Anemometer Towers marking legislation sails out of Committee
By Jason | February 22, 2010
This morning in the House Commerce Committee we had further discussion on HB 1155 which will work towards making the anemometer (wind metering) towers more visible for crop duster pilots.
Members of the House Commerce Committee have been very gracious and allowed the bill to be reconsidered and up for discussion again because all parties involved managed to come out with a compromise. I brought forward the compromise in the form of a hoghouse amendment. HB 1155 was approved unanimous and placed on the consent calendar (which means it has solid support).
Provisions of the amendment require the following:
- top one third of the tower must be painted with orange and white bands
- marker balls must be placed on the guy wires evenly spaced
- the footprint around the anchors must be contrasting with the surrounding space
- plastic sleeves must be placed on the guy wires near the anchors on the ground
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Repeal oil pipeline tax breaks gains momentum
By Jason | February 18, 2010
We had an enjoyable hearing in the House Taxation Committee this morning on HB 1246 which will repeal the tax breaks for oil pipelines in South Dakota.
You can check out a blog entry from Bob Mercer at Pure Pierre Politics by visiting this link: http://my605.com/pierrereview/?p=1505
If you are interested in listening to the hearing in its entirety check out this link: http://legis.state.sd.us/sessions/2010/audio.aspx?CommitteeCode=HTA&MeetingDate=02/18/2010
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Weekly Legislative Update: Moving Legislation
By Jason | February 18, 2010
Representative Jason Frerichs
District 1
Day, Marshall and Roberts Counties
Success in Pierre
House Bill 1190 which will allow Career and Technical Education coursework to be fincluded in the Opportunity Scholarship achieved success in the State Senate. This bill has benefited from overwhelming support in both Chambers of our State Capitol Building. HB 1190 is my first House Bill that I have prime-sponsored that has received favorable support in both the House and Senate.
We have a citizens’ legislature that is evidenced by the part-time legislators where we have “real jobs” outside of serving South Dakota. However, the more important aspect of our citizens’ legislature is that folks from all across South Dakota have access to the decision-making process. These past few weeks I would guess that I have interacted with close to 100 people who made an effort to come to Pierre and make their opinion be heard. That is great and helps all of us Legislators remember why we serve in our capacity and who we represent. Witnessing our legislative process in action continues to amaze the rank and file South Dakotan.
I had House Bill 1247 up for discussion in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. This bill would remove the three-mile buffer zone for beekeeping operations. We had great testimony from beekeepers and landowners who want to remove this artificial barrier. Beekeepers brought the idea to change this law for my consideration and I am sure glad we were able to focus on the issue and spark interest in looking at possible changes to the status quo. Currently, it is very difficult for a new operator of an apiary (beekeeping operation) to get started in South Dakota, especially Northeastern South Dakota. HB 1247 failed in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, but the issue is certainly not resolved. I challenge the South Dakota Department of Agriculture to work with beekeepers and landowners to find a solution to the problem that exists of getting new/young operators started.
House Bill 1198 was dealt with in the House Local Government Committee. We had a very worthwhile discussion on whether or not to allow municipalities the option to increase their local sales tax by one penny. This bill failed with ten votes and I agreed with the prevailing vote. I understand this bill would have been permissive and only allowed municipalities the option to vote on raising their local sales tax revenue. However, I think we should do our best to keep sales tax for any State needs, even though cities already can utilize two-pennies of sales tax. I also believe the cities can still utilize their option to locally opt out of the property tax freeze and raise revenue through that source if it is desperately needed. Many out of town folks would end up paying this extra penny of sales tax and yet would have zero input on how the dollars are utilized and/or refunded.
I make every effort to balance the needs of sportsmen; Game, Fish and Parks; and landowners. I think dealing with the increased fines on big game trophy animals is a prime example of all parties benefitting. The bill has been amended to include language that any additional fine money from the increased trophy poaching fines will go to the local school district where the arrest was made. I feel this is fair and makes sense that the school district would receive the funds instead of the Wildlife Fund. Many other fines such as overweight on an axle vehicle fines also currently go to the school district.
We just started discussion on the raw milk bill in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. Some dairy producers who are providing raw milk for sale want to continue to have access to consumers and to be able to sell their product without control by the State Department of Agriculture. Most of these operations are small in size and mainly provide an avenue for some people to receive raw milk. Obviously, the safety of the consumers should always be the main reason for requiring additional government regulation. This issue will most likely not be resolved immediately and will require dairy producers of any size and consumers to voice their opinion.
Let’s all hope that spring will arrive soon. We know that an undo burden will be placed on our township roads with the abundance of water. All of us should take advantage of every opportunity to tell our story about the water issues in Northeast South Dakota. I continue to enjoy serving you and certainly invite you to come visit us in Pierre.
You can leave a message for me at the House Chamber by calling 773-3851. My email address is rep.frerichs@state.sd.us. Check out my website for updates at www.jasonfrerichs.com; live updates can be reached at www.twitter.com/jasonfrerichs.
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
House Bill 1190 achieved success on the Senate Floor today
By Jason | February 17, 2010
House Bill 1190 which will include Career and Technical Education courses for credit in the South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship was approved with very strong support in the State Senate.
Many teachers, students, parents, administrators, and industry folks made an extra effort to contact Legislators and urge their support of this important legislation. I have very much enjoyed working with Sen. Russ Olson to ensure passage of this bill.
Now the next step is to have the Governor give his signature to House Bill 1190.
thank you for all of the help! This is my first House Bill to receive approval in both Chambers.
Checkout the Senate Discussion in the following link at about 20 mins into the Session:
http://legis.state.sd.us/sessions/2010/audio.aspx?CommitteeCode=SEN&MeetingDate=02/17/2010
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Welcome to the Langford Seniors
By Jason | February 17, 2010
Welcome to the Senior Government Class from Langford and their instructor Mr. Taylor Reints.
We had a chance to visit the Governor’s Office and they will also be joining us for the Democrat Caucus and then be introduced in the House Chamber. Rep. Wismer and myself had the opportunity to visit with the group about our legislation and the entire legislative process.
Langford Seniors 2010 Visit State Capitol
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
House Bill 1190 approved by the Senate Education Committee
By Jason | February 16, 2010
House Bill 1190, the bill to insert Career and Technical Education along with the elective of Foreign Languages reached another milestone and was passed by the Senate Education Committee.
Work lies ahead to convince Senators and particularly the Senate Majority Leader to buy into the concept that HB 1190 is the only Opportunity Scholarship bill that will achieve flexibility and fairness for all students.
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
By Jason | February 15, 2010
Check out the article posted below that was published in the February 2010 edition of Successful Farming. Courtesy of Agriculture.com.
|
|||||||
|
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Weekly Legislative Update
By Jason | February 11, 2010
Rollercoaster ride, success, and more work to accomplish.
Mother Nature reminds all of us who has the ultimate authority on allowing Legislators to cast votes for or against legislation. The four-day weeks have been nice for me to be able to get back home to the farm and take care of business; however with the shortened week it has compacted our committee and floor discussion on legislation. I am proud to announce that I had my first House Bill pass the floor of the House of Representatives which is HB 1190 that will allow Career and Tech Education courses qualify along with world languages for the Opportunity Scholarship. 66 members of the State House of Representatives gave their solid support to send HB 1190 to the Senate for their consideration.
Our House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee continues to deal with various Game, Fish and Parks issues. I try to do my best to keep in mind the interest of landowners, sportsmen/women, and of course our wildlife. We have a lot of public hunting land in northeast South Dakota which provides opportunities for both residents and nonresident hunters. I do have concern from resident wildlife enthusiasts who want to be protective and not allow an opportunity for businesses and our State to raise some revenue from out of state hunters. I also think many landowners in northeastern South Dakota are more than willing to allow free hunting, as long as they know when and how many will be hunting in a party.
The House Local Government Committee dealt with an interesting piece of legislation last week that is House Bill 1212. This bill would allow counties to construct sewer utility systems. I thought it was a good bill, but it went down in defeat. The main purpose of the bill was for areas around Rapid City where small towns have merged together or where many people place houses/cabins in the country but only utilize a drain field/septic tank. The comparison introduced in committee is that counties already are allowed to construct and maintain landfills; why should a sewer system be any different? This is evidenced in Roberts County where we have a landfill that provides a service for the area communities, but also provides needed revenue.
I brought House Bill 1155 to the House Commerce Committee which is an effort to require the registration of anemometer (wind metering) towers. Invenergy Wind Company which happens to be developing the area between Summit and Sisseton was the only opponent to my bill. They do not want the information about the owner and location of these metering towers to be provided to the public. This surprised me, because I feel it is strictly a public safety issue for pilots; especially the crop duster pilots. The bill was tabled and in working with the half a dozen pilots who made the trip to Pierre to testify in favor of the bill I think we have a compromise worked out that will just require the towers to be properly marked with paint and guy wire balls.
House Bill 1060 finally surfaced for floor discussion in the House after a fiscal note (on the projected revenue increase) was received. Many landowners and wind energy enthusiasts expressed their dissatisfaction with HB 1060 which will adjust and repeal about half of the tax breaks for large industry projects. I have been opposed to this bill and continue to stress the importance that I think we should only look at repealing the tax break on oil pipelines; which is the reason why I brought House Bill 1246 that will repeal the tax breaks on oil pipelines. HB 1246 will have a hearing in the House Taxation Committee very soon. I did not support HB 1060 but it passed the House of Representatives on mostly a party-line vote.
This week has been very enjoyable for myself because many citizens have made the choice to come visit our State Capitol building and testify on behalf of legislation. My job as a legislator can be pretty easy when citizens tell their story and I enjoy being able to act more of as a facilitator. However, I have also learned that I need to continue to stand my ground and not settle for “good enough” when forging ahead with legislation; just like the early success we have with HB 1190.
Please continue to let me know your views on the issues. Our legislative process can be frustrating, but I also think it is a very beautiful process when proper rights are given to everyone involved. Don’t stand back and wait for someone else to get involved; you can make a difference.
Feel free to contact me at 773-3851, email me at rep.frerichs@state.sd.us; check out my website at www.jasonfrerichs.com for updates and you can also follow me on Twitter for active updates: www.twitter.com/jasonfrerichs.
State Representative Jason Frerichs
Democratic Whip
District 1 (Roberts, Day, and Marshall)
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
House Bill 1190 Passed the House of Representatives with Solid Support
By Jason | February 10, 2010
House Bill 1190, the bill to level the playing field for the requirements of the Opportunity Scholarship in the elective category by including the option of Career and Technical Education courses in high school. Currently, world languages are the only elective that are required and with this legislation the option of any combination between Career and Tech Education and World Languages to receive the Opportunity Scholarship. The remaining requirements of the ACT Score of a minimum of 24 as well as the advanced math, science, social science, and english classes will still be the standard.
In House Commerce today I was proud to have many crop duster pilots testify in favor of House Bill 1155. We had great discussion on the importance of developing a registry of the location of wind metering towers. This is a serious issue for the safety of crop spraying pilots because these towers are lower than the FAA regulations and often blend into the background. The bill was tabled in committee and in working with the pilots and members of the committee I think we wil be able to move forward with an amendment that would require marking of the towers.
House Bill 1060 which modifies and reduces the amount of contractors excise and sales taxes refunded to large agricultural and industry projects. Wind farms are a prime example of where refunds are currently provided. This bill has been discussed for a long time and it finally reached a vote on the House Floor. The bill passed the House floor with only 19 votes against, which included myself. Supporters of the Bill said that they just want to keep this up for discussion.
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Bills are all entered in the Legislative process
By Jason | February 4, 2010
“Discussion”, “questions”, and “final action on legislation” are the buzz words in our South Dakota Legislature. Our committee hearings are regularly dispensing with about four bills during each meeting and I feel fairness has been exercised. All legislation must be entered into our system and now the general public, lobbyists, and State employees hone in on important issues for their cause.
Our House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee recently dealt with three bills that change the State statute for a commission and check-off councils. The Weed and Pest Commission legislation removed the voting membership of the Secretary of Agriculture and the Dean of the Agriculture and Biological Sciences College at South Dakota State University. These two departments do not have a large amount of ownership if any of agriculture land, so it is fitting to move them to an advisory capacity.
The Corn Utilization Council brought us Legislation to reduce the number of board members who decide how to spend the producer contributed check-off dollars. I voted against this bill in committee because I am concerned about reducing the number of corn producers who decide how to spend the funds we contribute when we sell our corn. When this bill came to the House Floor I did support it, because I understand they want to increase the quality of those who serve, but I still have some reservations about producer participation. Lastly a bill was presented to us from the Oilseed Commission that reduces the number of board members, increase the check-off fee, as well as removes the referendum language. I did not support this bill in committee because I think having access to a referendum procedure is important. However, in the current form the process for oilseed producers to put the check-off to a referendum vote is somewhat confusing.
I am proud to be moving various pieces of legislation. I had my first hearing on a bill of this session; and it was also my first House Bill to be passed out of Committee and head to the House Floor. House Bill 1190 which revises the Opportunity Scholarship requirements to include Career and Technical Education in the elective category along with world languages. This bill also includes a change that allows a postsecondary student to maintain their scholarship if they complete 30 credits a year, instead of 15 credits for each semester. The reason for this change is that a student may enroll in 16 credits for a semester in college or technical school, but then decides to drop a class of two or three credits and therefore be ineligible for the scholarship anymore. HB 1190 received unanimous support from the House Education committee. I ask anyone interested to please contact members of the Legislature to voice support for HB 1190.
I continue to work with pilots of crop dusters, the Public Utilities Commission, and wind energy developers to remedy and concerns with House Bill 1155. This bill will require owners of anemometer wind metering towers to register the location; in an effort to inform pilots who may be flying low to the ground. HB 1155 will have a hearing in House Commerce on Wednesday, February 10th.
House Bill 1060 has certainly sparked interest in District 1 and our counties of Day, Marshall and Roberts. This bill is sponsored by the Department of Revenue in an effort to adjust the tier system for tax breaks for large industry projects. The adjustment proposed would retain more of the taxes with the State and return less to the companies who may construct wind towers, transmission lines, power plants, and pipelines. I have proposed an alternative to HB 1060. My bill, HB 1246 would repeal the tax break for strictly oil pipelines. I feel it is fair that the State retain the taxes paid by oil pipeline companies. HB 1246 will first have a hearing in House Taxation on a day to be determined within the next few weeks. I welcome your thoughts on this issue as well as any Legislative Issues.
House Bill 1274 is another piece of legislation that I am working on that will remove the three mile buffer of beekeeping operations (apiaries). Landowner rights is a prime reason for support of this bill because if a beekeeper would place hives on private property; any neighbors within 3 miles would most likely be prohibited from allowing other commercial beekeepers to place hives on their property. Disease was an issue when this language was inserted into State statute. Today proper control methods are available to control diseases and mites. Lastly, most beekeepers have their bees pollinating trees in the southern and western United States; obviously co-mingled and not maintaining the three-mile buffer.
In the House Local government committee we will hear discussion and take final action on House Bill 1198 which would allow municipalities the option to impose an extra penny of sales tax for a limited time and limited use. I am opposed to this bill, because I think the State should maintain priority on sales tax. Municipalities have options to raise revenue, but I do understand extra sales tax revenue would be simple for the cities. Again please share your thoughts on this bill.
I enjoy serving as your Representative in the State House of Representatives and please schedule some time to visit us in Pierre during the Legislative session.
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
« Previous Entries Next Entries »