Flags at Half-Staff at State Capitol in Honor of Former Senator Richard M. Kelly

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem ordered that flags be flown at half-staff at the State Capitol from sunrise until sunset on Wednesday, January 18, in honor of former state Senator Richard M. Kelly. He served in the South Dakota State Senate from 2002-2006.

Funeral services for former Sen. Kelly will take place at 11am on Wednesday, January 18, at First Baptist Church, 1401 S. Covell Avenue, Sioux Falls, SD 57105.

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Johnson Named to Agriculture, Transportation & Infrastructure Committees

 Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) announced his committee assignments for the 118^th Congress. Johnson will serve on the House Committee on Agriculture and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

“It’s an honor and privilege to serve on the House Agriculture and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees,” said Johnson. “These two committees are vital to South Dakotans’ livelihood and the state’s economy; I’m proud to give South Dakota a voice at the table. The Agriculture Committee has a Farm Bill to reauthorize this year. I’m looking forward to getting to work – there’s a lot to do.”

The 118^th Congress marks Johnson’s third term on the Agriculture Committee and his second term on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

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From Presentation College, the small Aberdeen based college will be shutting down operations after their summer 2023 session:

Presentation College will not enroll students for the 2023-24 academic year and will cease educational operations at the Aberdeen campus after the Spring and Summer 2023 sessions. Presentation College remains fully accredited. Read the full announcement presentation.edu/announcement and bookmark this page for information about Teach-Out plans.

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When will PC officially close?

For most programs the Spring 2023 semester will be the final semester offered by PC. The College will, however, continue the Practical Nursing program through August 2023. After that time, all PC educational operations will cease. Finally, the College will wrap up records transfer and complete state and national requirements.
Will there be a Class of 2023 Commencement? Will my degree from Presentation College be considered valid?

Absolutely! Presentation College is looking forward to hosting the Spring 2023 Commencement Exercises on May 6, 2023. Furthermore, all degrees conferred by the College at any time will always be valid because Presentation College remains fully accredited and will remain so until it ceases educational operations. Furthermore, PC is making arrangements to ensure that transcripts and other educational records will be available indefinitely to students and alumni through St. Ambrose University (SAU) as well as the National Student Clearinghouse (see below).

Can students continue to live on campus until PC closes? What will be the final date to move out of the residence halls?

Current students will be allowed to continue living in the suites until August 15, 2023, in order to complete classes, internships, or work requirements. Students will be required to pay the standard rental rate through their stay, follow all policies and guidelines outlined in the housing agreement, and complete the standard checkout procedure upon departure.

and..

What should I do if a news reporter contacts me about the College’s announcement?

You are never obligated to talk with a reporter or the media. Please direct reporters to the President’s Office, to questions@presentation.edu or 1-800-437-6060. You can also direct them to the Q&A pages on presentation.edu.

Read the Q&A about the college closing here.

A bit of a blow to the Aberdeen area job market.  And not a good thing for the students either.  Estimates have it at 800 undergraduate students, about half of Augustana University, and a little more than half of Sioux Falls College. It will be interesting to see how the students are absorbed.

Universities have been feeling the heat on enrollment since the outbreak of COVID, sliding for five consecutive semesters. It’s not a new thing, as enrollment had been on a downward trend for a number of years, but the pandemic kicked it into high hear.

It’s pretty understandable as students leave home and seek to spread their wings. My own son who was a COVID high school senior went from being cooped up in a bedroom doing school, to being cooped up in his dorm at college.. and he decided seeing the world in the Navy was a more attractive option.

Losing an entire college with all the jobs and the economic impact to the community of Aberdeen is going to sting. Thankfully, they still have Northern State, but the community is going to feel the impact and the void left by their departure.

Gov. Noem Announces Bill to Eliminate Sales Tax on Groceries

 PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem, Representative Mary Fitzgerald, and Senator John Wiik announced HB 1075, which will deliver the largest tax cut in South Dakota history by eliminating the sales tax on groceries. This proposal would put $102 million back in the pockets of South Dakotans.

“I’ve visited dozens of grocery stores across South Dakota in recent months, and every time, I meet South Dakotans who are shocked by the rising cost of food,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “They need relief – and we can afford to give it to them.”

In the last 2 years, the Consumer Price Index for “food at home” has risen 19%. This tax cut will counter that inflation in a direct and transparent way – consumers will see the impact on their receipt every time they go to the grocery store.

“Eliminating this tax will make it easier for South Dakota families to make ends meet, including my own kids and grandkids,” said Rep. Mary Fitzgerald. “As a former appropriator, I am confident that our state budget can afford this while still planning conservatively and responsibly for the future.”

A majority of states have cut major tax rates since January 1, 2021. South Dakota is an outlier as one of only 3 states that fully tax food.

“We hear a lot from special interest groups in the Capitol every year, but it’s time that we lobby on behalf of the taxpayer,” said Sen. John Wiik. “As we continue to shatter our state’s revenue records, legislators must ask ourselves, ‘how much is enough before we finally give it back to the people?’”

So far this fiscal year, ongoing general fund collections are up $146 million above the legislative adopted level. Governor Noem’s budget projects that this number will increase to $203 million by the end of Fiscal Year 2023, and her budget projects an additional $33 million in ongoing revenue growth in Fiscal Year 2024. With an additional $75 million in ongoing revenue available for last fiscal year, the state will still see $208 million in ongoing revenue even after this tax cut.

“Even with conservative projections for future revenue growth, we can afford this tax cut,” said Jim Terwilliger, Commissioner of the Bureau of Finance and Management. “The Governor has consistently provided large funding increases to schools, medical providers, state employees, and other groups. This proposal adds a group that is too often ignored – South Dakota taxpayers.”

The bill was introduced with 10 cosponsors, including 6 in the House and 4 in the Senate. The tax cut will not impact sales taxes collected by cities.

Governor Noem discussed eliminating the grocery tax in her State of the State Address; you can find those remarks here.

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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!