Tri-State Livestock News article by Amanda Radke
By Jason | March 1, 2011
Recently I had the privilege to visit with Amanda Radke, who is a writer for the Tri-State Livestock News and she wrote an article from our discussion. You can view the entire article via this link: http://tinyurl.com/4vuyn3o
Here are a few exerpts from the article as we discussed possible State budget cuts and how they affect agriculture education:
“The worst case scenario is that agriculture education would certainly change,” affirmed Frerichs. “Teachers would be shared among school districts, which would put a teacher on the road instead of having them in the classroom or the shop. Or, another teacher, not qualified to instruct on agriculture, would be assigned to teach these courses. Reduced travel and competition opportunities would prohibit students from attending FFA conventions. 4-H would become a more volunteer-run program.”
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Video Interview with School Administrators Association
By Jason | February 28, 2011
Here is an interview with John Pedersen from the South Dakota School Administrators Association:
<iframe src=”http://player.vimeo.com/video/20480925” width=”400″ height=”225″ frameborder=”0″></iframe><p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/20480925″>”10 Minutes with John” Sen Minority Leader Jason Frerichs</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/sasd”>School Administrators of SD</a> on <a href=”http://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.</p>
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Weekly Legislative Update
By Jason | February 24, 2011
Open discussion and exploring all ideas to fund education took a narrow focus on February 22nd in the Senate State Affairs Committee. Senator Adelstein from Rapid City had his bill up for discussion which would have increased the State sales tax 1% for the summer months (June, July, and August). I provided an amendment which would have prevented this increase on food purchases. Senator Adelstein seconded my motion for discussion purposes, but in the end the committee didn’t support my amendment, citing that the issue is too complicated. My reason for the amendment was to limit the impact on our less-fortunate South Dakotans who must purchase food during all times of the year. The Adelstein bill was an effort to target the tourist season and encourage our friends who travel to South Dakota to assist in providing funds to our State Treasury. I voted for the bill in an effort to achieve further debate on the Senate floor, but it did not receive enough support from the full committee and was defeated. Unfortunately, the discussion face-value for a possible temporary sales tax increase for the summer months will not be heard in full debate on the floor of the State Senate. I am not crazy about supporting a sales tax increase; however, I feel the issue is important enough that all of us elected to the Senate should take the issue up for discussion. We know our schools and nursing homes face unbearable challenges to operate their facility in the future with a possible 10% cut.
On the topic of food tax; I am glad to see the leadership of the appropriations committee has found a way to salvage the food tax rebate program. This program was under attack by the Daugaard Administration to possibly be eliminated based on the cost to run the program. This issue was explored further and it sounds as though they have found ways to make the program more efficient and maintain its existence.
I had a chance to go back and visit the House Agriculture committee to promote SB 106 which is the legislation I am carrying to require nonresident reciprocity for a furbearer license to trap. This is a fairness issue most specifically with Minnesota. Currently, Minnesota residents can come into South Dakota and trap, however South Dakotans are not allowed to trap in Minnesota. This bill simply says that any residents from out of state must come from a state that allows South Dakotans to come in and trap. The bill has not received opposition and should be on its way to the Governor’s desk.
I applaud the efforts of the House Appropriations committee as well as many education groups who successfully defeated HB 1250. House Bill 1250 would have repealed the inclusion of career and technical education coursework in the requirements of the Opportunity Scholarship was tabled. This bill was a direct repeal of the work I spear-headed last year and partnered with many education groups as well as my friends on the other side of the aisle.
Recently I have had three of my bills defeated which include: septic system inspection for homes on lakes, increase length to 90 feet for combination semi-trailers, and a pipeline cleanup fund. We had great discussion on SB 180 which was the pipeline cleanup fund to require oil pipeline companies to contribute up to $30 million. Opposition to the bill said it wasn’t needed because TransCanada is a solid company, or they thought the fund should be even higher. SB 180 did not make it out of committee but it has enjoyed bi-partisan support throughout its journey. I expect to bring the bill back in a different form next year, specifically targeting the possible 3rd party claims from a potential oil leak in South Dakota.
During our crossover day discussion we had a number of education bills which were debated and most of them were sent over to the House. Some of the bills assisted education, others were more symbolic, and then some cut education. I took most significant interest in SB 152, which is the Senator Rhoden legislation which will freeze the amount of local property taxes paid to school districts. Under the current Daugaard Administration proposal to cut education 10%, the amount of local support for education would have also been decreased. I supported this plan proposed by Senator Rhoden because we are in desperate times for funding education. However, I stressed the cautious approach as well, because this further spreads the difference between local and state support for funding K-12 education. SB 152 will maintain the proportion of mill levies for agriculture, owner/occupied, and commercial property. We had a roughly 4% increase for assessments on agriculture property while owner/occupied and commercial property stayed very flat. Due to the increase in value of agriculture land the mill levies are adjusted down and the owner/occupied and commercial will stay even. This is good tax policy and will maintain what has been common practice. If SB 152 continues to be approved and signed into law and if the Legislature doesn’t change anything else in K12 education funding based on the Governor’s proposal, there will be about a 6% cut in funding instead of the 10%.
Every day I express my continued discontent with the possible 10% cuts to education and Medicaid. Our kids in the school system, along with the elderly, are just two areas that would be severely impacted with such drastic cuts. I always enjoy hearing about issues that are important to you.
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Weekly report from Pierre
By Jason | February 18, 2011
Public outrage to the proposed cuts to schools and nursing homes is very obvious and the message is resonating with policy officials in Pierre! Mark your calendars for March 2nd and visit Pierre for the “speak up for kids” day in the Legislature.
Lately we have had continued discussion on update language for our productivity method to value agriculture land. This is our current system which is different from previous years where market value was utilized to evaluate agriculture land. I have continued to support the productivity method to evaluate our agriculture land because it is a more accurate method to determine the potential of the land. The drawback to the market system is that currently the sales of agriculture real property are very high and often times driven by emotion or spreading out the bloated price throughout many other acres currently owned. Legislation that has been working through the process has been minor changes that allow more flexibility for local county assessors. There is also a bill which would allow more than 10% increase or decrease in the valuation of cropland or non-cropland agriculture real property each year. This change is in an attempt to work towards where the actual valuation numbers will be in 2017.
This week the Senate took a step to try and save the lives of South Dakotans. SB 71, a bill that would make it illegal to text while driving, passed the Senate. This bill will help address the deaths resulting from texting and driving. I agree that this bill is not perfect but anything that the legislature can do to bring awareness and discourage recklessness that results in the deaths of our mothers, fathers, sons, or daughters should be advanced. This bill will help to address the major problem that texting and driving has become. I hope to see this bill pass the House soon, and for it to be signed into law by Governor Daugaard.
Economic development funding has been a focal point of discussion in the Legislature. There are at least two schools of thought: give corporate tax giveaways or create real community entrepreneurs and expand small businesses. The Governor’s Office continues to push forward with their plan to give corporate tax breaks on the contractors excise tax to large projects. Medium-sized, small businesses and entrepreneurs would not be eligible. More importantly the corporate tax giveaway will divert necessary funds for education and Medicaid.
Sales tax increase legislation still has a glimmer of hope and will be debated further in the State Affairs committee and possibly on the Senate floor. Many folks throughout the State have spoken that they want to keep our schools funded and nursing homes to stay open to take care of our family and friends.
Langford and Waubay high school senior classes have recently made the trek to Pierre. Fortunately the weather has cooperated lately and many students have had the chance to tour our State Capitol and witness government in action.
When I leave Pierre for the weekend my conscience is clear and I am confident that the decisions I make are taken very serious. I always enjoy hearing about issues that are important to you.
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Weekly Legislative Update
By Jason | February 10, 2011
When I arrived to the Capitol on Monday, February 7th I knew that the bench outside my office would be missing someone who has been a monumental presence in the capitol for over 50 years. Throughout the day I could tell that many of us were thinking about the effect Jeremiah D. Murphy had on all of us. He will truly be missed. Flowers were placed on the bench where Mr. Murphy was always found, hopefully a plague will be placed over that bench in remembrance of him, and a service will be held in Pierre for all those who he has had an effect. What a great tribute to a man who has always been very fair to me and my previous three generations who have served the Legislature.
Even with the loss of a monumental figure the work continued on this week just as Jeremiah Murphy would have wanted. This week the Senate took a step in helping to keep families together and help rehabilitate DUI offenders by passing legislation that would allow for a test program of Ignition Interlock systems. These devices prevent vehicles from starting if the presence of alcohol is present from on the breath of the owner. These devices have improved over the years to ensure the owner is the only one attempting to start the vehicle and in quality. I supported expanding this test program to the rest of the State but, unfortunately, my Republican colleagues saw fit to confine the program to Sioux Falls and Rapid City. However, I still feel that this is an important program and I support it in hopes of keeping families together and rehabilitating offenders into productive members of our society.
Every time I walk into the Capitol I remember that I am here to perform the work of the people who elected me. I believe that this work and government in general should be done in the view of the public. This is why I support open government so adamantly. Unfortunately, sometimes decisions are made to help hide information under the premise of “openness.” This is what happened when the Senate passed legislation to allow for businesses to donate to Political Action Committees (PAC’s). Many argued that this would create openness but what this legislation would allow is for companies to donate money to candidates or sponsor advertisements under names other than their companies. I believe that citizens should be able to see which company is sponsoring advertising during elections without having to hire a staff to dig through all of the records. Those who support open government should have supported the defeat of this bill and that is why I supported the defeat of the measure.
With these kinds of laws the citizens will need to work harder to peal back the layer of protections given these companies and other political donors as well as to fully research the candidates running for public office. Luckily, citizens will have ample time to do this research. Also, citizens will still be allowed to vote 45 days prior to Election Day under absentee voting. A bill was brought forth to shorten this time period which could effect those students or citizens further away from their polling place, but with the help of some Democrats the Senate voted down this bill. I believe that every individual should be given the ability to vote and that is why I supported the defeat of this measure.
Local control is often thrown around the Capitol in both support and opposition to legislation. This week though trust was bestowed on our local officials who are on the ground educating our youngest children. A bill would have changed the funding for kindergarten students to an amount per hour the student is in class. This would have cut even more money to those school districts that offer half-day kindergarten. I know that many would support this idea; however, I could not because of the true belief in local control. I do not believe that officials in Pierre can be sure of the best way to educate kindergarteners in the vastly different communities throughout South Dakota. I believe that the local officials that work day after day with those students know what system works best with either half-day or full-day kindergarten. Thankfully, trust was given to those local officials when this measure was defeated with Democrat support.
The defeat of this effort to send full state support to local school districts for kindergarten education is a prime example that legislators from both sides of the aisle to make changes to the Governor’s proposed cuts. Another example is Chief Justice Gilbertson when he stood his ground on the fact that real people would be affected and compromised if he followed the guidelines from the Governor’s Office.
When I leave Pierre for the weekend my conscience is clear and I am confident that the decisions I make are taken very serious. I always enjoy hearing about issues that are important to you. Please contact me at sen.frerichs@state.sd.us or call me at (605) 949-2204.
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Weekly Legislative Update
By Jason | February 3, 2011
We need rank and file South Dakotans to participate and take an active role in shaping our State Budget! This week I had the privilege to speak with the South Dakota Voices for Children coalition when they visited Pierre. I shared with all of these advocates for kids that we cannot give up funding that is paramount for the future of our State. Please stay tuned for future events where the people of South Dakota will rally to support education.
This week I shared with my Senate Agriculture Committee Senate Bill 106 which is an idea from the South Dakota trappers association to require reciprocity for nonresident trapping licenses. I received unanimous favorable support to ensure that when nonresident trappers apply for a license that they come from a state which allows our South Dakota residents to perform trapping. The Senate Agriculture committee also placed the bill on the consent calendar and it was unanimously approved by the full Senate and is off to the House!
SB 157 would allow agriculture suppliers to place a primary lien on the proceeds of crops and livestock sold. This bill is controversial from those who want the change as well as the people who want to maintain the current practice. Farm cooperatives who supply fertilizers and chemicals would like protection for when they allow farmers/producers to charge the products they purchase. Bankers and lenders have serious concerns with allowing the provider of inputs to take a priority position. Obviously as a young farmer I have concerns when another interested party would put increased regulation on the use of proceeds. I know all of us make every effort to pay our bills on time, and work out a plan to take care of our expenses. If SB 157 is adopted some producers may unfairly be crippled in their effort to utilize the funds from the sale of their crops/livestock. Farmers and ranchers maintain a working relationship with a personal banker to outline the plan for their operation and if SB 157 would be adopted this relationship could be damaged.
Senate bill 88, which is the voter bribery legislation, received a lot of discussion because providing food during pre-election voter rallies is very common. Luckily the bill was amended in our State Affairs committee and reduced the felony offense to a class 1 misdemeanor
Gov’s bills: he wants to repeal the rebate program for the sales tax on food, reducing state support for county veteran’s service officers, and create a special fund utilizing contractors excise taxes paid for large project development. One other piece of legislation by the Governor is HB 1250 which is a direct repeal from my bi-partisan legislation approved last year allowing career and technical courses for the opportunity scholarship and placed in law. I have already visited with the Governor’s budget director and he is open to altering their plan.
I always enjoy hearing about issues that are important to you. Please contact me at sen.frerichs@state.sd.us or call me at (605) 949-2204.
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SB 106 Trapping Reciprocity Legislation approved and consent
By Jason | February 1, 2011
Today in the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee we received unanimous support for Senate Bill 106 which is a bill I brought forward for the SD Trappers Association. This bill will require nonresident furbearer trapping licenses to require reciprocity. This means that for an out of state trapper to come into South Dakota and trap they must be from a State which allows our South Dakota residents to trap in their state. Basically a flexibility and fairness issue that levels the playing field. I am glad that we have many folks interested in trapping and this bill continues to strengthen their rights here in South Dakota.
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Legislative Recap from week three
By Jason | February 1, 2011
The week after Governor Daugaard presented his budget address proposing drastic 10% cuts the Capitol has been abuzz with talk of the status of the budget. I have been hearing about the true effects that these large cuts would have on the communities that I represent. With these concerns in mind I joined Bernie Hunhoff, Minority Leader of the House Democrat Caucus, to present our budget proposal and stand up to help protect the children and elderly not only of my district but all of South Dakota.
Senate State Affairs has heard numerous pieces of legislation this week. One of the highlights was SB 6. This bill would transfer the Sisseton National Guard Armory to the city of Sisseton and passed out of committee unanimously. I sponsored this bill on the floor of the State Senate and support it fully. This decision will help the city of Sisseton by providing a handicapped accessible building, which the city is in need of, and South Dakota by saving the state $10,000 a year. The city council is ready to accept the Armory and take on the ongoing maintenance of the building. Roberts County and the Sisseton-Whapeton-Oyate are informed and gave the green light for this transfer of ownership.
Helping to make government more transparent is an issue I fully support and this week a bill came to State Affairs that would have helped achieve this. SB 107 would have created a database that compiles all of the investments that the state has made with private sector businesses. Unfortunately, this bill did not make it out of committee. Though this piece of legislation did not prevail I will continue to strive for a more transparent government.
I also serve on the Agriculture & Natural Resources committee, which heard SB 55 this week. SB 55 would allow the shooting of coyotes from snowmobiles. This bill was amended in committee to require the snowmobile to be stopped in order to ensure safety but also allow citizens to protect their livestock from coyotes. The bill is also amended to allow the shooting of coyotes only on landowner property. I support this bill with the amendments and look forward to seeing it come to the floor for final consideration.
The new Secretary of Agriculture, Walt Bones is off to a great start and I look forward to working with him to advance the interests of agriculture in our State. Walt has a diverse background in crops and livestock as a farmer from the Parker area. I asked the Secretary about how we can work through possible solutions for our excess water in the northeast part of the State. The Secretary expressed an effort to develop water management plans for the soil and water quality. State Veterinarian Dustin Oedekoven provided updates on disease control. I asked the State Veterinarian about the tuition repayment program for young people who decide to practice in rural areas of South Dakota as a food-animal veterinarian. Dr. Oedekoven informed us that he works closely with the United States Department of Agriculture to implement and award the tuition repayment program for underserved areas.
Governor Daugaard and Lieutenant Governor Michels are working on filling the cabinet level position of Tribal Relations. This is an excellent move for our Executive Branch of government and I hope they will use this opportunity to truly reach out to our State’s Tribal Nations.
Recently folks from the Sisseton-Whapeton Oyate, Farmers Union, AARP, and South Dakota Agriculture and Rural Leadership (SDARL) have visited the State Capitol in Pierre. The SDARL program is an excellent personal growth and networking opportunity and it was enjoyable to have the chance to visit with many of them.
I always enjoy hearing about issues that are important to you. Please contact me at sen.frerichs@state.sd.us or call me at (605) 949-2204. You can also check out my website at jasonfrerichs.com.
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Governor’s Road Show Pushes Extremist Budget
By Jason | January 25, 2011
PIERRE — “We pay our bills in South Dakota,” said House Democratic
Leader Bernie Hunhoff on the day after Governor Dennis Daugaard flew
across the state to explain why he’s shifting the costs of education and
health care onto other people.
“South Dakotans believe in paying their way, shouldering their
responsibilities,” said Hunhoff (D-Yankton). “The governor says he’s cutting
government, but the only cut we find in his proposal is his plan to cut
and run from the state’s commitment to educating our youth and caring
for kids with health problems , seniors in nursing homes and people with
disabilities.”
Hunhoff said the governor isn’t suggesting that South Dakota not provide
education for some of the state’s 120,000 students. “He isn’t saying we
should kick senior citizens out of the nursing homes and assisted livings.
He isn’t suggesting that we guard the hospital to keep poor families’ kids
from getting through the door. He’s just saying someone else can pay the
bill.”
Senator Jason Frerichs, the Democrat’s Senate leader, said the governor’s
$30 million health care cut will cost the state another $45 million in federal
funds, a fact he hasn’t announced in his public relations tour. “His policies
are going to raise taxes at the local level, raise our health insurance
premiums and possibly even prolong the recession for many South Dakota
families that are trying to make ends meet.”
Frerichs said the Democrats’ plan to resolve the state’s budget problem
over three years by careful stewardship of the state’s numerous cash
accounts, trust funds and reserve funds is gaining momentum. “That will
give the state legislature and the new governor some time to seek real
efficiencies and savings in state government, and we pledge to work with
him to do just that. We must not simply pass the buck and cause mayhem
for the schools.”
Frerichs and Hunhoff said the governor’s road show to pitch the virtues of
frugality might resonate with people who don’t know firsthand of how badly
state government has funded local health care for the poor and our public
schools .
The bureaucracy grew at twice the rate of inflation over the last eight years
while schools and health care funding was limited to half that amount or
less. Schools and health care were frozen for the last two years, even
though hundreds of millions of dollars poured into state coffers from federal
stimulus programs. State government used those funds to balance its own
books.
“Frugality taken to the extreme becomes a vice,” Hunhoff said. “When
it starts to hurt our children and our economic recovery then it becomes
pennywise and pound foolish.”
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Senate Bill 6 transfer Sisseton National Guard Armory to the City
By Jason | January 25, 2011
Today on the floor of the South Dakota State Senate we will vote on the approval of Senate Bill 6. This Bill will transfer the Sisseton National Guard Armory to the City of Sisseton.
The Sisseton City Council approved a resolution to accept the National Guard Armory. Sisseton does not have a handi-capped accessible City Hall. If SB 6 is approved and signed by the Governor the City of Sisseton will accept the responsibility of the building for maintenance and repair.
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