Remembering Friends
A column by Gov. Dennis Daugaard

The years go faster as one gets older, and as 2016 closes, I have been thinking back on the past year. As always, Linda and I have much to be thankful for. We are also remembering four good friends and great South Dakotans who we lost this year.

In January, Paul Kinsman passed away after a brave battle with cancer. Paul was a longtime public servant. He served in my cabinet as Commissioner of the Bureau of Administration, and he had also served in Gov. Rounds’ cabinet. The Bureau of Administration maintains State Capitol and grounds and other state buildings. It handles the state motor fleet, state purchasing, management of records and many other administrative duties. BOA isn’t the flashiest part of state government, but it is very important that its work be done well. That is why Paul Kinsman fit the Bureau so well. Paul didn’t care about attention or credit. He cared deeply about his work, and he took particular pride in our efforts to preserve and improve the State Capitol and the grounds.

In May, we were saddened by the unexpected death of Colette Abbott, the University of South Dakota’s first lady. Linda and I had known Colette for years through her work with Children’s Home Society. Colette never held public office, but she was in every way a public servant. She worked hard on behalf of USD and graciously welcomed many to the campus. Colette had a particular connection with students, who came to love her over the Abbotts’ two decades at USD. She particularly connected with the university through her enthusiastic support of Coyote athletics.

The next month, our friend Patricia Adam passed away. Pat Adam was an institution in South Dakota. She was the daughter of Gov. George T. Mickelson and the sister of Gov. George S. Mickelson. Pat took a particular interest in promoting South Dakota history, through her work with the state historical society, the Trail of Governors project, and the committee to restore the First Lady gown collection. She also served for years on the Pierre School Board and was president of the state school board association. I met Pat when I was a state senator, and we grew close when I was President of the Senate while she served as Secretary of the Senate, keeping the senate running smoothly.

Finally, in August, we lost Rep. Dan Dryden of Rapid City after his battle with cancer. I first came to know Dan in 2011, when I was a new governor and Dan was a new state legislator. We had to cut the state budget that year, and as a new member of the appropriations committee, Dan was right in the middle of that. He had worked for years as the Rapid City school business manager, and as a “numbers guy” he was up to the challenge. Dan was a gentleman and a straight-talker, and he came to be one of the best-liked and most-respected members of the legislature. Like many of his peers, he believed in balanced budgets and fiscal responsibility. Even as he quietly fought his battle with cancer, he continued to carry out his duties in Pierre, without complaint.

South Dakota is a great state because we are led by everyday people – friends and neighbors who give their time to serve the people of our state. Paul Kinsman, Collette Abbott, Pat Adam and Dan Dryden all exemplified this spirit of servant leadership. As this year closes, Linda and I are thankful to have had each of them as friends. We can all be thankful for the good work they did for South Dakota.

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I was working off my phone yesterday when the order came in yesterday from Judge Barnett on Initiated Measure 22, so I’m posting it here for your review.

IM 22 – Order on Severability by Pat Powers on Scribd

Had a note today from the Pierre Chamber of Commerce. With the invalidation on Initiated Measure 22 by the Court, the Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce’s Legislative Welcome is back on in its original format.

They’ve been busy calling legislators trying to get the word out, and to let them know they’d be happy to host them for dinner & welcome them with open arms to South Dakota’s Capital City.

A return to fellowship. Kind of a nice Christmas gift.

KSFY TV interviewed Mike Huether, and on the heels of announcing his abandonment of the Democrat Party, he told them that he’s looking at running for Governor or Congress:

“i go as hard at this job as mayor or as public servant as i possibly can.” In a sit down interview at the Old Courthouse Musuem, Huether tells us he and his wife Cindy are in the midst of deciding what to do next where his political career is concerned. “Yeah i would love to be the governor of South Dakota. I’d love to be the President of the United States. I’d love to represent South Dakota as their senator or representative.”

The mayor tells KSFY he believes he could be a change maker in Pierre should he choose to run for governor, something he says many people have urged him to do. “I think they’ve seen what we’ve been able to accomplish in Sioux Falls and there’s this hope that we can do it maybe in another role as well.”

But the mayor also tells us he sees a compelling reason to run for U-S House in hopes of serving in Washington, saying as an Independent he would want to make Congress more cooperative and less partisan.

Read it all here.

Is it me, or does he assume he’s a lot more popular than he really is?

The irony is so thick you can cut it with a knife.

Remember during the campaign this past fall, where the proponents of Initiated Measure 22 went after lobbyists, inferring that they’re all corrupt and trying to buy off legislators?

Now that an injunction has been filed, and a judge has determined it’s likely to be declared unconstitutional, many anticipate that the legislature will be called upon to fix the problems with the measure.

The word on the street among the lobbyist corps is that there are a lot of calls being made to engage them in this matter for this next session.

But, not from the people opposing IM22, but FROM THE VERY PEOPLE WHO ATTACKED LOBBYISTS AS BEING CORRUPT AND ACCUSED THEM OF BUYING POLITICIANS. Yes, you heard that right. The same people who spent the entire campaign attacking lobbyists and portrayed them as corrupt political bosses buying legislators are now out trying to hire lobbyists themselves.

Good luck with that one, guys.

From the Argus Leader, the Family Heritage Alliance has announced that they are championing a transgender bathroom bill for the 2017 legislative session, despite threats of a ballot measure:

The leader of a conservative state advocacy group Wednesday said he plans to bring another so-called transgender bathroom bill in 2017.

Dale Bartscher, executive director of the Family Heritage Alliance, said the conservative Christian group approved a draft of a bill last week that would bar transgender students from using the bathroom, locker room or shower room if it doesn’t match their biological gender at birth. The bill calls for schools to offer accommodations for “students with unique privacy needs, including transgender students.”

While details of the legislation, including which legislator would carry it, weren’t firm Wednesday, Bartscher said it was important to bring the debate back to the Legislature. He said he hopes it could be approved there sooner than at the ballot box, where voters could have a chance to weigh in on the issue in 2018.

“Quite frankly, we don’t want to see any initiated measure in 2018, we want to see the Legislature approve it and the governor sign it,” Bartscher told Argus Leader Media. “This issue is on the front burner for a lot of South Dakotans.”

Read it all here.

This is coming at the same time as North Carolina is preparing to debate whether or not to repeal their own measure similar to what’s being proposed:

The legislature meets Wednesday to consider repeal of HB2, a state law requiring transgender people to use the public bathroom associated with the sex listed on their birth certificate. The law has prompted companies such as PayPal Holdings Inc. to cancel investments and sports leagues, including the N.C.-based Atlantic Coast Conference, to cancel tournament games that were scheduled to be held in the state.

The liberal Charlotte council voted 7-2 in an emergency session to a full repeal of the city ordinance the council passed in February that prompted the Republican-led legislature to then pass HB2 in March. The council had met Monday on the same issue, in hopes of adhering to the terms of a behind-the-scenes deal with Democratic Governor-elect Roy Cooper and the GOP-led legislature.

and..

The unexpected moves by the Democrat-dominated Charlotte city council, and countermoves by the Republican-dominated state legislature, come on the heels of last week’s special legislative session reducing the power of the incoming Democratic governor.

The well of political goodwill in the state “is very poisoned,” said J. Michael Bitzer, a politics professor at Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C. “It just seems like both sides are trying to make one another sweat as much as possible,” he said. North Carolina has had fierce partisan battles in the past, he said, but “this has taken it to a whole new level,” he added.

Read it all here.

The word is on the street in South Dakota that there may be pressure being placed upon some of South Dakota’s larger communities via their convention bureaus and chambers of commerce from outside groups intimating that they would bypass South Dakota for national conventions and tournaments should such a measure pass.

Will that influence legislators in the 2017 legislative session? We shall see.

Attorney General Explanation Released for Initiated Measure Authorizing a Physician to Prescribe Life-Ending Drugs to Terminally Ill Patients

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced today an Attorney General Explanation for a proposed initiated measure has been filed with the Secretary of State. This statement will appear on petitions that will be circulated by   the sponsor of the measure. If the sponsor obtains a sufficient number of signatures    on the petitions by November 2017, as certified by the Secretary of State, the measure will be placed on the ballot for the November 2018 general election.

The measure is entitled “An initiated measure authorizing a South Dakota licensed physician to prescribe drugs that a terminally ill patient may take for the purpose of ending life.”

Under South Dakota law, the Attorney General is responsible for preparing explanations for proposed initiated measures, referred laws, and South Dakota Constitutional Amendments. Specifically, the explanation includes a title, an objective, clear and simple summary of the purpose and effect of the proposed measure and a description of the legal consequences. The Attorney General Explanation is not a statement either for or against the proposed measure.

To view the Attorney General Explanation for the measure, as well as the final form of the measure submitted to this office, please click on the   link.

http://atg.sd.gov/docs/Ballot%20Explenation.Prescription%20of%20Life%20ending%20drugs.pdf

The cards keep coming in – Merry Christmas wishes from Attorney General Marty Jackley and his family.

Merry Christmas from US Senator John Thune – Here’s the 2016 Christmas Card for the good Senator.