The second week of the historic 100th Legislative Session in the great State of South Dakota is in the books.
IntheTaxationCommittee, we considered HB 1018, a bill to require the Department of Revenue to provide an annual report to tribal governments regarding certain tax collections. Doug Schinkel from the Department of Revenue explained the department is unable to pull this data from the current tax collection database. Eight of the nine Tribes currently have a Tax Collection Agreement with the State of South Dakota, which already provides a detailed report of taxes collected. The request was to break this down from tax collected from businesses with a physical presence compared to businesses selling a product from a remote site, i.e. the internet. This bill was deferred to 41st day.
In the Local Government Committee, we discussed HB 1059, a bill to clarify the meaning of teleconference for purposes of open meeting requirements. Working in local government, this bill was very important to me. The discussion included one way communication is fine, as long as a Council person or Commissioner does not reply to the email. The recommendation was to bcc the email to eliminate the possibility of an open meeting violation. This does not apply to scheduling of the meeting. The vote was 12-1, Do Pass.
We also discussed HB 1064, a bill to allow for the sale of fireworks year-round. Local jurisdictions would still control the days they could actually be shot off. Testimony against the bill was vocal. On a vote of 12-1, this bill was deferred to the 41st day.
On the House floor, I found myself in a situation that escalated very quickly. HB 1053, which requires age verification for porn websites, included an option to verify age with a Military ID. However, Title 18 of the US Code prohibits photocopying a Government Issued Identification Card, so I amended the bill to strike that option. The bill passed 61-5, with three absent. My first win!
I am still advocating to have funding restored for the stipend paid to Counties to provide a Veteran’s Service Officer (VSO). Since the statute requires each county to have a VSO, the cost to provide one will be paid by your county tax dollars. I am hoping Appropriations can find the money to restore this funding.
Ihavereceivedmanyemails on HB 1066, which deals with residency requirements for voter registration. Many areas of the bill are unclear, un-needed, vague, and will result in legitimate South Dakota citizens being deprived of their right to vote. Do we need some election integrity legislation? Yes, but in general we do not feel this is the right bill and we can produce a better product to move forward. This puts a large responsibility on the election poll workers, who are not trained to make this determination.
The State Affairs Committee considered HB 1052 dealing with eminent domain. Considering the Supreme Court sent this back to the lower court to reconsider, the State should not be enacting any legislation until the court case is determined. The bill is specific to carbon oxide, but this will open the door to other entities having to justify eminent domain, such as gas, water, and roads. The committee passed the bill on a 10-3 vote.
I had a chance to visit one on one with Lt. Governor Rhoden on Friday, who anticipates Governor Noem will be confirmed this weekend and he will be sworn in as the new Governor of South Dakota. He will then select his new Lt. Governor, and the House and Senate will be responsible to approve the selection. We anticipate this to be a seamless transition.
We received an excellent presentation from the Department of Corrections on the proposed 1,512-bed maximum security male prison in Lincoln County at a cost of $737,854,980. There are several concerns from legislators and citizens, to include the price, location, infrastructure, and safety. I will be visiting the site this weekend.
HB1019, which eliminates certain property taxes levied on owner-occupied single-family dwellings and increases certain gross receipts tax rates and use tax rates, is a good plan, which reduce your property tax on owner occupied property to zero dollars and these lost dollars would be made up by an increase in sales tax. For many, this would be a cost savings.
I look forward to discussing issues of importance with the citizens of Jerauld, Sanborn, Miner and Davison Counties over the next couple of months. If you have any concerns, feel free to contact me at jeff.bathke@sdlegislature.gov.