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PIERRE — A report on this year’slegislativebillsthatmay haveaffectedtheSouthDakota High School Activities Association led to a warning about state associations that are suffering from legislative interference. TheSDHSAAboard of directors got the report at their meeting on Wednesday, March 4.
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The Education committee had the day off on Monday as we waited for Senate Bills to arrive, so our day started at 2:00 finding us on the House floor. We again started with a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, and the work began.
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The Wagner Lady Raiders are once again headed to the Class A State Basketball Tournament after a strong defensive performance in Irene last Thursday night.
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Vo n i Hubb e l l (Finck), graduate of AHS class of 2012, has built a life that reflects growth, faith, and dedication to both her career and her family. During her high school years, she was actively involved in volleyball, basketball, choir, and band. Like many students, she had big plans for her future. She intendedtoattendUSDtomajor inEnglishEducation—andshe followedthroughwiththatplan immediately after graduation.
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PART TWO: RESPONDING WITH CARE AND CORRECTION
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Week eight down and one week left to go for the 101st Legislative Session. In appropriations this week we rolled through budget setting for departments that didn’t have much change from last year. Motion Sheets from our work group to begin right sizing FTE(full time employees) and Federal and other fund authority have been supported by the committee so far. We did not pull back on as much as I had pushed for, but since we ran out of time to get motion sheets in we settled on a middle ground that both us and our LRC staff and the Governor’s staff could agree upon. If the great people of District 21 decide to send me back to Pierre again I intend to continue to dig through this topic with the intention of getting even more of the fluff cut down in these areas by building off the data from this work group. If anyone would like to talk about the data we compiled to show excess authority vs what we are cutting this year please reach out. I would be happy to share! One of the most consequential demands of the appropriations committee is to act on principle, not emotion. If the appropriations committee gives the thumbs up to every program’s request for an increase, allows new programs to be built into the General Appropriation Bill, or allows the requests for the State to fund an ever-increasing role into all parts of life to pass, we will end up with a socialist mess that is failing our citizens. We must remember the state has exactly zero dollars of its own to give. This coming week is truly going to be a test, as there are five to six different motion sheets that will expand the role of government into an area it historically has not been funding in an on-going capacity, or will increase on-going dollars to programs that are not the fundamental role of government. Every dollar we allow to be pulled into something else is a dollar that will not go toward our basic obligations like the big three- raises for state employees, inflationary increases for providers, and increases for education.
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On Crossover Day, the House of Representatives passed, a bill to “establish parameters for the reimbursement of school districts that provide free or reduced- price meals to students”. The prime sponsor stated that the bill does not remove parental responsibility, as only certain families are eligible, andtheparentsmuststillfillout paperwork in order to receive meals for their children. South Dakota’s current system, based off the National School Lunch Act of 1946, means that while costs of these meals remain constant, funds are inconsistently gatheredthroughdistrict budgets, private fundraisers, and community charity. The bill provides a small amount of state funding to relieve the school districts of these continuous costs which are not receiving continuousfunding.On Wednesday, House Commerce and Energy heard SB 88, which passed unanimously and with zeroopponenttestimony.Senate Bill 88 is an act to “clarify the procedure for a potential condemner to examine real property absent the property owner's permission”. The bill was brought to address problems createdbyaformerlawallowing surveyors with a PUC permit to survey private land without addressing the landowner. The repercussionsofthisformerlaw included surveyors surprising people in their own homes and making unauthorized changes to their land, resulting in several lawsuits. SB 88 codifies a 2024 SD Supreme Court ruling that invasive surveying is unconstitutional. The bill passed committee unanimously and was sent to the floor to be heard on Thursday with a Do Pass recommendation. A bill to invest in South Dakota’s youth passed the House on Wednesday afternoon with a majority support of the house. HB 1244 was an act to provide a one-time appropriation to the Jobs for America’s Graduates program, currently available in many South Dakota high schools. The sponsorbrieflysharedaboutthe program, whose aim is to keep students facing certain hardships staying in schools and to instill leadership qualities in them, leading to employment post high school. The program boasts a 99% graduation rate, a 99% retention rate, and 88% of studentsthatareintheprogram move on to full time employment or post-secondary education. While the existing JAG programs currently receive funding that stems from their local school districts, the appropriation would go into a pool to be used for the expansion of the program, and which would be used to attract other federal and private funding sources. The bill required the support of 2/3 of members elect in order to pass, and it passed easily with 51 representatives present in support.Thelightisattheendof thetunnel.Wehave2weeksleft. Madisonisn’tpartofourdistrict but every year they bring up all their4thgradersaftertheyhave a “little legislators’ session” It’s a highlight of the session for so many of us. I would love to see more schools participating.
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