Uh oh.
The big legislative news today is that the State Treasurer Josh Haeder has put the brakes on millions of dollars worth of federal relief funds for Day Care operations which has already been spent. And it looks as if House Appropriations is helping to drive that dispute that’s arisen in whether spending authority for the Governor on Day Care Assistance was granted last year, or if it’s something pending in this years’ session:
“I already have the authority,” Noem said. “They gave me the authority last year in last year’s budget to do this program.”
While that stance is supported by the state Senate, a contingent of House Republicans, including members of the chamber’s Appropriations Committee, contend that because the dollars came in after last year’s budget was set, and they’re “extraordinary in nature,” a special appropriation is necessary before Noem’s administration can legally disburse those dollars.
*Update* – it appears that the funds were released after this story originally came out.. and it’s even more worth reading, as the Governor and Attorney General are at loggerheads on this. Check it out.
Another Republican that Noem is not playing well with today?
How about signing your real name so I can ignore a Noem hater.
The link to the story says just the opposite that Haeder has released funds to pay those checks.
The story has been updated.
Certain House members need to leave the Governor alone so she can get work done. Those like Spencer Gosch who would rather fight & play games than get his own work done need to put the politics aside and work for the people of South Dakota as our Governor is doing. This is a good move for families, so stop using it as a political football. That goes for the phantom AG too. His opinion isn’t worth 2 cents.
This governor is out of control
It seams like noem doesn’t want to consult the legislature, she wants to do what she wants to do.
She appears to me to be modeling her governorship upon another governor we had. He was one who would look at a situation, figure out what needed to be done and just assume that he had the authority, whether he did or not. I remember when he came up with funds to fund a teacher distance using some unspent funds, he commented that the legislature was not going to let that happen again and that he would have to figure out another way. She also appears to be going the my way or the highway route.
I really do not see the advantage at stating she has no confidence in the AG. It appears to me she is starting another fight that does not need to be fought. Maybe this will help her with the VP nomination, but burning bridges with the House and AG at home is not a good idea.
Does the legislature matter or not?
If the funds were appropriated last year, why have the governor, treasurer, and legislative leadership been sitting with thumbs up their asses on the money instead of getting it out to struggling daycare providers?
If they weren’t, why is the legislature so out of touch and incompetent?
Noem said the legislature approved this last year. This is Haugaard/Gosch/Karr in their continuing effort to reinterpret the rules and change precedents to increase their power. The resolution the Senate passed yesterday, 35-0, got it exactly right. This was the normal procedure.
$100 million ! 380 providers in the State. The Argus writes that parents are being kept out of the workforce due to daycare challenges. In turn, the State decides to underwrite the daycare providers so that, most likely, working mothers can join the workforce. There is so much excess in this offer that it warrants a study !
Just throw more dollars at something causing more inflation, doing nothing to address the root cause of rising daycare costs. The money will runout, the problem will remain.
Bingo! The administration should be embarrassed by this give away. It will solve nothing – a year from now we will be right back to the same spot. But likely with higher day care prices. This should have had a serious vetting. And frankly, the Legislature should still dig in to this mess.