South DaCola

Other SD State Legislation to keep your eye on!

l3wis

Here are some bills to weigh in on. This info can also suggest issues to raise in the public meetings in your districts.

1. Balanced Budget Amendment, the dangers of which were discussed in the alert last week (Jan.23, 8:55pm. Can you find it? If not, i can re-send. Or check here: http://www.foreffectivegov.org/files/bba/econ.html)
     Unfortunately, House Joint Resolution 1001 (HJR 1001) passed on the House floor on Wed., 39-30
You could thank these 30 Rep’s for opposing it: Rep’s Bartling; Bordeaux; Brunner; Campbell; Dryden; Duvall; Feickert; Gibson; Lana Greenfield; Hawks; Holmes; Jean Hunhoff; Kaiser; Killer; Klumb; Marty; May; McCleerey; Munsterman; Rasmussen; Ring; Rounds; Rozum; Russell; Schoenfish; Schrempp; Sly; Soli; Solum; Tulson
Having passed the House, now HJR 1001 goes to (surprise) Senate Transportation committee. (This proves you just can’t predict!) Please contact these Rep’s asking them to OPPOSE HJR1001, a federal balanced budget amendment to the US Constitution. Senators Cammack, Bernie Hunhoff, Monroe, Ernie Otten, Jim Peterson, Solano, Vehle
Today SJR 1, the Senate version of the same bill, was tabled in committee, but not killed. So ask these Senators to OPPOSE SJR 1, when they take it off the table: Senate State Affairs committee: Brown, Holien, Bernie Hunhoff, Lederman, Ernie Otten, Rave, Soholt, Solano, Sutton
2. Other topics YOU could discuss with SENATORS this weekend and early next week:
 
SB147, to expand Medicaid. Of course, urge ALL legislators to SUPPORT this. The bill will be voted on first by Senate Appropriations committee: Buhl O’Donnell, Haverly, Phyllis Heineman, Omdahl, Parsley, Peters, Tidemann, Van Gerpen, White
SB169, pre-natal care for babies who will be US citizens once they are born, whether their moms are or not.
This makes moral sense as well as financial sense. Urge SUPPORT of these Senators on Health and Human Services committee: Bradford, Curd, Heinert, Phil Jensen, Rampelberg, Rusch, Tieszen
SB135, allow cities more sales tax for special projects. It goes to Senate State Affairs (listed above). Please ask them or the bill sponsors, Senator Brown and Rep. Munsterman, about this. Why more of such a regressive tax should be allowed. Aren’t cities faring well enough on revenues already? Wouldn’t it raise the tax people’s groceries? On their heating bills? and phones and internet? etc. Higher prices on these things already give increased revenue to cities. Going from the cities’ current 2% to 3% would be a 50% increase in city sales tax! That seems so huge, it makes me wonder if I understand this bill. If you find out anything, let me know.
 
SB166, a big increase in the number of signatures needed for a citizen initiative. The practice has been to require 5% of the number of voters in the last election for governor. This bill requires 5% of all the registered voters, whether they vote or not. It’s a huge increase. This would make it harder for citizens to put measures before the voters. I say it is enough work already, and I have not noticed that our ballots had too many citizen initiatives under the present requirement. Why put a damper on democracy? (At the same time, a bill to require students to pass a civics exam is easily passing so far on its way through the legislature.)
 
3. Two HOUSE bills to note here:
 
Speaking of initiated measures for the vote of the people, HB1094 would change the minimum wage initiative that was just passed by the voters in November. This bill suggests that minimum wage should go down, if the consumer price index were to go down. 
— But the point of the measure the voters passed was to bring minimum wage UP, up closer to something people could live on. It is still far from that. Full-time work at the current minimum ($8.50/hr) does not even reach poverty line for a family of 3. 
— The value of a worker’s labor does not go down just because prices go down. These are two separate things.
— And why bring down the pay ONLY for the lowest-paid workers? 
Urge all Rep’s to OPPOSE HB1094, especially House Commerce committee: Rep’s Beal, Deutsch, Harrison, Hawley, Kirschman, Al Novstrup, Rounds, Schoenbeck, Stalzer, John Wiik, Willadsen, Wollmann, Zikmund
 
HB1193, shift sales tax off food. With this bill, SD cities would keep taxing food, but the state’s sales tax would go from 4% to zero on food and from 4% to 4.35% on non-food, keeping the same revenue for the state. 
— This bill makes some of the regressivity out of our sales tax, the part due to taxing groceries. 
— South Dakota is one of the few states taxing groceries. None of our neighboring states does this.
— Currently your total tax on food over a year is enough to buy your food for 3 weeks. 
— Most SD households would come out ahead with the best benefit felt right in the grocery store. 
— You can buy used clothes, books, furniture etc, but you cannot buy used food! 
Urge SUPPORT of all Rep’s, especially House Taxation committee: Rep’s Bartling, Beal, Duvall, Don Haggar, Killer, Kirschman, Latterell, May, Al Novstrup, Rasmussen, Rozum, Russell, Solum, John Wiik, Willadsen
TO CONTACT LEGISLATORS:
• Email through this website: http://legis.sd.gov/Contact/LegislatorEmail.aspx
This format works for a lot of them: rep.lastname@state.sd.us or sen.lastname@state.sd.us
• Call and leave a message during legislative workdays (Tue-Fri next week)
605-773-3851 for Rep’s
,  605-773-3821 for senators
Or call at home on weekends. They expect this. Find phone numbers on
http://legis.sd.gov/Legislators/Default.aspx?Session=2015
• Mail them a note on paper.
Rep.___ or Senator___, State Capitol, Pierre SD 57501
Don’t know who your legislators are? Check here:
http://legis.sd.gov/Legislators/Who_Are_My_Legislators/default.aspx?Session=2015
 
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