I am proud of the fact that my fellow Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources committee recognize the importance of taking the first step in giving direction on water management. The committee unanimously voted for SB 169, which establishes a regional watershed and watershed oversight advisory task force. Right now we are focusing on the James River watershed basin. A regional watershed would allow for communication on drainage, maintenance, and irrigation among local watershed districts. I am grateful to former Senator Paul Symens for making the trip to Pierre and garnering strong support to look at the entire basin. This topic of water management from a basin perspective is still a work in progress, and I welcome input on how we can make this first step work.

Last week I brought pipeline bonding legislation, SB 126, up for discussion.  It would have required large oil pipelines to post a $500 million indemnity bond to protect lands from potential oil spill cleanup and water aquifer contamination. I am proud to report that various landowners and grassroots groups testified in favor of my legislation. Unfortunately, by not passing this bill, the Senate Commerce and Energy committee fails to hold huge corporations like TransCanada and their Keystone XL pipeline accountable should a spill occur. A TransCanada representative told the committee that they are financially strong and will be responsible for any spills or leaks in their pipeline, but they failed to say whether Keystone, LLC is financially stable enough to withstand a catastrophe that could affect our land and water in South Dakota.

The senate debate on education focused on SB 25, a bill that will remove South Dakota from compliance with No Child Left Behind, and replacing it with a new approach to school accountability.  There are several issues I had with this bill because it does not address the true problems the state faces with NCLB.  States are currently allowed to seek a waiver from the national law that requires all students to meet adequate yearly progress.  However, soon Congress is likely to replace NCLB with a different plan for accountability that the state will again have to comply with.  SB 25 requires districts to change current plans now when they will likely face another change in the next year.  The evaluation system proposes that schools evaluate teachers every year, which will six to eight hours per teachers each year.  Currently, administrators spend two to three hours evaluating each teacher.  This proposal creates problems for our already tightly-staffed small schools that often share principals across multiple schools.  Even in larger schools, doubling the time spent evaluating will likely require additional staff that will cost additional funds in already cash-strapped districts.

The other aspect of SB 25 creates a board to rate districts on financial accountability.  In addition to leaving teachers off of the board, this part of the bill does not give any guidance as to what a school district must do to have the board determine that they are fiscally responsible.  So rather than encouraging creativity and innovation with technology in our classrooms, SB 25 may decide that the best districts are ones who spend the least, regardless of whether that means schools lack art and music programs, middle school sports, or the technology tools that help prepare students for college and the work place.

School accountability is essential to ensuring that students receive the best education they can, but teachers and administrators—those in the classroom working with students every day—should have a strong voice in the process.  Financial responsibility is also important, but it should not come at the cost of adequately funding education.  One-time money bills, such as one currently in the senate, help teachers and schools, but are only a bandage to a much deeper funding issue.  The state needs to revise its current base-funding formula to provide teachers better pay and provide students proper resources, and it needs to stop trying to conform to national movements that attack our public schools.

I am tentatively planning on hosting a listening session in Webster on the evening of February 24^th.  Please stay tuned for the time and location.  This will give me the chance to update you on the status of legislation, especially HB 1234, the governor’s plan to reform the role of teachers and administrators in our local school districts. It is a major undertaking with strong opposition and much skepticism from the teachers who will be most affected. In the end student success is our goal and we must keep that as our number one priority.

We had a resolution on the Senate Floor which would have pressed our congressional delegation to support legislation to help the postal service.  Especially in our rural districts, the post office is an integral part of our communities.  I am disappointed that our friends on the other side of the aisle were not able to recognize the importance of maintaining our mail processing centers.  I have signed on to support a resolution that encourages support to keep open our rural post offices.  Although these resolutions have no force of law, they show us where the priorities of many of our legislators are.  Instead of focusing on how to help communities thrive, they have turned to a national movement that fears differences and fosters divisions.

One successful bill that made it through the senate, SB 123 will change how rural electric cooperatives are taxed.  This bill changes the tax from a gross receipts to a per kilowatt hour tax.  One concern about this change was how it would affect funds going to schools.  With the current rate, electric bills would skyrocket.  The change will maintain adequate funding to schools from this tax, but will increase at a more manageable rate, protecting school funds and the families who pay the tax.

With all of the discussion over the controversial education proposals by the governor, my Democratic colleagues and I have offered a plan that promotes local control, student achievement, and collaboration among teachers.  I continue to forge working relationships with my Republican colleagues and the Governor’s Office as we work on these issues affecting our schools.  I am pleased to hear so much feed back from community members and I continue to request input if you have an idea on how to best approach the subject.

Education directly links to the economic development issues South Dakota is facing.  The Census Bureau estimates that around 41,000 jobs will be created in the state, many of them in health care, IT, accounting, engineering, and manufacturing sectors.  We have the opportunity in the state to help prepare students for well paying jobs in the future, but we are currently not meeting the demand.  Instead of funding new programs that bring in out of state workers, we propose funding current programs to retrain workers here and properly educate our students for many of these professions.

An effective economic development plan must involve all 66 counties.  Rural and urban communities alike need the support of our state legislature to prosper.  The Bel Brands’ recent decision to establish a cheese factory in Brookings is a great example of how the community has created an environment that is friendly to an international corporation.  Thank you to South Dakota State University, the Governors Office of Economic Development, and many other folks who rallied behind a common goal of providing good paying jobs and linking research to education.

The next few weeks promise to be interesting and exciting.  There are several areas in which the legislature has the ability to truly help South Dakotans prosper through education and economic development.  If you have any questions or comments on upcoming legislation, please email me at sen.frerichs@state.sd.us or call me at 949-2204.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Confirming the nominees for the governor’s cabinet positions and appointments to state boards and commissions has been the main focus of the state affairs committee.   As the bill introduction deadline recently passed, I expect to see a number of bills up for hearing soon.  Please contact me if you have any input or concerns about upcoming legislation.

The main focus of my attention this week was the education plan my Democratic colleagues and I laid out.  We focused on reforming the formula for school funding.  We also believe that prescribing a method for merit pay that schools and teachers do not want is not the best approach to increasing teacher salaries.  We believe the best way to help teachers is to allow them to work together. Teacher collaboration is crucial to improving effectiveness and student achievement.  The Governor’s merit pay system attempts to mirror other states’ approach to education, but it simply does not fit with South Dakota schools.

Our ideas, which have support among many of our Republican colleagues, allows local school districts to determine which approaches to teacher development work best for them.  Ultimately, we all want to see students in South Dakota succeed.  Leaving the measure of student success rely solely on standardized tests is not the answer.  Our teachers should not have to “teach to the test”; instead, as the Governor has also advocated, teachers should be able to maximize the common core standards.  This model ensures local flexibility, while maintaining appropriate benchmarks, and also allows the student to have options in their high school education.

House Bill 1234 is the governor’s omnibus education overhaul legislation. It includes everything from evaluating teachers and principals and phasing out continuing contract, to paying math and science teachers more and ending the teacher compensation assistance program. Flexibility is a common request of local school boards along with their teachers and administration, but the governor’s plan is anything but flexible.  Rather than stifling innovation in the classroom and creating competition among teachers, I hope the legislators can help school districts and teachers do best.  We can start by funding programs that reward professional development, such as National Board Certification.

Renewable energy is another area where the state can encourage economic development.  I have entered a bill (SB 170) that would eliminate the contractors’ excise tax on new or expanded wind energy development.  Currently, there is a half-rate contractors’ excise tax.  I am pleased to have Republicans supporting the legislation to do our part in South Dakota.

Another main concern of mine is watershed district legislation, Senate Bill, which is a bi-partisan work in progress to address the drainage and water management issues.  We hope to take an entire drainage basin approach specifically with the James River, Big Sioux River, and in northern Roberts County, the Red River Basin.  This is more of a pilot project that breaks down barriers for local control and involvement.  We know that many counties are choosing to remove their drainage ordinances, which will only increase drainage disputes to the courts system.  We must find a way to bring the effected parties together, along with the facts from engineers, for a fair hearing, and an appropriate appeals procedure.

It is my pleasure to serve you in Pierre.  Please keep in touch with pending legislation as the process will move along quickly.  We plan to wrap up the main run of session by March 2^nd.  I will not be able to attend the Webster cracker-barrel, but I hope to host a listening session towards the end of February.

In addition to my bill to require large oil pipelines to post a $500 million bond, I am assisting some folks on legislation updating the voting requirements for sanitary sewer district formation.

For school staff, students, parents, and anyone else with a strong interest in the governor’s plan to drastically change the role of teachers in our education system should participate in the process. I applaud the governor for making an effort to try to strengthen education and for looking at ways to update student learning, however, he has chosen to look only at divisive strategies such as merit pay and removing continuing contract.

Matched with local funds in the education formula, the funding put forth by the governor for teacher incentives could provide a boost to education. This would allow the local school board the chance to determine how they would enhance teacher effectiveness and student learning.

In the agriculture and natural resources committee, we heard an update from the Department of Game, Fish & Parks. Fishing across our State is a hot commodity and we are fortunate to have access to this resource. We also discussed the pheasant population, including habitat and winter feeding possibilities. Last winter was hard on all animals living outside, and along with the early spring snowstorms the conditions, it was particularly tough for our pheasants. I understand access to habitat is crucial, and we are fortunate in northeast South Dakota to have a variety of habitat. At the same time, I do not think that the loss in Conservation Reserve Program acres is the only reason why our pheasant population dropped. All of us need to do our part to continue to exercise a working lands approach to assist wildlife and support pheasant populations throughout the State.

In regards to developing a watershed/basin approach to drainage, I have a list of a few essential points. I have seen Republicans and citizens across the state expressing interest in the issue and have enjoyed their input.

Watershed/Drainage Basin Regional District Model:
• Focus on local control/cover a regional drainage basin (could be within 1 county or cover multiple counties)
• Involve all parties of interest (landowners/farmers, counties, townships, wildlife people)
• Hire water management experts (engineers/hydrologists)
• Have authority to tax (on property or drainage projects)
• Approve/enforce drainage requests
• Provide drainage maintenance
• Cleanout canals/ditches (i.e. Jim River)
• Guide irrigation efforts (maintain State Water permits)

I am proud to be serving you in Pierre. Please contact me with any suggestions you may have on the issues for the legislative session.

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.

We had the chance to hear from an expert in the biomass district heating systems when we visited the energy academy in Linz.  Their focus is on replanting hardwood trees as they continue to harvest trees for both lumber production and powering their heating/electricity plants.  They maintain proper renewal of forests and tree plantings to displace any amount harvested. Touring the local heating and power plant, Linz Ag provided our tour group with the ability to walk through and witness the production of heat and electricity.  This plant is operated year around, even though some adjustments are made since homes do not need the heat portion.  Railroad, ship, and trucks haul the waste-wood lumber into the plant for proper storage and use.

Reduce consumption of electricity/energy and increase renewables is a motto followed by the people of Austria.  Control of heating is reserved by the state governments but the electricity is controlled by the federal government in Austria.

Linz, Austria is similar in population to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  However, many of the buildings are very old and have elegant architecture.  The city is clean and also contains the capital for the Upper Austria state government.  Austria has similar aspects to South Dakota, but they have 8 million people and we have 800,000.

Our first day in Austria capped off with a very cool experience to hear from both the Upper Austria President of the Chamber of Agriculture (basically, their Secretary of Ag.) as well as Dr. Gerhard Dell who is the Energy Commissioner/Director for the Upper Austria Energy Office.  First class hospitality was the standard and these folks expressed the importance of agriculture and energy as the token to success in the country they are very proud to call home.  I was fortunate to speak on behalf of our delegation to thank our hosts and inform them that we are given confidence to forge ahead as we return to the United States to enhance renewable energy opportunities.

We had the opportunity to tour a 375 acre solar farm that is located on land owned by the Krinner family.  They manufacture a four-foot, zinc-coated steel ground screw that holds the solar panels upright and withstand the snow and wind loads.  This large solar farm has a capacity of 50 megawatts and is a unique business model where the manufacturer of the solar panels financed the project.  This investment of 150 million Euro was guaranteed by a 20 year power agreement for the electricity produced by their feed-in tariff.  Community support/investment was incorporated in this project as the local town people own 4 megawatts of the solar panel park.

This is an impressive sight to see all of the solar panels evenly spaced with a 30 degree angle and facing the south.  This project was built in 2009 and proper engineer ensures that the snow falls off the panels easily and the rain successfully cleans the solar panel.  Grass was seeded below the panels before their placement.  Previously the land had produced sugar beets, onions, or maize/corn.

This business model is very impressive, however it was a matter of making things happen at the right time.  Currently German Energy policy does not allow them to use “working” agriculture lands to qualify for a renewable energy feed-in tariff.  This feed-in tariff is a fairly high price paid for the electricity in the early years and over the course of the 20 year agreement the price is reduced.  Consumers also have to pay a higher price for their electricity in an effort to help finance the project.

When I think about the possibility of a project like this being able to materialize in South Dakota I know that it would be pretty difficult.  The price of solar panels continues to decrease, but we still need to develop the technology to properly store the electricity to provide a nice base-load source of power.  Consistent power and a consistent price would be a nice match; and perhaps offset the low price of electricity that we are fortunate to enjoy.

Visiting the Straubing center of Excellence for Renewable Resources reminded me of visiting a facility similar to the Washington Pavillion in Sioux Falls; although this facility is solely focused on agriculture renewable energy.  We had the chance to view various feedstocks for 2^nd generation biofuels along with the typical bio-fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel.  Their biodiesel is made using rapeseed or canola oil which is comparable to the soybean oil we have in South Dakota.  Wood chip biomass was a highlight because they offered various examples on how to produce the chips from trees that have little value.

When we think about 2^nd generation biofuels and producing that biomass; plants that are a perennial prove to have many rewards.  For example miscanthus would continue to grow each year, and would not require the plant to be seeded each spring.  Some places in South Dakota have experienced very wet spring seasons, and the ability to secure a market to produce biofuel from miscanthus could be a helpful type of plant.  However the amount of volume required to handle based on the energy content of miscanthus is an issue; as we know many researchers are looking for ways to breakdown the product early in the process.  Transporting large amounts of a 2^nd generation biofuels product is a huge issue, which could be overcome with the proper enzyme and pelleting process that could be initiated in the field or on local farms.

Gaubodenvolksfest in Straubing, Bavaria was an enjoyable close to the day to fully experience the German culture.  This folk festival is the 2^nd largest event following the Oktoberfest.  The music and atmosphere reminded me of the State Fair, but various people were sporting the proper “folk” attire.  Our entire delegation took part in the festivities and felt at home hearing the live band play “Sweet Caroline”.  A song we all gladly joined in singing the words!

One of my goals for this trip is to soak up as much information on how the German’s have been able to make renewable energy work for them; especially with operations both small and large.  I also attend this experience with the background knowledge that South Dakota and Germany have different political and economic systems.  The feed-in tariff is the backbone for many of their renewable energy projects.  This method would be difficult to implement in South Dakota; but some form of this way to pay for these more expensive technology projects may be feasible in other parts of the United States.  I also want to look beyond the feed in tariff to see what we can match in South Dakota to encourage private investment, spur ingenuity among local entrepreneurs, and provide for a sustainable energy future.  We will also have the chance to see what hasn’t worked for the Germans as they experiment.

Here is a link to the SD Famers Union Rural Lobbyist posts by Chris Studer:

Delegation Arrives in Germany

Tour Continues with Solar Park and Biogas operations

—State Sen. Jason Frerichs (D-Wilmot) is a farmer/teacher

Education funding for K12 received about another $12 million, which is due to the increased revenues from our economy. This additional funding, along with freezing local property taxes will result in about a 6-7% cut in per student education funding. Medicaid cut equals out to about 6%, with the infusion of $12 million of unused funds. Local nursing homes should emerge with less than a 4% cut in Medicaid funding. The funding for County Veterans Service officers was still cut. A comment was made by the Appropriations Chairman that this is an effort to have the counties help out the State with our budget problems. I completely disagree with this statement and feel this is a misguided cut. Our county veterans’ service officers assist veterans in acquiring services and assistance which brings more funding into our communities.

By spreading out the pain of these cuts and not hitting education and Medicaid this year, we may have spared some nursing homes from closing, along with school districts that may have eliminated elective coursework.  However, we are only looking at this next year and nursing homes will still need to fundraise locally, and school districts will be forced to increase the class sizes of students for each teacher.  As a result of Governor Daugaard’s pass the buck budget, local property taxes may ultimately be increased in order to completely cover the loss in State support for K12 education. Purely passing the buck by the Governor’s office from the state to local taxpayers is not fair and should not be the solution to solving the budget deficit.

Throughout the next few years and into the distant future, South Dakotans need to be honest with ourselves. In the past five years and more, the State has lost revenue from the elimination of the inheritance tax and revenues from the video lottery and bank franchise taxes have recently dropped. These decreases in revenue, coupled with the recession, created most of the problem with our State Budget. An honest conversation needs to be had of how to sufficiently fund the necessary programs throughout the state especially if the revenues do not increase.

When we examine the Thursday morning testimony in the Joint Appropriations committee, we can see those who were the few to amend the General Budget Bill: the Governor’s staff and the Republican leadership of the Appropriations committee. Did you know that you have to be in one of those elite groups in order to impact the spending of our State General Funds? Unfortunately, frivolous amendments brought forth to eliminate the Cooperative Extension Service, Public Broadcasting, and the State Fair were given a luxury of time to discuss the advantages/disadvantages. Luckily those amendments were easily defeated, but it is still surprising how much merit they were even given. Yet amendments to assist Medicaid providers and education were quickly brought up and shot down by the joint appropriations committee.

Our Republican friends in the Legislature and the Governor’s staff have found multiple band-aid solutions to get us through this year. They made every effort to insure that any variation from the Governor’s 10% across the board cut would be treated as one-time funds and to not expect the dollars to be there next year.  So where has the Governor’s leadership been through the process?  He has stood solid in his initial request to supposedly erase our structural deficit and reset the State Budget. This is well-intended but misguided and many Legislators have altered the Governor’s plan, and we will expect him to bring real solutions to the table next year and work with us.

As our work in Pierre comes to an end and Spring finally arrives I am reminded that the potential for flooding is imminent throughout northeast South Dakota, and I hope each of us will do our part to be as prepared as possible. I know the Governor and his staff will be traveling the State in flooding awareness meetings. We can easily look at the tunnels of snow along our township roads as a testament to the severity of flooding.  The snowpack in our corner of the State contains very high amounts of water.  Please be creative in finding ways to manage the water if at all possible.  Last year one township in Roberts County found a way to drain a slough and prevent further damage to a road once the road was rebuilt.  I realize not everyone has the ability to simply drain water, but this township followed all of the rules and saved the various levels of government money as well.

I always enjoy hearing about issues that are important to you and I enjoy serving in the State Senate.