Advocates,
Only 10 days remain + veto day.
Today was Crossover Day, the deadline for bills to cross over Senate to House, or House to Senate. So lots of action today.
But first, here are three bills up Friday morning and how to weigh in:
— Good news. HB1232. Passed the House (55-13). Indian Child Welfare Advisory Council. South Dakota should have one of these. It will get its first House vote in House Health & Human Service Committee on Friday 2/23 at 9am(8am Mt). Urge Support of these rep’s: Gary.Cammack@sdlegislature.gov ; Fred.Deutsch@sdlegislature.gov; Joe.Donnell@sdlegislature.gov; Erin.Healy@sdlegislature.gov; Mellissa.Heermann@sdlegislature.gov; Kevin.Jensen@sdlegislature.gov; David.Kull@sdlegislature.gov; Scott.Moore@sdlegislature.gov; Brian.Mulder@sdlegislature.gov; Kameron.Nelson@sdlegislature.gov; Taylor.Rehfeldt@sdlegislature.gov; Brandei.Schaefbauer@sdlegislature.gov; Mike.Weisgram@sdlegislature.gov ,
— This good one we’ve been waiting for, HB1184, Summer EBT (to pass-thru fed funds for kids’ food in summers) will get its vote in Joint Appropriations on Friday 2/23, 8am(7am Mt). 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
— Problem bills SB89 and SB90 will get their first House vote in House Commerce on Friday 10am(9amMt). These are the bills with the 15-day eviction and loss of pre-court notice that an eviction is coming. (a 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;
— Good news. SB119, tribal ID for voter registration, passed the House State Affairs (9-3). It will likely be scheduled for the House Floor on Friday. Urge All rep’s to Support.
— Good news. HB1098 passed the House(53-15), as did HB1131 (HR 57-11). They pay forbirth certificates and nondriver IDs for people experiencing homelessness. The fiscal impact is miniscule for these, and they are foundational for moving into the workforce and stable housing. On to the Senate.
— 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.
— Now for the bad news. HB1244 passed the House (59-9) and is on to the Senate. It interferes with our citizen rights to initiative and referendum. Urge senators 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. 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.
— A bill we are really worried about, SJR501, (Medicaid work requirement) will be up next week in House State Affairs. Urge these rep’s to OPPOSE it. 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 ;
Note. There are little mini-flyers for you to share. Download and carry some with you. They emphasize that taking away Medicaid is an extreme and inhumane punishment for not getting enough work hours or failing to turn in the report. Find them here and a one-pager for faith groups here: https://www.breadsd.org/medicaid-expansion-for-sd
Thanks for your help on these. With our messages, sometimes we are the lobbyists people need.
Cathy Brechtelsbauer