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You may see or hear of the few occurrences that happen in Pierre that discredit our political process and take away from the real work we are doing. I chose to serve with respect. Politics can get ugly and not all opinions are the same. All our 35 districts are different makeups, different constituents; our opinions will be different. This is why we have a legislature, to serve the best interest of our district. Thank you for trusting me to serve you. I value your input and how bills will impact you so continue to reach out. Days do get busy and hectic; at one point I had 176 unread text messages…I’m all caught up now. This week in state affairs we debated HJR 5002 proposing and submitting to the voters at the next general election an amendment to the Constitution re pealing the Medicaid expansion. Medicaid expansion was passed by the voters of SD in 2022, but not by the voters of District 19. I kept hearing during the testimony don’t go against the will of the voters. So, I looked up the will of the voters in all 5 counties (Hanson, Hutchinson, Bon Homme, McCook and Turner counties). In all 5 counties I represent Medicaid expansion failed so voting to put this back on the ballot was the will of the majority of my voters. Ultimately, the measure failed on the floor following the will of the voters of the state. This is how the process is supposed to work. Another bill we heard was HB 1095 an act to modify provisions to the submission of a nominating petition. We have not taken action on this bill yet. If it were to pass there is an emergency clause on the bill that will impact anyone wanting to run for an office this year. It will change the due date of petitions. The prime sponsor is stating our auditors, finance officers and school business managers will have issues with a law that was passed last year and ballots will not be ready in time for elections. This bill will clear up the timing issues so if you plan on running for an office be sure to fill out petitions earlier. I have filed my petitions with the Secretary of State and have issues changing the process midgame. Hence, why I am telling you now if I do vote for this. We need ballots to have an election and have been told unless we fix this timing ballots may not be available. The bill has had 1 hearing and no action was taken due to possible amendments. It was my pleasure to sponsor 2 seniors from Hanson High School for the page program. Thank you Brooke Endorf and Kendra Endorf for your service to South Dakota and District 19. You represent us well. God Bless you and the state of SD.