The Start of a New (Fiscal) Year

MADISON–The South Dakota Legislature covered a lot of issues in the 2023 Session. Everything from abandoned mobile homes to truancy to golf carts to tax cuts. This week, we are on the eve of the Legislature’s hard work taking effect on July 1 as well as the start of the new fiscal year for South Dakota. Here’s a look at some of the most impactful policies taking effect.

Lower Taxes. The Tax Foundation stated that South Dakota taxed its people the fourth lowest per capita in FY2021. For 2022, the Tax Foundation ranked South Dakota as the second-best business tax climate in the country. News will be even better for 2023. The Legislature passed the largest tax cut in the state’s history this year, which will save taxpayers an estimated $500 million in the next four years. The good news doesn’t stop there though, another $18 million dollars annually in taxes on business owners was cut from the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. Both of these tax cuts return the money to where it belongs, the pocket of South Dakotans.

Education: One of my top priorities in 2023 was to make college and technical school more affordable for South Dakota kids. We delivered on this promise with a tuition freeze that will result in one of the best investments in workforce development and the sustainability of South Dakota’s economy. We are helping students reduce debt and fight Biden’s inflation, while giving our children and grandchildren the best opportunities to succeed. This year members of the South Dakota National Guard will also receive 100 percent tuition reimbursement to attend our public universities. This is long overdue to help those that have sacrificed so much for our freedoms.

Public Safety: The state has the responsibility to protect the people of South Dakota. With our truth in sentencing bill, victims of violent crimes will know that their attackers will serve the time that the judge sentences. Violent criminals belong behind bars and starting in July they will stay there.

Election Integrity: South Dakota will now have the gold standard when it comes to election laws. A total of nine bills that focused on absentee voting, voter roll cleanup, ballot tabulation testing and post-election audits were passed through the legislature. Voters can have confidence that South Dakota’s elections are secure when elections are held in 2024.

Looking ahead to the 2024 session, legislators are already working on county funding, long-term healthcare sustainability, education reform, and greater economic freedoms. There are big challenges to tackle, but I’m confident that South Dakota’s best days lie ahead.

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Rounds Joins Markey, Cruz and Colleagues on Bicameral, Bipartisan Legislation to Keep AM Radio in New Vehicles 

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) joined Senators Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and 17 of their Senate colleagues on the AM for Every Vehicle Act. This bicameral and bipartisan legislation would direct federal regulators to require automakers to maintain AM broadcast radio in their new vehicles at no additional charge.

“Free AM broadcast radio has been an important resource for decades,” said Rounds. “Whether someone is in their car or tractor, AM radio is a valuable tool to share local news and emergency information. I grew up listening to KCCR on 1240 and KGFX on 1060, especially when I delivered newspapers throughout the Pierre area. It made the time go by quick! I am pleased to join Senators Markey and Cruz on this bipartisan legislation so our future generations have access to this free, key resource, especially in our rural areas across South Dakota.”

“For decades, free AM broadcast radio has been an essential tool in emergencies, a crucial part of our diverse media ecosystem, and an irreplaceable source for news, weather, sports, and entertainment for tens of millions of listeners,” said Markey. “Carmakers shouldn’t tune out AM radio in new vehicles or put it behind a costly digital paywall. I am proud to introduce the AM for Every Vehicle Act to ensure that this resilient and popular communication tool does not become a relic of the past.”

“Each day, millions of Americans turn to AM radio to stay up to date on life in their community, engage on the issues they care about, or to be simply entertained during rush hour,” said Cruz. “AM radio is a critical bulwark for democracy, providing a platform for alternative viewpoints and the ability for elected officials to share our efforts with our constituents. Congress should act swiftly to pass this bill so Americans retain access to news, music, talk, and emergency alerts on the public airwaves. I’m glad to work with Senator Markey on this bipartisan legislation to ensure carmakers do not limit Texans’ access to radio in their vehicles.”

Specifically, the AM for Every Vehicle Act would:

• Direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to issue a rule that requires automakers to maintain AM broadcast radio in their vehicles without a separate or additional payment, fee or surcharge.
• Require any automaker that sells vehicles without access to AM broadcast radio before the effective date of the NHTSA regulation to clearly disclose to consumers that the vehicle lacks access to AM broadcast radio.
• Direct the Government Accountability Office to study whether alternative communication systems could fully replicate the reach and effectiveness of AM broadcast radio for alerting the public to emergencies.

This legislation was also cosponsored by Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Ted Budd (R-N.C.).

Companion legislation was introduced in the House by Representative Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.).

The AM for Every Vehicle Act is endorsed by the National Association of Broadcasters and the National Association of Farm Broadcasters.

Click HERE for full bill text.

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Gov. Noem’s Pro-Family Bills Go into Effect July 1

PIERRE, S.D. – Several bills that strengthen families in South Dakota will go into effect on July 1st.

“South Dakota will continue to strengthen families and promote life,” said Governor Noem. “We are making it easier for South Dakotans to start and build their families, regardless of their circumstances. My message to South Dakotans is this: whatever your family looks like, make sure it is a strong family.”

Governor Noem’s pregnancy expenses bill, SB 75, provides for all pregnancy expenses to be covered by both parents. The prime sponsors of this legislation were Sen. David Wheeler (R-22) and Rep. Mike Stevens (R-18).

Governor Noem also proposed in her budget that state employees receive a new benefit to cover up to $25,000 in domestic adoption costs.

Governor Noem and the Bureau of Human Resources and Administration have also updated state employee benefits to expand Paid Family Leave opportunities for state employees.

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The South Dakota Searchlight website has an editorial from yesterday noting the problems with legislative term limits, and why they’ve literally been one of the worst things to ever happen to the South Dakota legislature. And why limiting them even further is not going to make a better legislative body for South Dakotans:

There are only so many people in the state who love policy-making enough to leave their families and businesses to spend the winter commuting back and forth to Pierre. Artificially limiting that pool of candidates by kicking seasoned, veteran lawmakers out of office is not the way to ensure good government.

and..

Let’s hope that those voters look past the “term limits” heading on Hoffman’s petition and consider the ramifications of giving bureaucrats and lobbyists the upper hand over a body that’s supposed to be doing the people’s business. Good candidates are hard to find. We shouldn’t be showing them the door just because they have the temerity to keep winning elections.

Read the entire editorial here.

 

Tax Holiday Goes into Effect July 1

PIERRE, S.D. – The bill to give South Dakotans a tax holiday, HB 1137, will go into effect on July 1^st. The bill temporarily lowers the state sales tax rate from 4.5% to 4.2%.

“South Dakotans built the strongest economy in the nation with their work ethic and trust in our Freedom. This tax reduction will give them some relief from the overbearing inflation cause by Washington’s bad policies,” said Governor Noem. “While some help, albeit temporary, is better for our people than none at all, I will continue working to deliver permanent tax relief for South Dakotans.”

Freedom generated these historic revenues, and people should have the Freedom to spend their own money without government intervention.

Governor Noem wrote a letter to the legislature in March upon signing HB 1137. The letter can be found here.

Frequently Asked Questions about the sales tax holiday can be found here.

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Gov. Noem’s “Freedom Works Here” Receives Over 1,300 Inquiries

PIERRE, S.D. – Governor Noem’s “Freedom Works Here” national workforce recruitment campaign is already shattering expectations. In five days since the campaign’s launch, over 1,300 people have submitted applications to find career opportunities in South Dakota.

“The state that has the workers will be the state that wins,” said Governor Noem. “It is my responsibility as Governor to make sure that South Dakota will continue to grow and thrive for our kids and grandkids. The results of this workforce recruitment campaign after just five days shows that folks all over America see that what we’re doing here in South Dakota is working – and they want to be a part of it.”

The top three states for inquiries are California, Texas, and Florida. We have received applications from within South Dakota as well. The Freedom Works Here campaign is helping lifelong South Dakotans and new residents alike. A map showing where applicants are from can be found here.

“We’ve never had a recruitment marketing effort that has captured this many people in this way for the entirety of the marketing campaign – let alone in less than seven days,” said Marcia Hultman, Secretary of the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation (DLR).

Businesses like Terex have reaped the benefits of our booming economy, but they still lack the workers that are critical to their continued success. The over 1,300 people who have already shown interest in coming to work here in South Dakota will be their solutions.

“Since the 1970s, thousands of families have built a solid future with Terex Utilities and our direct suppliers in Eastern South Dakota by manufacturing equipment that enables the utility industry to supply safe, reliable electricity to our country. In the past five years, Terex has invested significantly to more than double the size of our manufacturing capacity in Watertown. South Dakota has much to offer, and Terex is proud to be one of the state’s leading manufacturing employers. Terex Utilities supports the Freedom Works Here initiative and commends Governor Noem for championing residency and employment in our state,” said Eric Kluver, Terex Utilities Vice President and General Manager.

South Dakota has grown consistently over the last few years. At 1.9%, we have the lowest unemployment rate in American history. But we still have 25,000 open jobs. South Dakota businesses need workers – that is why Governor Noem started Freedom Works Here.

“The next step is to get these folks plugged into our workforce and our communities here in South Dakota,” said Chris Schilken, the Commissioner of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. “We need businesses to work with us so that we can make sure all of our open jobs are listed.”

If your South Dakota business has open jobs, find future talent here.

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From the Argus Leader, Governor Kristi Noem is not looking at running for President and has her eyes set on South Dakota:

In a call with KWAT, a Watertown-based radio station on Monday morning, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem hopped on the airwaves and said she’s focusing on the state, rather than considering a presidential bid at the moment.

and..

“President Trump is in the race and right now, I don’t see a path for victory with anybody else with him in the race and the situation as it sits today, but I think people should saddle up,” Noem said.

Read the entire story here.

If you recall my post this last week on the talk that Sioux Falls City Councilman and former Representative Alex Jensen is looking at running at the District 13 State Senate Seat, things have immediately started to move forward in that contest.

On the heels of that post, the next day in a podcast promoted by local Sioux Falls ultra-conservative group Patriot Ripple Effect Representative Sue Peterson announced that she will also be running for the D13 Senate seat this next year.

Peterson has been a member of the House of Representatives for 7 years, and was a part of the LRC Executive Board as a member from 2019-2020.

While Sue did not have a general election in 2022, she did face a 4 way primary where she and then incumbent Richard Thomason were challenged by Tony Venhuizen and Patriot Ripple Effect candidate Penny Baybridge, where Venhuizen won with a vote of 2227, and Peterson came in second with 1911 votes.

That marked Peterson’s second primary, where she had previously faced fellow Republican challengers in 2016 after seatmate Mark Mickelson decided against running again, opening up the seat. With two challengers also running for the open seat, in the 2018 primary, Peterson was the top vote getter, with the second seat won by Rex Rolfing falling to a Democrat in the fall contest.

Since Peterson’s announcement, the initial drumbeat of Jensen getting into the contest have grown louder, further detailing that D13 Senate race will be a huge race to watch next June, with lots of activity in the interim while we wait.

State Rep. Joe Donnell is a pretty nice guy, but when you go on internet broadcasts and claim Mt. Rushmore is a demonic freemason shrine, and a portal through which communism is being spread, that might be a problematic thing.

 

This is Joe Donnell. He is an elected official serving in South Dakota’s House of Representatives. He believes that Mount Rushmore is a demonic portal through which communism is being spread across the nation. https://t.co/Un4LjwKZjy pic.twitter.com/85p3rJsWoh

— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) June 26, 2023

..Well, I got nothing. Legislators, please stay off of crazy internet broadcasts on Rumble.

Johnson Secures Prohibition of CCP-Backed Shipping Software in NDAA 

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) secured a provision prohibiting the use of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) state-controlled shipping platform LOGINK at U.S. ports. Johnson’s amendment is a part of his larger effort to crack down on CCP influence at American ports and was included in the House Armed Services Committee 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

LOGINK is used at more than 20 ports worldwide and stores unrivaled data and visibility into global shipping container flows. It’s estimated the CCP and its state-controlled shipping platform have contact with at least half of the global shipping container flows. If LOGINK gained access to U.S. carriers and ports, the CCP would be at an extreme competitive advantage, allowing them to underbid foreign competitors and further increase dependency on Chinese markets.

“More 90% of traded goods are carried through ocean shipping,” said Johnson. “LOGINK provides massive amounts of monitoring, data, and logistics infrastructure to the CCP – it’s imperative we keep LOGINK out of American ports. China already competes unfairly in the global shipping arena. Blocking their access to American port data is one small step to keep this advantage to a minimum.”

The Armed Services Committee-passed NDAA awaits a vote on the House floor. Read the full amendment here.

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