South Dakota Senator Michael H. Rohl Among  20 Leaders Nationwide Receiving Leadership Honor

Senator Michael Rohl is among just 20 young leaders recognized by The Council of State Governments for bipartisan state leadership in 2022. The CSG 20 Under 40 Leadership Award recognizes the outstanding work of 20 up-and-coming elected or appointed officials from across the country who not only exemplify strong leadership skills but have also demonstrated a true commitment to serving the citizens they represent.

“The state officials recognized this year come from diverse backgrounds, different political parties, different branches of state government and from every region of our country, but they share a singular commitment to make a difference for those they serve,” said David Adkins, CSG executive director/CEO. “They are hard-working leaders who have demonstrated the ability to productively collaborate to achieve consensus and produce results, and their public service honors the oldest and best values of our democracy.”

Recipients of the 20 Under 40 Leadership Award are selected from a competitive pool of applicants from across the country and all three branches of state government.

“It’s an honor to win a nationwide, bipartisan leadership award, but great leadership is a team sport, and I couldn’t have done it alone. I was blessed to serve with some amazing Senators that are willing to put in the long hours to better our state. I’m appreciative of their dedication and loyalty. This wouldn’t be possible without the faith and support my district showed me as a 30-year-old political outsider in 2020. There is no doubt my district sets a high standard for me, but I’ll continue working every day to exceed their expectations because that’s who my parents raised me to be.”  – Senator Rohl

The committee considered each nominee’s ability to: engage officials across party lines in meaningful ways to advance the common good, provide exceptional leadership to a state chamber, and ability to serve as a champion of change seeking to enhance the lives of all constituents within a specific policy area. Senator Rohl was selected for this award for his work defending the initiated measure process, leading on criminal justice reform legislation, advocacy for education investments, and his work reducing regulations on small business. During his first term, Senator Rohl passed 8 bills through the legislature and onto the Governor’s Desk. All 8 bills had bipartisan support.

Award recipients will be honored by state government leaders at the 2022 CSG National Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Kristi for Governor Launches New Ad: “Cutting Taxes. Saving Families.”

PIERRE, SOUTH DAKOTA – This past weekend, the Kristi for Governor campaign launched a multi-week six figure ad buy called “Cutting. Saving Families.” The ad features Governor Noem’s promise to deliver the largest tax cut in South Dakota history by eliminating the sales tax on groceries.

“Under Joe Biden, prices on essentials goods and groceries are skyrocketing,” the ad says, highlighting that milk prices have increased 20%, beef prices have increased 25%, and egg prices have increased 113% since President Biden took office. These data points are according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

“It’s my job as Governor to protect [families],” Governor Kristi Noem says in the ad. “I am promising that we will repeal the grocery food tax and deliver the largest tax cut in the history of the state of South Dakota.” Governor Noem’s remarks were taken from her announcement of the tax cut at Dakota Butcher in Rapid City last Wednesday.

Eliminating the grocery sales tax reduces the tax burden on South Dakotans by $100 million.

You can learn more about Governor Noem’s promise to eliminate the sales tax on groceries here.

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For me and Kimberley, raising two daughters has been the joy of our lives. Nothing compares to family dinners, cheering on your kids’ teams, and watching them build families of their own. Anybody who’s raised a family knows it’s not easy. Along the way, there are sleepless nights, personal sacrifices, and hurdles with on-the-job training.

But for some families, the challenges are far greater. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there are 407,000 children in foster care – 117,000 of these children are waiting to be adopted. These kids are in the foster care system through no fault of their own and are in need of a secure and loving home. Foster and adoptive parents give the gift of family to thousands of children each year, providing the stability and support that many of us take for granted.

As a proud member of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, I have had the privilege to meet many of these families throughout my time in Congress. Each year, I have the opportunity to honor a South Dakota family who has chosen to adopt or foster children in need and who inspire and support other families to do so as well. Meeting these South Dakota families is always humbling and inspiring.

This year, I nominated Emily, Dan, and Brady Richardt from Aberdeen for the Angels in Adoption Award. For nearly a decade, since they first started the adoption process themselves, Emily and Dan have wanted to be involved in the foster care community. They put these plans on hold, though, when they welcomed their biological son, Brady, but their desire to be a foster family didn’t go away. Once their son was old enough to understand the importance of fostering children, the Richardts opened their home and over the last five years have welcomed eight children into their family for as little as 10 days and for as long as a year. The Richardts are currently fostering a four-month-old baby boy, who I was lucky enough to meet at the Brown County Fair this year.

During times of uncertainty in foster children’s lives, families like the Richardts provide stability, support, and love. There are few acts more worthy of our admiration than welcoming a child in need and providing them with a secure and loving home. I was proud to present Emily, Dan, and Brady with the 2022 Angels in Adoption Award when they visited Washington, D.C., recently. For all they’ve done, this recognition seems like the least we could do.

There are countless families just like the Richardts whose homes are a little fuller for having chosen to adopt or foster a child in need. I am so grateful for these families who welcome the challenges alongside the rewards of being adoptive or foster parents. I know these families will continue to inspire others to choose adoption and to open their homes to foster children.

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Congress had a pretty busy week in Washington, D.C. – here’s a recap.

Today, the House voted on the Continuing Resolution to fund the government for the next several weeks. While permitting restrictions and funding for monkeypox and COVID were stripped out – there was too much pork in this bill – I voted no.

My bill, the Gilt Edge Mine Conveyance Act passed the House 296-127. This bill would give South Dakota the opportunity to purchase the land at the Gilt Edge Mine so cleanup can continue. The current ownership consists of a patchwork of local, state, and federal governments, making it difficult to complete a cleanup. You can watch my floor remarks here.

This week, I introduced a bill to improve safety and increase law enforcement resources on reservations across America. The Tribal Capital for Operations Promoting Safety (COPS) Act would increase capabilities of tribal law enforcement agencies through recruitment and retention incentives, additional trainings, and equipment procurement.

A shocking 77% of teen overdose deaths in 2021 were caused by fentanyl. On Wednesday, I cosponsored the Protecting Kids from Fentanyl Act, led by Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO), to allow schools flexibility to use remaining COVID relief dollars to purchase overdose prevention drugs and resources for life-saving trainings for faculty, staff, and students.

Additionally, I joined 50 of my colleagues in asking the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to review how China’s purchase of land near the Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota could be a national security threat. I am leading legislation to prohibit China’s purchase of America’s agricultural land and ag businesses. Food security is national security.

In between all of this, I met with organizations, tribes, and constituents, led a capitol tour for guests, and voted on close to 50 bills in just three days. It is common for people to think we don’t do much in Washington, D.C., but it is usually busier than it seems, especially since House members are heading back to their districts until November.

I was disappointed – but not surprised – when House leadership punted a vote on a congressional stock trading ban once again. Members have no business trading stocks and our constituents agree. If Democrat leadership can’t get this done, I’m dedicated to working with Republican leadership and members on both sides to pass the Trust in Congress Act in January.

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South Dakotans don’t ask much from their government. They just want the Freedom to live their lives and for the government to guarantee a level playing field with common sense rules for everyone to play by. As I travel our beautiful state, I hear from South Dakotans who are grateful for that Freedom. But many of them are struggling under the weight of inflation caused by President Biden’s extremist policies. They ask me what can be done to give them relief.

This week, I announced my pledge to eliminate the sales tax on food in my next budget. This will be the largest tax cut in South Dakota’s history, putting $100 million back in the pockets of South Dakota taxpayers.

Everyone is feeling the pressures of Biden’s inflation. And they’re feeling it the most when they buy groceries. I was at a grocery store recently, and the store owner told me that his overall food costs have increased by 14% over the last year. Unfortunately, he’s had to pass a lot of that to his customers. Since President Biden took office, the price of a gallon of milk is up by 20%. The price of a pound of ground beef is up by 25%. The price of a dozen eggs is up by 113% – that’s shocking. But it’s the reality that South Dakotans are facing.

South Dakota has an incredible tax system – we have no state income tax or corporate tax. We don’t levy a statewide property tax. I have always been in favor of finding ways to let taxpayers keep more of their hard-earned income. By eliminating this tax, we can help South Dakotans better afford their grocery bill, which will relieve some of the pressure on their family’s budget.

The truth is South Dakota’s finances are in incredible shape. We continue to break records for tax revenues thanks to our strongest economy in the nation. Our state’s surplus is the largest in our history – 20.5% of our overall budget. And Fitch Ratings just reaffirmed our AAA credit rating.

But those tax dollars don’t belong to the government. They belong to the taxpayers – the people of South Dakota. This is the right tax cut at the right time, and I look forward to getting it done.

Our people deserve a level playing field. They deserve Freedom. And they deserve to not have to worry about how they’ll afford food. This tax cut will put hundreds of dollars back into the pockets of every South Dakota family. It will give them the relief that they so desperately need. The people of South Dakota deserve no less.

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I took a few hours off of work this weekend to head down to Sioux Falls with my #1 daughter to check out the 2022 version of Siouxpercon, South Dakota’s own convention of comic enthusiasts and pop culture.  I wanted to go check out and support my local comic book shop in Brookings, who was one of the featured exhibitors, and to see what else might be there.  My oldest has a thing for the funco pop-figures which she collects from time to time, and wanted to check out their selection, so off we went.

According to the Siouxpercon website, “The vision of SiouxperCon is to engage individuals, cultivating  their interest of comics and various popular art forms through workshops, panels, seminars, exhibitions and hosting conventions.”  The event has started to come into it’s own, in comparison to some of the “cons” across the country in terms of it’s level of interest and activity, as the event was anticipated to draw between 6-8000 spectators this weekend for the various forums, autograph signings and events.

While parking could be a bit of a challenge, as it shared a parking lot with a band competition next door, I found it completely accessible, and quickly got through the ticket line, and was able to head straight into the exhibition hall, to where Brookings Books & Comics was located.  At $15 a ticket, it is inexpensive entertainment which is appropriate for older kids and adults. Especially adults for some of the evening events.

My daughter quickly picked up a Funco pop-figure collectible for my youngest for Christmas (shhh), with her favorite Marvel TV character at the moment.

The entire event hall seemed almost heavier on toys than it was on comics, as I only noted 4-5 booths with what I wanted to pick through. But, in many cases, the selection wasn’t bad.  I was after some mid-value books that I might add to my collection that I was having trouble chasing down on-line, as well as doing a little impulse buying.  Vendors had a good selection, and if you were careful, you could find prices in line with values. My daughter snapped a photo of me figuring out what I had to have..

I did manage to walk away with a couple of those books I was ogling on the wall. No, not the $1400 Batman or $2000 Spider-man comics.   I grabbed a graded one that I keep getting outbid for on at ebay, as well an ungraded one that’s more challenging to find. And a grabbed an inexpensive impulse buy or two that caught my attention.

As I mentioned, in comparison to previous years, the event is starting to come into it’s own. There were a fair degree of outside vendors in attendance, including the staff from Dakota News Now, who had a booth located just at the entrance of the exhibit hall.  But, speaking of sponsors, for every Dakota News Now, Black Hills Federal Credit Union, and Sioux Falls Plumbing you have sponsoring, you have Native Nations Cannabis, and a head shop or two.

While some of those sponsorships are for adult evening events, it does skew things in a more adult direction at times, especially with a few of the costumes and furries that were running around while I was there. Just something to keep in mind when deciding what time to bring the kids over.

The Siouxpercon event runs until 5pm today at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.

The three candidates for Governor met tonight on Dakota News Now, and Kristi Noem took no prisoners, while Jamie Smith seems to have fumbled his one opportunity to sound gubernatorial.

Governor Noem was able to effectively discuss her record and make the case for her re-election, while continuing to define her opponent who seemed to have trouble even grasping some of the important issues.  Smith tried to defend his liberal record, and uncouple himself from Joe Biden, but Kristi drove the point home at every opportunity. It was classic Kristi Noem, where she was poised and unflappable despite Smith trying to answer cogently, while coming at her with attacks that just didn’t work.

Big takeaways? Kristi was Kristi, solid as a rock, and as always continues to be one of the best in the state on the stump. She stayed on target, stuck to her message, and would not be drawn away from it.  Tracey Quint reminded me of James Stockdale in his debate against Al Gore and Dan Quayle. She could have said “Who am I, why am I here.” In between saying “you know” in every sentence. She was happy to be on stage.

Jamie Smith had the most to lose, and while he tried to push his message out, and strike out at Governor Noem, it fell short.  But then he came out with his answer on agriculture which was glaring in it’s…. well, in it’s ignorance about anything coming out of the ag community. They asked about what the candidates would do for farmers and ranchers, and one of the main things that Smith said he wanted to do for farmers was to talk to politicians in other states, and would go to the Western Governor’s Association.

Wait? what? Smith actually thinks that farmers care a fig about who he talks to at the Western Governors Association?  No.

Despite his answer, I don’t think they care about it at all. That’s what politicians may claim they care about, but I don’t think that’s the case.  Kristi quickly owned Smith, and underlined his complete ignorance on agriculture, when one of the first words out of her mouth in reference to ag was markets. She hit the nail on the head, in comparison to Smith swinging at imaginary flies.   This one will come back to haunt him. 

Otherwise, Kristi conducted herself with confidence in the remainder of the debate, while Smith remained spinning his wheels.

Definite win for Governor Noem, showing that there’s a reason she will be elected again on November 8.

While the big news yesterday was Governor Kristi Noem pledging to support a repeal of the sales tax on food, it doesn’t sounds as if the municipal sales tax on food is going to join the State Sales tax in going away, as it is the lifeblood of many communities:

Though both Gov. Kristi Noem and Rep. Jamie Smith – her challenger in the November election – say they want lawmakers to exempt milk, bread and other food items from the list of goods the state now taxes at a 4.5 percent rate, both stop short of a full repeal of food sales tax in South Dakota.

Noem’s campaign said Wednesday after announcing her plan to bring a food sales tax repeal bill to the Legislature during the next session that her proposal – if re-elected – would not apply to a 2 percent sales tax rate that cities across the state are entitled to.

And the Sioux Falls Democrat, who for years has called for an end to state taxation on food, also prefers leaving municipal sales tax alone.

Read the entire story here. (Subscription required)

Interestingly, I had this very conversation yesterday with a State Legislator who voiced the concern that for many small towns, the sales tax on food is their main source of tax revenue. South Dakota Municipalities are likely to line up against cutting a source of revenue where everyone, property owner and renter alike have some skin in the game in funding city services. Especially in communities where they just don’t have that much. Because the alternative would be higher property taxes, or new forms of revenue.

It was another busy week out in DC! My schedule was packed with committee hearings, floor votes and meetings with South Dakotans. Although we have long days filled with work, we had fun moments throughout this week, including presenting some special awards and receiving some pretty cool awards, too. Here’s my Weekly Round[s] Up: 

South Dakota groups I visited with: Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce, Xcel Energy, SDN Communications, KBR Contracting, Associated General Contractors of South Dakota, South Dakota Native Homeowner Coalition, South Dakota leadership class and superintendents and principals from schools in South Dakota who utilize impact aid. I attended the Out of the Darkness walk in Sioux Falls organized by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

I also had the opportunity to meet with John and Beth Hughes, my nominees for this year’s Angels in Adoption Award. John and Beth have helped with over 500 adoptions in 45 states during their 31 years of practice. It was great to see them out in DC and recognize them for all of their hard work.

Other meetings this week: Jane Fraser, CEO of Citi Bank; Admiral Richard, Commander of U.S. Strategic Command; John Garrison, the CEO of Terex; Electronic Transactions Association’s Fintech policy forum; and Dr. Shereef Elnahal, VA Undersecretary for Health.

We also had our weekly Senate Bible Study (1 Corinthians 13:1 was our verse this week) and our Senate Prayer Breakfast (Senator Hagerty from Tennessee was our speaker).

Met with South Dakotans from: Aberdeen, Bonesteel, Box Elder, Canton, Chamberlain, Custer, Dupree, Eagle Butte, Fort Pierre, Martin, McIntosh, McLaughlin, Mission, Mobridge, Pierre, Pine Ridge, Presho, Rapid City, Renner, Sioux Falls, Timber Lake, Wagner, Wall, Webster and Winner.

I was able to meet with Robbie Willard, a Vietnam veteran from Renner, and award him a Vietnam Veteran Lapel Pin to thank him for his service.

Topics discussed: The reveal of the B-21 Raider bomber coming this December, the upcoming continuing resolution to keep the government funded for a few more months, and the need for increased mental health services.

Votes taken: 9 – Most of these votes were on nominees. We also voted on the ratification of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, a treaty concerning the environment that could increase costs for South Dakotans. I voted no.

Hearings: There were two hearings in the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee again this week. The first one was focused on US sanctions on Russia. In the second hearing, we heard from the CEOs of America’s seven largest banks. I was also ranking member had a Housing subcommittee hearing on the Department of Agriculture’s rural housing service. There was an Armed Services committee hearing on US nuclear policy. We also had a Veterans Affairs committee hearing, where we heard from VA Secretary McDonough on timely care at the VA facilities and the Care in the Community program. I appreciated the opportunity to follow up with Secretary McDonough about the long wait times at the Sioux Falls VA facilities.

Classified briefings: We had a briefing on the ongoing situation in Ukraine.

My staff in South Dakota visited: Burke, Chamberlain, Kimball, Mount Vernon, Pierre and Sioux Falls.

Staff happenings: Some of my DC staff came out to Nationals Park after work on Wednesday to support me and my colleague, Senator Jon Tester from Montana, in Anheuser-Busch’s Congressional Brewing Competition. We made a beer called the 17 Finger Select using barley from Jon’s farm in Montana. We took home both trophies – the People’s Choice Award and the Brew Democracy Cup, which was voted on by a panel of judges.

Steps taken this week: 52,880 (or 24.8 miles)

The battle for Republican Leadership is less of a battle at this point, as much as nudging and elbowing as people position themselves in line.  Who are the names that you should keep an eye on as we roll past November 8, and Republican legislators plan to get together amongst themselves to decide who will be leading the Class of 2023?

HOUSE

Coming off previous sessions in the House, which many outside observers rate the running of the State House from poor (under Steve Haugaard) to dysfunctional (under Spencer Gosch), at least on the surface, there seems to be an appetite for a change. Now, that’s not a guarantee that the House and Senate are going to get along and agree on everything, but there’s the possibility that a Republican House would spend more time governing than attacking the Republican Governor.

Who are the players to keep an eye on in the various contests for leadership?  Things can develop quickly, and a lot of how races come out will depend on which Republicans are sent to Pierre in the fall.

Speaker of the House:

This is the big contest. In the House, the Speaker has the authority to decide committee assignments, seating, and a host of other official duties. The buck stops with them, for better or worse. And we’ve had a lot of worse over the past couple of years.

The current word in the Speaker race is that several are in the contest. State Representative Hugh Bartels from Watertown is the first name at the top of many lists, followed by State Representatives Greg Jamison of Sioux Falls and Jess Olson of Rapid City.  Current Speaker Pro Tempore Jon Hansen of Dell Rapids is also said to be running, but given that he was the chief lieutenant under Gosch, conventional wisdom is that legislators may step forward and break with tradition.

 

House Speaker Pro Tempore:

This internal caucus race is kind of quiet at the moment, but the name that I hear is Mike Stevens of Yankton. Stevens, an attorney by trade, is an experienced hand in his second run of being in the legislature and would be viewed by most as a respected, steady hand at the wheel.

Republican House Majority Leader:

Here’s where some of the jockeying has been going on recently. Long-time politico and Pierre-area attorney Will Mortenson is said to be leading the chase for Majority Leader after Mike Derby was said to have stepped back from the race, throwing his support to Mortenson. Current Majority Whip Rebecca Reimer of Chamberlain is also said to be campaigning for the spot, as well as Representative Scott Odenbach from Spearfish.

 

Assistant Republican Majority Leader:

This office has had those holding it move on to bigger and better things, such as Kristi Noem, current Governor, former Congresswoman, and former Assistant Majority Leader for the 2009-2010.   And you never know, as Sioux Falls State Representative Taylor Rehfeldt campaigns as hard as the Governor did back in the day.

Rehfeldt is probably the most visible of the names that has popped up for the contest, with State Representatives Randy Gross of Flandreau, and Representative Kirk Chaffee of Whitewood also said to be running for the position among their colleagues.

 

SENATE

The Senate is not thought to be looking wholesale change in the coming term, or at least there are no thoughts of it based on who we anticipate will be elected.

Compared to the House, it might even be said to be a little boring, but boring is good for what has worked over the last two years.

President Pro Tempore:

Senator Lee Schoenbeck of Watertown who has led the Senate through all of the rocky waters over the past 2 years of his tenure, including leading on redistricting, and being the voice of sanity during 2 years of impeachment investigations and proceedings is not facing any challenge at the moment.  During the past few years, Lee has been an effective leader in building coalitions and steering the Senate at a time when the House had been divided and struggled.

Senate Republican Majority Leader:

With Current Majority Leader Senator Gary Cammack termed out, Senator Casey Crabtree of Madison is fully in the driver seat for Senate Majority Leader contest, and has taken a lead on efforts including helping Senators to get re-elected.  He should win this contest handily, and no opponents are out there.

Senate Republican Assistant Majority Leader:

Senator Mike Diedrich of Rapid City is definitively in the contest, but there are rumors that another Senator is looking at a run. We’ll see how they develop, as it’s still early for this chamber. The sense of urgency for the internal Senate caucus campaigns are not as urgent as the House’s, just because of fewer numbers and a less disparate group.

Senate Majority Whips:

I’m told that we can expect Senators Duhamel, Wheeler, Tobin, Schoenfish, Bolin and others will be running for whip positions, with most current whips attempting to return to their positions.

That’s what I know at the end of September, with more fierce campaigning for these internal positions on both sides of the Capitol Building to come after the election on November 8.

Stay tuned!