Getting It Done
By Rep. Dusty Johnson
December 10, 2021

There’s a classic narrative that nothing gets accomplished in Washington. I’ll admit there’s a lot of disfunction in government, but this week that wasn’t the case.

The end of the year is a busy time for most folks– from college finals to end of year budgets, project deadlines and Christmas shopping – it’s crunch time. It’s similar in Congress. After months of work and collaboration, two of my bills passed the U.S. House this week.

The Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA) that I led with Representative John Garamendi to hold foreign ocean shippers accountable passed the House 364-60. This bipartisan bill is the biggest overhaul of federal maritime policy in 30 years to address the ongoing supply chain crisis and will safeguard South Dakota agriculture exporters from unfair trade practices like we are seeing at U.S. ports today.

South Dakota businesses from Strider Bikes in Rapid City to Valley Queen Cheese in Milbank are experiencing port delays, equipment access issues, and declined bookings. These delays have a negative impact on our local economy. More than 2 million pounds of South Dakota lactose that’s been sold and is ready to ship is sitting in Valley Queen’s warehouse waiting for an empty container to become available. On top of that, the National Milk Producers Federation estimates that export supply chain challenges cost the U.S. dairy sector nearly $1 billion in only six months.

My bill provides a solution to these problems, and I am confident it will get quick consideration in the Senate.

The Cattle Contract Library Act also passed the House on Wednesday. Currently, cattlemen are unaware of contract terms being offered by packers, leading to a decline in leverage for smaller producers during price negotiations.

Since I came to Congress, producers have made it clear they want transparency. The Cattle Contract Library provides just that and increases competition in an industry that desperately needs it. While no single piece of legislation can solve all problems, it can certainly help. Getting this bill across the finish line was a team effort, and I’m grateful to all of the producers that helped get this done.

I’m a policy guy, so I was encouraged to see a number of victories and real policies pass the House this week. Some might call it a Christmas miracle.

The work is not done though, but I will keep working to get both pieces of my legislation across the finish line in the Senate.

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The release of the names of House members who voted to hold a special session on impeachment last night by Senate President Pro Tempore Lee Schoenbeck is sure to be a point of contention among legislative leadership.. but it may not stop lawsuits directed at the Speaker and Legislative Research Council leadership.

“I don’t want to waste taxpayer money on this,” Schoenbeck said Friday, referring to ongoing litigation between the Argus Leader, Gosch and Reed Holwegner, the Legislature’s head record keeper.

However, the release of the petitions might not be enough to stave off a lawsuit. Holwegner in September denied a request for petitions related to previous special sessions called by the Legislature, including special sessions on redistricting in 2011 and 2021, and the Argus Leader continues to argue transparency regarding special session petitions should not be subject to the discretion of any individual lawmaker.

Read that here.

The decision whether to pay to defend Gosch in these lawsuits may be put to the legislature’s executive board. And that vote could potentially not be a sure thing.

Uh oh..

Sen. @LeeSchoenbeck released the names the House members who signed petition supporting special session on impeachment, despite efforts by Speaker @SpencerGosch to keep them secret. 49 House members signed.

— Joe Sneve (@Argus_Joe) December 11, 2021

Looks like some of those “delays” are being sidestepped. (Read the entire thread for the list)

Health Secretary Kim Malsam-Rysdon to Join Private Sector

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, South Dakota Secretary of Health Kim Malsam-Rysdon announced that she will be departing from the Noem Administration to join the private sector. Her last day as Secretary will be January 7, 2022.

“Kim has been a steady hand as our Secretary of Health,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “I have appreciated her help and partnership during unprecedented times. We will miss having her on the team, and we wish her all the best.”

Secretary Malsam-Rysdon has been the Secretary of the Department of Health (DOH) since 2015. She previously served as senior advisor to Governor Daugaard, Secretary of the Department of Social Services, Deputy Secretary of Social Services, and Director of the Divisions of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities in the Department of Human Services. Prior to working for the state of South Dakota, Kim worked to help people with disabilities live and work in their communities. 

“I am thankful for the opportunity to lead the Department of Health the last seven years, and for Governor Noem’s leadership, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Secretary Kim Malsam-Rysdon. “The employees of the Department of Health are some of the best public servants in the state, and I am grateful for their hard work on behalf of people in South Dakota.”

Joan Adam, current Division Director for Administration at DOH, will serve as the Interim Secretary of Health. Joan has worked for the Department for a combined twenty years. She has served as Division Director for Administration since 2010, where she oversees the SD Public Health Laboratory; Correctional Healthcare Services; the Offices of Vital Records and Health Statistics, and Health Information Technology.

Joan and Karl, her husband of 32 years, live in Pierre, SD, where they have raised their five children.  Their family also includes a son-in-law, daughter-in-law, and one grandson. You can find a picture of Joan here.

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Dakota News Now has a story on the Special Investigative Committee on Impeachment which was formed by the State House of Representatives to review whether there was any basis to impeach Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg as a result of a traffic accident where Joseph Boever was killed in September of 2020.

And apparently in doing things such as seeking open government and disclosure, the media is being blamed by the Speaker of the House for the committee’s lack of forward momentum:

It has been a month since the South Dakota State House convened to create a committee to consider the impeachment of Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg.

and..

Speaker of the House Spencer Gosch (R-Glenham), who heads the committee, says that part of the reason for the delay is because of a number of lawsuits, or threats of lawsuits, that he and the Legislative Research Council (LRC) have faced.

“In the process of finding special counsel we have run into a few hiccups,” Gosch said. “Whether that be frivolous lawsuits from certain media entities, that takes up a ton of our time, or just threats thereof. Ultimately, we have run into other hiccups too. We are still on the right path and will have more updates as they come.”

Read the entire story here.

They’d have had that all figured out if it wasn’t for those meddling kids in the media?

I’m sure they would.

Budgeting for the future
By Governor Kristi Noem
December 10, 2021

This week, I outlined my budget recommendations for how we will run our state in the next fiscal year. The past year has brought historic challenges. South Dakota has taken those challenges in stride and has come out stronger.

Our state has the strongest economy in America. I want to make sure that we do not take that for granted, and that we also work to keep that momentum building. We are going to invest in our people and prepare for the future.

South Dakota is ranked in the Top 5 for fiscal stability. That is because for 133 years straight, we have passed balanced budgets and we hedge against potential downturns in the economy. This year, our state has seen tremendous growth in our revenue. That is why I am recommending a historic 14% — about $300 million — for strategic reserves in case the negative indicators in the economy start to make their way into our state.

These include historic investments in workforce housing, to spur new development of single- and multi-family homes. This includes $150 million from the state and $50 million in federal funds. A partnership with local cities and developers will triple the total investment to $600 million for new housing.

Through a partnership with local, state, and federal dollars, we can put $1.5 billion in combined funding to address water projects. These would replace aging infrastructure and help develop new systems for wastewater and sewers.

For those who are already working here, our Department of Social Services will be using $100 million in federal dollars to support existing daycares with one-time costs. These dollars can help expand availability at daycares, and also train more people to work at daycares.

And for those who are looking to switch careers or are getting ready to enter the workforce, I am recommending more than $47 million to expand skilled workforce training capacity at our colleges and universities. These include strengthening programs focused on healthcare, cybersecurity, manufacturing, and farming , and ranching. These programs have the potential to make our schools a top draw for students around the world. They also will attract some of the most competitive companies in a variety of industries.

Of course, we also need to keep our people healthy and strong. That is why I am recommending several key investments in healthcare. In addition to expanding workforce training so we have more qualified nurses, I am recommending we invest in marketing and recruiting for the industries most affected by the pandemic. I am supporting funding to create regional Behavioral Health Centers to help individuals struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues.

To improve access to care in our rural communities, I am recommending a combination of state and federal dollars to improve EMS services. These include funding for new technology to expand telehealth, upgrading life-saving equipment, and regionalizing services to improve response times.

I am recommending that the Department of Tourism use federal dollars to expand our successful marketing of both local and state attractions. South Dakota saw record tourism numbers this past year. We want to help these visitors explore more of our state by working with local cities and Native American tribes on marketing efforts to increase exposure.

I am also continuing my support of law enforcement by recommending several investments to our courts and to the Department of Corrections (DOC). These include targeted pay raises for the DOC to be competitive with other law enforcement agencies.

This week, I revealed that our DOC facility needs currently sit at about $600 million. We will not spend all of that today, but I am recommending the legislature save money for these needs in the future. I am recommending $28 million to build a Community Work Center for Women in Rapid City.

Last, but not least, I am recommending a historic 6% increase in funding for our state employees, educators, and healthcare providers. This increase is the largest in state history, and it is necessary because of dramatic inflation and to keep our salaries competitive.

Of course, this is not the complete budget recommendation. These are some of the highlights of solutions to priority issues facing South Dakota. To view my full budget proposal for the Fiscal Year 2023, go to https://bfm.sd.gov/budget.

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Republican women had a pre-legislative forum recently, and it sounds like State Senator Julie Frye-Mueller took the opportunity to continue to spread her crackpot theories on school handbooks:

“This is where the schools can play doctor with your children in their non-emergency invasive physical exams,” says Rep. Frye-Mueller, eluding to some fine print in school handbooks that she says she’d be happy to show someone if they asked. “It’s in federal law, so it’s in every school handbook. What an invasive physical exam is, is exposure of private body parts, including incision insertion and injection into the body. Now, I could send my child to school and they could get a vaccine. Incision,” she says counting on her fingers, “insertion, injection.”

Read it all here.

(I’m glad for the crowd’s sake she only had to count to three, or they might have been waiting a while.)

If you recall, Frye-Mueller hadn’t been shy about claiming school handbooks would give permission for schools to ‘transgender’ children.

And it sounds as if she’s planning to bring this complete nuttery to the legislature in Pierre next month.

Thune: Democrats Move to Double the Size of the IRS, Jeopardize Taxpayers’ Privacy

“Democrats’ reason for this IRS expansion is to raise revenue to help pay for their tax-and-spending spree.”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed the Democrats’ desire to double the size of the Internal Revenue Service in order to pay for their reckless tax-and-spending spree. Thune noted that the agency’s poor reputation and mismanagement of taxpayer dollars would further jeopardize the privacy of South Dakotans’ personal information.

https://twitter.com/jayfug/status/1469039339296505863

I suspect they’ll be turning in petitions in at some point soon, which does not come as a shock. Unless the state challenges the petition collection date court decision, which I have not heard they’re doing, I think it’s a forgone conclusion that the question of recreational pot legalization will go to the voters again.

Interesting.  While it’s not a mandatory attendance for State Legislators, you would think the Governor’s Budget address would be a pretty important thing to attend for a member of the House Appropriations Committee. But at least according to this picture noting State Representative Taffy Howard’s seat in the legislature, it appears to be occupied by Senator Maher:

And where would we find Congressional challenger Taffy Howard instead of at her desk? For starters, it appears she was in Washington DC this week hobnobbing with Congresspersons Thomas Massie and Marjorie Taylor Greene:

Rep. Howard thought it was more important to meet with Congresswoman Greene than to hear about South Dakota’s budget? Wow. What was she talking with MTG about? QAnon and Secret Jewish space lasers?

When Taffy says “Unlike my opponent, these members of Congress actually stand up for Americans and fight the insanity that goes on in DC.”  She probably should have said these members of Congress ARE the insanity that goes on in DC.