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.

Notable mentions from the floor this week: SB37 passed the Senate. This was the “Omnibus water bill” that includes funding for different water projects across the state. Within the bill is $500,000 for wetland mapping studies and development of a map tool. I had concerns about this in committee, and we deferred action on this bill until several of us could meet with Department of Ag and Natural Resources to discuss what exactly the purpose of this wetland study was for, noting that we do not want a more restrictive structure within the state dealing with wetlands. After getting enough information that we were comfortable allowing it to be funded, I supported the bill. SB136 appropriated $5million in one-time dollars for the purpose of grants to fire departments in the state. HB1257 amended the definition of abortion in the state to clarify what medical procedures are NOT considered an abortion to help clear up many of the mistruths that circulate on the topic. HB1209 will require employers with over 50 employees to utilize the E-Verify system to ensure eligible citizens and immigrants are the ones being hired. I was disappointed to see SB190 fail in the House. It would have codified parental rights in the state and placed a standard of strict scrutiny on the state. It seems there were a lot of misconceptions and mistruths being spread about what the bill did and did not do, even after the Prime Sponsor amended it to provide assurance that this bill would not protect child abusers or hinder investigations. Children are not property of the state. South Dakota must do better.

This coming week will be the long home stretch for appropriations as we wrestle through the remaining budget units to deliver the General Appropriations Bill to the floor for consideration. Your prayers are appreciated as we head into the close of session.

I pray the Lord would bless and keep each of you, -Senator Mykala Voita