Legislators Announce “First Woman Governor” Bill and Constitutional Amendment

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Rep. Jess Olson (R-34) and Sen. Erin Tobin (R-21) announced bothHB 1175 and SJR 505 to reflect the fact that South Dakota has its first woman Governor. Both the bill and constitutional amendment change references to the Governor and other officials in state statute and the South Dakota Constitution to acknowledge this fact.

Governor Kristi Noem opened her 2023 State of the State address by citing Article 4 § 3 of the South Dakota Constitution: ‘The South Dakota state constitution requires the Governor to begin each legislative session by ‘[giving] the Legislature information concerning the affairs of the state and [recommending] the measures he considers necessary.’ Notice I didn’t say ‘she.’ The Constitution doesn’t say that. We’re going to fix that.” You can find video of these remarks here.

HB 1175 amends instances in state statute that refer to the Governor of South Dakota as “he” to now read “the Governor.” Similar changes are made for other state officials. SJR 505 makes the same changes in the South Dakota Constitution.

“We have a long history of strong female leaders in South Dakota,” said Representative Olson. “It’s time for our laws and Constitution to reflect the leaders that the people of South Dakota have elected to represent them.”

“Just over 100 years after women obtained the right to vote in South Dakota, we are finally coming forward with this language change,” said Senator Tobin. “I am excited to work with our first woman governor on this. My daughter will never have to question her place at the table because of this positive legislation.”

Kristi Lynn Noem is the first woman Governor of South Dakota.

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Gov. Noem Announces Paid Family Leave Proposal

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem and legislators announced a two-part paid family leave initiative. HB 1151 enhances paid family leave benefits for state employees and provides an affordable opportunity for entities in the private and public sectors to offer the same benefits. SB 154 establishes a $20 million grant program to help private businesses offer these enhanced benefits to their employees.

“Our families are the heart and soul of South Dakota,” said Governor Noem. “These bills together will strengthen families by extending paid family leave opportunities across the state. It is more important than ever that we continue to build strong families – because stronger families create a stronger South Dakota.”

Three years ago, Governor Noem proposed and signed SB 186 to cover 60% of the cost of family leave for state employees for up to 8 weeks following the birth or adoption of a child. These proposals together expand those opportunities.

The prime sponsors of HB 1151 are Representative Mike Weisgram (R-24) and Senator Jessica Castleberry (R-35).

“In addition to building stronger families, this legislation puts us in a position to attract top talent to state government,” said Representative Weisgram. “This bill not only extends benefits for new births or adoptions, but also covers instances where a spouse or parent suffers from a serious health condition, or where a spouse is called to active-duty military service. This is exactly what the families of South Dakota deserve.”

HB 1151 allows the Bureau of Human Resources to accept proposals from insurance companies to offer paid family and medical wage replacement coverage for all state employees. This insurance policy will cover 80% of a state’s employee salary for up to 12 weeks in a one-year period for:

• The birth of a child, placement from foster care, or adoption of a child;
• Care for a sick spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition; and
• Military exigency which requires leave due to a family member being on active duty.

The remaining 20% of an employee’s salary will be covered by the state through their agency’s budget, so state employees will receive 100% of their salaries while utilizing paid family leave. Private sector businesses, as well as other public sector entities, will be able to join the state’s insurance risk pool and purchase a policy that fits their needs from the state’s insurance provider – and receive a much lower premium rate than they otherwise would.

“As a mother and a business owner, I know how difficult it can be to balance taking care of both your child and your business,” said Senator Castleberry. “This paid family leave initiative takes the pressure off of parents and businesses by giving them the flexibility they so desperately need.”

The prime sponsors of SB 154 are Senator Tim Reed (R-07) and Rep. Becky Drury (R-32). This bill appropriates $20 million in one-time dollars for grants to encourage businesses to enroll in the paid family leave program and grow the insurance group size.

“We are facing a workforce shortage in every industry across the state,” said Senator Reed. “This grant program will empower private businesses – particularly small businesses – to offer paid family leave benefits to their employees, helping them recruit and retain their workers moving forward.”

The paid family leave grant program will be capped at $5 million per year for four years. As more businesses join the program, it will save reduce premium costs for both the state and private sector businesses even after the grant program expires.

“Too many South Dakota families have to make the difficult choice between staying home with a new child and their career. With this legislation, far more South Dakotans won’t have to make that choice,” said Representative Drury. “I am excited that we have the chance to extend this opportunity.”

Together, both of these bills enhance paid family leave in our state and help our small businesses thrive. These pieces of legislation are critical to ensuring that we can continue building stronger families right here in South Dakota.

Governor Noem discussed this initiative during her State of the State Address. You can find the video of that portion of the speech here.

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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.