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Legislative Report for first week of session
By Jason | January 20, 2012
We are underway with the 2012 Legislative Session and it appears we will have an interesting 35 day session. Agriculture and manufacturing continue to provide the much needed strength in our economy. State tax revenues have exceeded projections and now there are funds available to work towards fixing the pain of the extreme cuts last year. Our unemployment numbers are some of the lowest in the Nation yet we still have people struggling to make ends meet and working two jobs.
Governor Daugaard delivered his second State of the State Address during this first term serving the people of South Dakota. Technical education, jobs, and massive teacher reforms are the take home messages I gathered. Great to see that the Governor finally recognizes the importance of career and technical education and how we can make our young people better prepared for good jobs here in State. However the Governor had the chance ever since he took office to place a strong focus on technical education and good jobs, but he has waited until now and only presents a temporary plan. Let’s be visionary and dream big for the future of our State and put into action the necessary steps to prepare our young people for careers in engineering, biotechnology, machining, and energy industry. I disagree strongly with the Governor when he suggests that a third of our teachers is the result of “Government Creep”. Purely based on the numbers over the last 40 years the Governor thinks the increased number of teachers with a decrease in the number of students is reason for alarm.
Hands-on learning at the high school level to spark interest in technical careers requires a smaller class size and the needed funds to operate a classroom with expensive equipment. We didn’t hear from the Governor on how he plans to support those efforts. Experiencing the technical careers opportunities is a good start through “scrubs camps” and internships, but the teacher and classroom provide the foundation.
Distance learning through hybrid partnerships and new delivery methods to break down barriers for non-traditional technical training is on the right track. What a great concept to allow our technical institutes to provide their job training all across the State!
The rural health care plans by the Governor make good sense. I also hope that someday soon we can maximize technology and enable tele-medicine and allow our talented health care professionals the chance to serve South Dakotans in rural areas.
Merit pay and ending continuing contract are extreme ideas from a national movement by people who think they know what is best for education. Unfortunately by requiring our teachers to “teach to the test” will only reduce the amount of new curriculum that can be covered in the limited school year. Let’s truly measure student success based on how those young people are able to get a good job and benefit their community.
Governor Daugaard shared his plan to bring new South Dakotans into our State by hiring an international “headhunter” employment firm. This would be a partnership with corporations in the State who have a strong need for engineers, welders, information technology workers, and accountants. The State would cost share only if the new South Dakotan stays in the State for half a year. I think this might be well-intended, but we should also ask ourselves. If we are willing to pay $4,000 to recruit a worker from another State, how much would we invest in our students right now? I also wonder if we could create a second career option for some of our citizens who may want to go back for some more schooling, early retire, and then transition into one of these fields of work that is in high demand.
Chief Justice Gilbertson delivered his State of the Judiciary and he reminded us that the cost for probation is $3/day and to incarcerate inmates is at $63/day. The success of a solid probation program is paramount to saving our State precious tax dollars and making more productive citizens. Cameras in the courtroom continues to be implemented and the various people involved are able to offer their comfort level. The Chief also reminded us that the crisis is here for a lack of attorneys in rural areas.
I am working on a piece of legislation that will ask for the same as Nebraska was able to approve in regards to the Keystone XL oil pipeline. This would call for a $500 million surety bond that would cover any potential issues with aquifer contamination or hardship endured due to a possible leak from the oil pipeline.
Our rural electric cooperatives are bringing a piece of legislation that would change the gross receipts tax to a kilowatt per hour tax. In an effort to achieve tax equity this would ensure they pay taxes based on how much electricity is sold instead of based on the price that is paid for the power. The ratepayers are the true beneficiary because they will have some confidence in the amount of taxes they will pay that go directly to the schools outside of the general education per student formula.
Water management is an issue for many counties throughout Eastern South Dakota. I expect discussion in the areas of watershed management and finding ways to give more tools to local officials when granting drainage permits. Stay tuned for more on this issue.
Nearly all of us have our Bill Janklow story that is fresh on our minds during the recent passing of our former Governor. I am very thankful to Bill and his family for their dedication to our State and he truly has had a magnificent impact. May he rest in peace.
I continue to feel fortunate to be able to serve you in Pierre. Please contact me with any input you may have on the issues for the Legislative Session.
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