Category: Uncategorized

Opportunity for All
By Rep. Kristi Noem

Sitting across the room from Mona Drolc, you can tell she’s ready to go – and that’s not far from the truth. She’s always on the go! Mona is the Vice President of the Ups and Downs Family Support Group, a nonprofit dedicated to those with Down syndrome as well as their friends and family in western South Dakota. She serves as the Head Coach for the Rapid City Special Olympic Young Athlete’s program. She’s an instructor with South Dakota-based STRIDER bikes, teaching kids of all abilities how to ride. And above all, she’s a dedicated mother, fighting to make sure her son, David, has every opportunity in the world to succeed.

Like one in every 700 babies born in the U.S., David has Down syndrome. David also has dreams as big as his smile. He wants to get a job, become financially independent, and maybe one day even move into a house of his own. And he’s blessed with a mom who is fighting to make sure he and so many South Dakotans like him can achieve every one of these goals.

With October marking Down Syndrome Awareness Month, Mona took a trip out to Washington, D.C., to advocate for policies that create more opportunities for David. Her message was clear: Individuals with Down syndrome deserve a more level playing field; they should have access to the same opportunities as their peers.

In 2014, I helped pass legislation, which was signed into law, to move us closer to this goal. The Achieving a Better Life Experience Act – or the ABLE Act – tore down many barriers those with Down syndrome face, such as making improvements to the way those with disabilities can save for the future.

But hurdles remain. As a member of the Task Force on Down Syndrome, I’m helping to drive forward the ABLE to Work Act, which seeks to further incentivize employment. More specifically, most ABLE Act beneficiaries face tremendous medical costs over the course of their lifetime. Even with the amplified savings potential under the 2014 legislation, a cap is in place that prevents folks from saving enough to cover their long-term medical costs – let alone allow them to save for things like a home. The ABLE to Work Act would allow those with Down syndrome and other disabilities to save more in a tax-free account, helping secure financial independence.

Fundamentally, I want to create opportunities for South Dakotans from all walks of life to thrive. That’s my guiding principle. So, when kids like David have big dreams, I’m going to fight to help them fulfill every ounce of their God-given potential. I’m hopeful the ABLE to Work Act will help them do that.

 Left to Right: Michelle Sagan, Rep. Kristi Noem, Mona Drolc

Cause For Celebration This Native Americans’ Day
A column by Gov. Dennis Daugaard:

Since 1990, South Dakota has celebrated Native Americans’ Day. We were the first in the nation to establish Native Americans’ Day as an official state holiday, done at the urging of Gov. George S. Mickelson as a part of his “Year of Reconciliation” efforts.

A crowd of South Dakotans gathered at Crazy Horse Memorial to celebrate the state’s first Native Americans’ Day. There were prayers offered by the Keeper of the Sacred Pipe of the Sioux Nation and an Episcopalian bishop, the Sioux Anthem and Star Spangled Banner were sung, and speeches were given by Oglala Sioux Tribe President Harold Salway and Gov. Mickelson. Also at the event, Ruth Ziolkowski, the gracious hostess of the celebration, was presented with a reconciliation award.

This event was just one of the highlights of the Year of Reconciliation. Gov. Mickelson spent those months trying to form new partnerships with tribes and bridge gaps between Natives and non-Natives. He reactivated the Commission on Indian Affairs and put in the effort to work directly with individual tribes and consider each tribe’s unique issues and needs. Mickelson called on South Dakotans of all races to focus on areas of agreement, which led to successes in tribal tourism, health care and small business development.

Throughout my time in office, I have tried to mirror some of Gov. Mickelson’s efforts. In 2011, I established the Department of Tribal Relations as a cabinet-level agency within state government. Every year, Tribal Secretary Steve Emery and I schedule tribal visits so we can meet with tribal presidents and council members to better understand the specific issues affecting each tribe.

In the last few years, Tribal Relations has worked diligently to facilitate partnerships among state agencies and the nine tribes. For instance, we have tax collection agreements with eight tribes and gaming compacts with eight tribes. In 2016 and 2017, the Department of Game, Fish, and Parks signed cooperative Memorandums of Understanding with the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Oglala Sioux Tribe, and Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe to improve communication and management of wildlife and lands. And the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has dedicated millions of dollars for the operation and maintenance of tribal drinking water systems.

Legislatively, Tribal Relations holds an annual forum where tribal members are able to discuss their legislative priorities with current state legislators. I also signed a bill allowing for the exemption of elected tribal leaders from having to register as a lobbyist in order to testify or lobby for or against legislation.

On the corrections front, we have implemented a tribal parole program with the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate that has been very successful. As part of the Criminal Justice Initiative of 2013, the program returns parolees to their tribal communities where family and community supports help parolees remain compliant. This joint supervision program has resulted in higher parole completion rates, fewer instances of absconding and culturally relevant support systems for parolees returning home.

Relations between the tribes and the State of South Dakota have improved over the last 27 years. It’s normal to have diverse viewpoints and some disagreements, but we continue to move in a positive direction. That’s cause for celebration this Native Americans’ Day.

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Slick Rick Weiland is announcing a new partnership today with the pot peddlers of South Dakota, New Approach, SD, and they are trying to combine their efforts at couch voting with New Approach’s efforts to legalize pot and grandma-killing in South Dakota:

Since they’re aligning with the people trying to make illegal drugs easier to get, is  Weiland’s “Take it back” now going to change their name to “Toke it back?”  Or maybe Take it back, Dude..

Anyway you slice it, just another reminder to be very careful what you consider signing. because the axis of electoral evil is trying to make it a package deal.

From facebook on September 30th, District 22 Democrats have an interesting picture on display from the NSU homecoming last weekend…

 

It looks suspiciously like Cory Heidelberger, the most liberal man in South Dakota, is saddling up for another beating, as at the NSU Gypsy Days Parade, he has people carting around a wagon with his used campaign State Senate signs in it from the 2016 election where Al Novstrup beat him six ways to Sunday.

(If he isn’t running, then someone should break it to him gently that he lost).

————–

Update – I just had a correspondent in Aberdeen tell me that they heard that Heidelberger’s 2016 running mates Brooks Brisco and “F*** Northern”…. er, Nikki Bootz who only says “F*** Northern” is going to be back for another round of campaigning in 2018.

I can’t wait.

Here’s an issue where Senator Rounds has broken from his South Dakota colleagues in Washington. Apparently, he’s one of two Republicans in the US Senate who is offering a dissenting opinion on the estate tax:

The party’s leaders included estate-tax repeal in the tax-overhaul framework they released last week. But Republican Sens. Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Susan Collins of Maine said this that week repeal isn’t necessary. Others say their desire to eliminate the tax must be balanced against other priorities including tax cuts for businesses and middle-class families.

“I don’t think we have to totally repeal it because I think the folks on the upper end of it are all avoiding it right now legally anyway,” Mr. Rounds said Wednesday. “For me, we can’t fail on [a tax overhaul] and whatever we can do to pick up the last few votes we may need, I’m ready to negotiate.”

Read that here.

The issue has already caught the attention of at least one South Dakota group, the South Dakota Stockgrowrrs, whose president disagrees:

The death tax has been in the news a lot lately and has been accused of being a tax that only the rich have to worry about. The problem with giving this tax the title of the “Robin Hood” of taxes is it forgets to take into account the backbone of America, the ones that raise the food. I am very concerned, today after reading the comments of South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds announcing his opposition to the Republican Party’s long time goal of repealing the death tax.

And..

I’m not sure what caused Senator Rounds to do a complete turnaround in the last couple of months but I feel the family farmers and ranchers of South Dakota deserve an explanation. It’s hard to believe a Senator from South Dakota would be quoted as saying the death tax repeal is unnecessary when it will at some point affect one-third of the farmers and ranchers in the state that he represents.

Read that here.

I believe Senator Rounds is trying to say that as part of tax reform, everything must be on the table and balanced against the greater good. But obviously, there’s some who disagree.

What are your thoughts?

In case you missed it, the pendulum just swung hard the other way, in contrast to the Obama administration’s attack on religious liberties. From the Hill:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued legal guidance Friday directing federal agencies on how to protect religious liberty in employment, contracting and programming as they execute federal laws.

The guidance follows President Trump’s May 4 executive order directing the agencies to respect and protect religious liberty and political speech, made by both individuals and organizations.

The 25-page memo maps out 20 guiding principles reminding agencies that freedom of religion is a fundamental right and that the free exercise of religion “includes the right to act or abstain from action in accordance with one’s religious beliefs.”

And..

It states as an example that a Lutheran school may choose to employ only practicing Lutherans, only practicing Christians or only those who adhere to a code of conduct consistent with the precepts of the Lutheran community sponsoring the school.

It also said religious organizations may be exempt from following certain discrimination laws if doing so would conflict with the organization’s religious principles.

This would appear to suggest support for allowing religious organizations to discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

The memo claimed that the government can likely prohibit religious groups from discriminating on the basis of race but may not be able to prohibit other forms of discrimination.

Read it here.

Predictably, there are those who are objecting to the memo:

“This is a direct attack on women’s rights,” said Vanita Gupta, president and chief executive of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “The Trump administration is using the guise of religious liberty to carry out their ideological agenda to deprive women of basic reproductive health care.”

And civil liberties groups said there could be other effects. The principle allowing religious employers to hire only those whose conduct is consistent with their beliefs, for example, might allow a religious school to fire a teacher who had a child out of wedlock or a man who wed another man, said Louise Melling, deputy legal director at the ACLU.

Read that here.

Are we ever going to find a happy medium that people on both sides of the debate can live with?

From a reader’s mailbox:

Interesting.   They claim they’re protecting Obama’s legacy, blah, blah, blah…. and talk about their message. But… what about their candidates?  They just aren’t talking about them. It seems that the SD Dems have conceded ever winning elections in SD.

“Every dollar that you donate goes towards holding the GOP accountable.”  But in past appeals, it’s at least had some oblique mention about helping Dems get elected. But now? Nada.

You have to wonder, what exactly do candidates such as Tim Bjorkman and Billie Sutton feel about their open abandonment of their mission to elect candidates, instead focusing on “the Obama Legacy?”

So, is it standard operating procedure now for legislators to live-tweet from legislative hearings when they don’t get their way in committee, as opposed to paying attention to the business at hand?

We’re in hour one of day 2 of the Government Operations and Audit Committee, and Senator Stace Nelson is already tweeting away instead of paying attention to the hearing….

Oh look, taking audience pictures too. No selfies?

Really?  Pretty soon the chair is going to have to collect cell phones like in high school…

South Dakota GOP Launches “Don’t Sign on the Line” effort to encourage voters to educate themselves on ballot measures before they agree to them.

With South Dakota’s ballot continually being used as a mad scientist’s laboratory, the South Dakota Republican Party’s governing body, the State Republican Party’s Central Committee, adopted the position at a recent meeting that voters should fully educate themselves before committing to sign a petition for any ballot measure.

As a result, South Dakota GOP Chairman Dan Lederman launched the party’s education effort titled “Don’t sign on the Line” on social media this week.

Chairman Dan Lederman noted that “the effort is about educating voters to make sure they understand what they’re signing.  All too often, out-of-state organizations have thrown millions of dollars into signature collection, bringing in hired guns from out of state to circulate petitions who never establish an actual residency here, despite the requirements of the law.”

“The initiative and referendum process was established in South Dakota to allow a government that’s more responsive to its citizens,” Lederman said. “Not for whatever D.C. or California special interest group who could write the biggest check and send in armies for a slick, street-corner sell.”

The State Republican party is encouraging every South Dakotan who is approached by a ballot measure petition carrier, DON’T SIGN ON THE LINE, and that South Dakota voters can take a day, and hold off on signing until they have a chance to both research the measure, as well as to verify that the petition carrier can produce South Dakota identification.

“Only if they’re satisfied that its a measure that makes South Dakota better, and it’s a fellow South Dakotan making the ask, should they consider signing,” Lederman said.

GOAC in session in Sioux Falls. .@SenStaceNelson arguing his dissenting report should be entered into the record pic.twitter.com/UsLFfSlMXT

— Dana Ferguson (@bydanaferguson) October 5, 2017

Another legislator (not on GOAC) who is listening in offered this comment….

Yep… sounds like it’s going just peachy…

3:15 Update… (his colleagues inform me that) since they’ve moved on to the tri-valley matter, apparently Stace is bored now, and busy tweeting to his BFF during the GOAC committee hearing..

Apparently committee time is still twitter time, same as in 2014..

@SDSenate2014 Actually, @madvilletimes has a more conservative stance on (R) issues like Common Core, Crony-Capitalism, etc., than you. — Rep. Stace Nelson (@RepStaceNelson) February 7, 2014