It is hard to believe we are already through the second week of session. The committees have started getting through the bills that have been assigned to them and either killing them or sending them to the floor.

There haven’t been a lot of controversial bills up to this point as most of the bills were agency bills that involved cleanup language or small changes. Up to this point we have only had 54 bills introduced in the House and 53 in the Senate.

On Wednesday of this week we had our memorial service for Legislators that passed away this last year. Many of these were colleagues and friends that I knew and served with these past 6 years. We honor, salute and thank them for their service.

Probably the most significant thing that we did this week was to provide for legislative task forces to study, report and develop plusconsider recommendations and proposed legislation regarding sustainable improvements to the continuum of mental health services available in the state. The Executive Board approved a summer study last year on Mental Health in the State and how we can better deal with this seemingly growing problem. We knew that it would be a huge task and difficult to get some answers because of the scope of the study. With the approval of this there will be 5 separate committees formed to break this into smaller bites and get some specific answers to these issues.

Nursinghomesandlongterm care providers are continually being talked about in this session. With the closing of several nursing homes in rural areas this past year and several more in danger of closing we need to start seriously looking at what it takes to fix this problem. The employee turnover rate at these facilities is roughly 47%, the overtime paid out is way too high and Medicaid reimbursement is not enough to fix the problem. There are ideas being floated around of how we get the fix put into place and will be continually talked about until the end of session.

Some of the bills that passed out of the House this week include: HB1017- Provides for the destruction of contraband cigarettes instead of the resale of them. HB1030- gives the Office of School and Public Lands the ability to enter the internet age by allowing the office to accept internet bidding for the leasing of state minerals. HB1034- revises what SD businesses pay for unemployment insurance by reducing the amount paid by about $2.5 million. SB47- which gives people the right to carry a concealed weapon without a permit passed out of committee and goes to the Senate floor for final debate.

On Wednesday the 23rd of January we will hear Governor Noem’s new budget address. Everyone is looking forward to hearing what she will have to say.

Some of you may have heard about the allegations that were raised about the two Native American ladies that were elected from District 27. It was alleged that they did not meet the residency requirements that are established in the South Dakota Constitution. The Constitution in Article 3 sub section 3 states that you have to be a resident of the State for two years before you can run for office. It is then defined in statute that as long as you have intent to live in South Dakota, even if you move out for a couple months, you are still considered a resident of the State, for example folks who go south for the winter. The Leadership from both the House of Representative and the Senate investigated these allegations from the time it was brought to our attention which was December 12, 2018. Many documents were received, reviewed andphoneconversations held. The person in the House in question from District 27 moved from South Dakota to Nebraska for a period of 5 months, continued to work in South Dakota, had her voting registration in South Dakota, her driver’s license is from South Dakota and after that time frame of 5 months moved back to South Dakota. Leadership from the House and Senate spent many hours discussing how to handle this with legal counsel and with legislative research advisors. It was decided by leadership and the members of the House of Representatives that the female Representative has been officially elected as Representative for District 27 and is eligible to serve in that position.

I would like to remind you and invite you all to our Legislative Meet and Greets across District 21 this Saturday January 26th. Senator Rocky Blare, Representative Caleb Finck and I will be at each of these locations to meet with you, answer questions, and take ideas for new legislation needed. The schedule is:

• Springfield, at the Community Center 9:00 -10:00 a.m.

• Pickstown, at Abby’s Convenience Store and Restaurant 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

• Platte, at Dutch Oven Bakery 2:00 -3:00 p.m.

• Gregory, at Dayspring Coffee Co 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.

• Winner, at West River Tap 5:30 -6:30 p.m.

These are open for everyone to come and we hope to see many of you at each of these events. Your legislative team is committed to once again balance our budget, protect our freedoms and represent the good citizens of our state and District.

If you are ever in Pierre please stop at my office. It is always great to see people from back home. Feel free to contact me by my cell 605-207-0406 or email at lee.qualm@sdlegislature.gov. Have a blessed week!