area, and this bill supports resources to expand lab space. I visited this facility recently, they are going to do great things there, and they deserve our support.
• SB41: We need to continue our support of housing in South Dakota so that families can find affordable homes. This bill continues to build on the work we’ve done to establish housing opportunities across our state.

I look forward to the session to come, and value any input you may have on my work in Pierre. if you would like to reach me, feel free to message me on social media or email me at becky.drury@sdlegislature.gov. Have a blessed weekend!

Prepared to Lead, Seizing Our Opportunities and Tackling Our Challenges
By Senator Casey Crabtree

MADISON–The start of a new year brings with it new chapters in our lives and a fresh outlook on the future. As your lawmakers convene in Pierre this January for the 98th Legislative Session, we enter the new session prepared to lead with new members, new leaders and new ideas to improve South Dakota. In 2023, legislators will come together to strengthen our economy, support our communities and improve the lives of our residents.

This year, I was honored to be elected unanimously by my Republican colleagues as their Senate majority leader. As the leader, I will strive to bring my fellow Senators together for the best solutions to our state’s challenges and unite them behind plans for a brighter future. It may not always be easy, but the people of South Dakota elected us to be your voice, your advocates and your representatives to lead our state.

During the next several weeks, we will: balance the state’s budget without raising taxes or spending reserve dollars, protect our individual freedoms, discuss the tough issues like prison funding and rural nursing home closures. We’ll also invest in the long-term strength of our state by supporting students and schools, workforce, housing and infrastructure. And we will accomplish this with principled, conservative leadership.

I value the feedback of South Dakotans and I want to hear your perspective if legislation impacts you or your family, community or livelihood. Your voice matters and I welcome your ideas and feedback.

South Dakota’s future is in good hands and your elected leaders are determined to do what is best for South Dakota in the days and decades ahead. I’m optimistic about the future of our state and I am determined to unite lawmakers to seize opportunities and tackle our challenges.

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Tax Relief, Not IRS Grief
By Sen. John Thune

Government can’t create prosperity, but it can and should cultivate opportunity. Too often, government stifles opportunity and gets in the way of hardworking South Dakotans. Before Republican-led tax reform five years ago, the federal tax code was doing just that, leaving our economy stuck in neutral. Tax reform played a key role in reversing this sluggishness and fostering a healthy economic environment that promoted growth and opportunity for all. Fully preserving key elements of tax reform and stopping Democrats’ reckless big-government policies are essential to restoring this economic strength.

Tax reform delivered on Republicans’ promise of a pro-growth and pro-worker economy by modernizing the tax system with lower rates and simpler rules. Tax cuts meant South Dakotans, and all Americans in every income bracket, saw bigger paychecks. Businesses of all sizes, including farms and ranches, took advantage of lower rates and a simpler tax system by increasing investment in themselves and their employees. And by reducing our sky-high corporate tax rate, which until tax reform was the highest in the industrialized world, we made the United States a more competitive place to do business, bringing jobs and production back to America.

The effect of these reforms was that our economy was firing on all cylinders. Companies passed tax savings on to workers with increased paychecks and benefits. South Dakota utility companies lowered utility bills in our state. The national unemployment and poverty rates fell to record lows as the income gap narrowed, and lower- and middle-income Americans saw some of the greatest benefits. And the government has even collected record-high revenues while individual Americans are paying less in taxes.

Reversing key elements of tax reform, or allowing provisions to expire, as Democrats have suggested, would reduce opportunity and raise taxes on South Dakotans whose budgets are already strained by the historic inflation Democrats’ reckless spending helped create. To make matters worse, at the beginning of this year, a series of Democrat-led tax hikes went into effect. These new and unnecessary tax hikes will drive energy bills even higher and lead to lower wages and depressed job growth.

In addition to new tax burdens on Americans, the Biden administration will move forward this year with plans to supersize the IRS. Under the Democrats’ so-called Inflation Reduction Act, the IRS was given $80 billion – or almost six times its annual budget – to hire as many as 87,000 new agency employees. With more than half the funding going toward enforcement and just 4 percent going to improve the agency’s lackluster customer service, I’m concerned the only real changes will be increased audits on middle-income families and small businesses.

Stopping this unnecessary expansion of government is a top Republican priority. When the Senate considered the Inflation Reduction Act in August, Republicans offered amendments – which Democrats unanimously rejected – that would have blocked the IRS expansion and protected small businesses and middle-income taxpayers from increased audits. In addition, I have introduced multiple bills to help rein in the IRS and add much-needed accountability. And the new Republican majority in the House has already made repealing IRS expansion one of its first orders of business in the new Congress.

More government is most often the problem, not the solution. When it comes to getting our economy moving again, bigger government, increased regulations, and higher taxes are definitely not the solution. Republicans know that the strength of the American economy is the working families, small business owners, farmers, and ranchers who work hard every day for a chance at their American dream. Tax reform helped create an economic environment that set people up for a more secure future. We should build on these successes and strive to provide more opportunity for South Dakotans, not less.

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Cracking Down on China
By Rep. Dusty Johnson
January 13, 2023

In week one of our House Republican Majority, we brought a number of bills to the House Floor to counter the threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party.

A huge win on our second day of voting was the overwhelming passage of H.Res. 11 to establish the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, which is commonly referred to as the “Select Committee on China.” The Select Committee is prepared to investigate China’s influence over our supply chain, COVID-19 origins, TikTok, China’s purchases of American farmland, deceptive trade practices, and much more. We know China poses threats to our national security, food security, and economic security.

On Thursday, we voted on a bill (H.R.22) to prohibit the Biden Administration from selling oil from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to China. President Biden’s decision to sell oil from our SPR amidst record-high gas prices and inflation has caused the SPR to be at the lowest level in fifty years. One of the recipients of our oil is the Chinese Communist Party, which now has the largest government-controlled oil reserve in the world. There’s no reason, no excuse, to be selling oil from our reserves to our adversaries. H.R. 22 is a great first step, but I believe we should take it one step further—prohibiting oil sales from our SPR to companies that are headquartered in countries such as Russia, Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Venezuela.

This Congress is off to a strong start in taking a stand against our adversaries. I’m looking forward to seeing what the Select Committee on China uncovers, getting some long-awaited answers, and action steps to protect America and our citizens from the threat of the Chinese Communist Party.

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On unanimous ballots, Marilyn Oakes was re-elected State GOP Secretary and Brett Koenecke was selected to return to the job of treasurer after Justin Bell assuming that role for the last decade.