« House Bill 1155 the Anemometer Tower Marking Bill approved by the House | Main | Frerichs announces candidacy for District 1 State Senate »
Reality in the State Legislature
By Jason | February 25, 2010
Maintaining a sense of reality is a prime goal that I set forth for myself as a lawmaker in the state of South Dakota. When we deal with various pieces of legislation in the state capitol, every effort is made to gather all of the facts and get down to the real issue for discussion. My return to the family farm each weekend (depending on the weather) is a prime opportunity for me to stay in touch with the real issues. For example, Pierre has roughly six inches of snow on the ground; we all know there are at least two feet and much more in places around Northeast South Dakota. I enjoy the opportunity to bring reality to the process in the Legislature.
House Bill 1246 received fair discussion on the floor of the South Dakota House of Representatives today. Unfortunately, members of the house decided to further allow oil pipeline companies to enjoy large tax rebates. The Governor’s Office twisted the arm of enough Republican legislators, which encourage them to defeat this bill. The House voted 32-26, which was not enough to pass the bill that required a two-thirds majority for approval. I enjoyed the support of eight Republican members of the House who joined with me in supporting this bi-partisan piece of legislation. Sen. Larry Rhoden served as my senate prime sponsor on HB 1246 which has been nice to have leadership from the Republican side to forge support.
Three main reasons why I think we should repeal the tax break on oil pipelines revolves around: geography – South Dakota just happens to be in the path of the pipeline, subsidy to a foreign company, only ten permanent jobs would be created. Our State could retain $38 million if we would simply repeal the tax breaks for oil pipelines. When we know the company will be coming through our state regardless, I find it unfair to give such large tax breaks to a foreign company.
Due to the strong support in the House Taxation Committee, HB 1246 made it to the House floor with a vote of 12-2 in favor of the bill. I enjoyed the support from the Department of Revenue as well as the Coalition of Schools who encouraged members of the Taxation Committee to approve HB 1246. Opposition on the bill was received from the TransCanada oil pipeline company, along with Julie Johnson from the Aberdeen Economic Development Corporation. I understand the bill would affect the pipeline company; but I must admit I was a little surprised that the Aberdeen Economic Development Corporation was involved.
Some of you may be wondering if this oil pipeline company could actually afford the sales and contractors excise taxes that all of us are required to pay, as well as hospitals. Let me give you an example from last week. The price of oil went up three percent (3%), so three percent (3%) of the $900 million project is $27 million. As you can see just in one week, this pipeline company could have justified paying these taxes to South Dakota.
Working through issues and developing a solution to the problem is one of the most enjoyable aspects of my elected position. House Bill 1155 was tabled in the House Commerce Committee, due to concerns from the wind industry about locating the position of anemometer towers. After dealing with the tabling of HB 1155, the crop dusters and I brainstormed and decided to offer an alternative to the original bill that will simply require marking of the anemometer towers. The Department of Transportation was helpful in providing an opportunity for the crop dusters and wind company representatives to work through a compromise. HB 1155 was amended in the House Commerce Committee earlier this week and then was sent to the House Floor on the consent calendar. Now the Senate will work through HB 1155, and I am fortunate to have Senator Al Novstrup, the prime sponsor in the Senate, providing bi-partisan support.
I served on the subcommittee that heard discussion on the raw milk licensing bill presented by the State Department of Agriculture. This issue has garnered a lot of attention from folks involved in the farmer’s market area, health department, as well as individuals from all areas of agriculture. I didn’t support the bill presented by the Department of Agriculture mainly because I think smaller dairy producers will be required to get permits and licensing that will result in an extra burden placed on their farm operation. I also have concern about the maximum fine for a violation that could be assessed on folks who may not follow the rules of the game in providing raw milk to consumers in South Dakota.
Many of you probably have heard the news by now that the House Democrat Caucus block-voted against the special funding for the Homestake Mine underground science laboratory. The main issue amongst many Democrats is that we shouldn’t use general fund dollars to pump the water out of a hole in the ground. I am a huge supporter of increased educational opportunities; however, when we are in dire need of education funding at all levels in our state, I find it unfair to invest general fund dollars in the Homestake laboratory. The Republican leadership can easily insert funding for the underground science laboratory in the general appropriations bill that all of us hope to see very soon. Unfortunately those of us who are not in the majority and also not on the appropriations committee, so we will only see the general bill for just a few hours before we vote on it more than likely.
I am still waiting for the Governor to sign House Bill 1190, which received overwhelming support in both the House and Senate. HB 1190 is the bill that will change the curriculum requirements for the Opportunity Scholarship to include the option of career and technical education courses in the elective category.
It is my pleasure to continue to serve as your Representative in the South Dakota State Legislature. I continue to forge working relationships on both sides of the aisle. Garnering respect from my fellow lawmakers is important to me, especially since many folks have a few years of experience more than I do.
Please contact me with your thoughts and concerns on issues that are important to you. You can reach me at rep.frerichs@state.sd.us, www.jasonfrerichs.com. During session feel free to leave a message in the House Chamber for myself or any other Representative by calling (605) 773-3851. Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jasonfrerichs.
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.