Advocates,
With so few days left in the legislature, it will go fast. Our input is valuable, so let’s do what we can.
Some of these updates call for action. Watch for the words “Support” and “Oppose.”
— Sad news. SB95 failed.(allow one car for debtors)
— Sad news. HB1238 failed.(reduced-price lunch for more low-income kids)
— Sad news. HB1223 failed. (cooperate with the Child Support to get childcare asst)
— Sad news. HB1249 failed .Task force on the welfare of Indian children.
— Good news. HB1232. passed. Indian Child Welfare Advisory Council. (10-2) It should be on the House floor on Tuesday. Urge all rep’s to Support.
— Good news. HB1184, Summer EBT was sent by House Ed to Joint Appropriations with a Do Pass recommendation (9-4 vote). Yay! It’s vote there will be Friday 2/23. Urge Support of these senators Jim.Bolin@sdlegislature.gov ; Bryan.Breitling@sdlegislature.gov ; RedDawn.Foster@sdlegislature.gov; Jean.Hunhoff@sdlegislature.gov ;Jack.Kolbeck@sdlegislature.gov; Ryan.Maher@sdlegislature.gov ; John.Wiik@sdlegislature.gov ; Dean.Wink@sdlegislature.gov; Larry.Zikmund@sdlegislature.gov;
and these rep’s: Chris.Karr@sdlegislature.gov; Mike.Derby@sdlegislature.gov; Linda.Duba@sdlegislature.gov; Chris.Kassin@sdlegislature.gov; Lance.Koth@sdlegislature.gov; Dennis.Krull@sdlegislature.gov; John.Mills@sdlegislature.gov; Ernie.Otten@sdlegislature.gov; Tony.Venhuizen@sdlegislature.gov
— Good news. HB1098 and HB1311, free birth certificates and nondriver IDs for people experiencing homelessness. House Approp. Committee supported these (7-0) and deferred them, I assume until they put the whole budget together. The fiscal impact is miniscule for these, and they are foundational for moving into the workforce and stable housing. It’s interesting that the birth certificate fee is waived already if you are enrolling your child in Head Start or Am.Legion baseball.
— SB89 and SB90 are still waiting for their hearing in House Commerce. These are the ones with the 15-day eviction and loss of pre-court notice that an eviction is coming. (recipe for more homelessness) They make evictions quicker and easier for landlords, making it harder for tenants to re-locate, to fight wrongful evictions, and to hold unscrupulous landlords accountable. Urge these rep’s to OPPOSE. Amber.Arlint@sdlegislature.gov; Jessica.Bahmuller@sdlegislature.gov; Byron.Callies@sdlegislature.gov, Joe.Donnell@sdlegislature.gov; , Steve.Duffy@sdlegislature.gov; Ben.Krohmer@sdlegislature.gov; Tina.Mulally@sdlegislature.gov; , Kameron.Nelson@sdlegislature.gov; Carl.Perry@sdlegislature.gov; Neal.Pinnow@sdlegislature.gov; Lynn.Schneider@sdlegislature.gov; William.Shorma@sdlegislature.gov;, Mike.Weisgram@sdlegislature.gov;
— SB119, tribal ID for voter registration, passed the Senate. It’s up Wed.2/21 in House State Affairs. Urge Support of these rep’s Hugh.Bartels@sdlegislature.gov; Rocky.Blare@sdlegislature.gov; Gary.Cammack@sdlegislature.gov; Kirk.Chaffee@sdlegislature.gov; Roger.Chase@sdlegislature.gov; Becky.Drury@sdlegislature.gov; Jon.Hansen@sdlegislature.gov; Erin.Healy@sdlegislature.gov; Oren.Lesmeister@sdlegislature.gov; Will.Mortenson@sdlegislature.gov ; Taylor.Rehfeldt@sdlegislature.gov; Rebecca.Reimer@sdlegislature.gov; James.Wangsness@sdlegislature.gov ;
— SJR501 could be up as soon as Friday 2/23 in House State Affairs. Same rep’s as for SB119. Urge them to OPPOSE this. There are new handouts emphasizing that taking away Medicaid is an extreme punishment for not getting enough work hours or failing to turn in the report. Please download them and share them with folks you see this weekend and next week. (I keep some handy in my pocket for easy sharing.) There’s a one-pager and a mini-flier here: https://www.breadsd.org/medicaid-expansion-for-sd
— Now comes HB1244 to interfere with our citizen rights to initiative and referendum. Sadly it passed committee and will be on the House floor on Tuesday! Urge all rep’s to OPPOSE it. It lets petition signatures be withdrawn from petitions. There’s no requirement for a notarized signature on the request to do this. There’s no requirement that the signature on the request be matched with the one on the petition. The bill has no punishment for anyone falsely trying to withdraw signatures. It opens the door for all sorts of shenanigans. Petition organizers would never be able to know if they had enough signatures. How we do it now: Citizens can read the AG explanation before they sign and should take the responsibility for their signatures. All the rep’s: Amber.arlint@sdlegislature.gov , Julie.auch@sdlegislature.gov, Aaron.aylward@sdlegislature.gov, Jessica.bahmuller@sdlegislature.gov, kirk.chaffee@sdlegislature.gov, roger.chase@sdlegislature.gov, Kristin.conzet@sdlegislature.gov, Roger.degroot@sdlegislature.gov, Mike.derby@sdlegislature.gov, fred.deutsch@sdlegislature.gov, joe.donnell@sdlegislature.gov, becky.drury@sdlegislature.gov, linda.duba@sdlegislature.gov, steve.duffy@sdlegislature.gov, eric.emery@sdlegislature.gov, mary.fitzgerald@sdlegislature.gov, randy.gross@sdlegislature.gov, jon.hansen@sdlegislature.gov, erin.healy@sdlegislature.gov, Greg.jamison@sdlegislature.gov, Kevin.jensen@sdlegislature.gov, Phil.jensen@sdlegislature.gov, chris.karr@sdlegislature.gov, Chris.kassin@sdlegislature.gov, lance.koth@sdlegislature.gov, Ben.krohmer@sdlegislature.gov, dennis.krull@sdlegislature.gov, trish.ladner@sdlegislature.gov, karla.lems@sdlegislature.gov, oren.lesmeister@sdlegislature.gov, curt.massie@sdlegislature.gov, liz.may@sdlegislature.gov, john.mills@sdlegislature.gov, scott.moore@sdlegislature.gov, will.mortenson@sdlegislature.gov, tina.mulally@sdlegislature.gov, brian.mulder@sdlegislature.gov, Kameron.nelson@sdlegislature.gov, scott.odenbach@sdlegislature.gov, ernie.otten@sdlegislature.gov, marty.overweg@sdlegislature.gov, carl.perry@sdlegislature.gov, drew.peterson@sdlegislature.gov, sue.peterson@sdlegislature.gov, neal.pinnow@sdlegislature.gov, peri.pourier@sdlegislature.gov, tony.randolph@sdlegislature.gov, taylor.rehfeldt@sdlegislature.gov, Rebecca.reimer@sdlegislature.gov, Tim.reisch@sdlegislature.gov, Stephanie.sauder@sdlegislature.gov, Brandei.schaefbauer@sdlegislature.gov, lynn.schneider@sdlegislature.gov, William.shorma@sdlegislature.gov,
Obviously, it’s an important week(Tue-Fri). No meeting today and Monday. Thanks for being a voice for people who need our voices.
Cathy B. for the Advocacy Project
“Never give up, for that is just the place and time the tide will turn.”
-Harriet Beecher Stowe