The prayer was offered by the Chaplain, Larry Cass, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance
led by Senate page Jordan Jones.
Roll Call: All members present.
The Committee on Legislative Procedure respectfully reports that the Secretary of the
Senate has had under consideration the Senate Journal of the first day.
All errors, typographical or otherwise, are duly marked in the temporary journal for
correction.
And we hereby move the adoption of the report.
The Honorable Matt Michels
President of the Senate
500 E. Capitol
Pierre, SD 57501
RE: Brian Zeeb/Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision
Dear Mr. President and Members of the Senate:
Pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 24-16 and the Office of the Governor, Executive
Order 2012-12, I have the honor to inform you that I have appointed Brian Zeeb to the South
Dakota Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision.
Enclosed is a copy of the following:
1. The statement of Financial Interest
2. Senate Confirmation Information
3. Oath
4. The November 15, 2013, letter of appointment
This appointment is effective immediately and will expire August 23, 2016.
January 13, 2014
The Honorable Matt Michels
President of the Senate
500 E Capitol
Pierre, SD 57501
RE: Don Holloway/Board of Pardons and Paroles Attorney General Appointment
Dear Mr. President and Members of the Senate:
Pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 24-13 of the South Dakota Codified Laws and subject to your consent, I have the honor to inform you that I have appointed Don Holloway to the South Dakota Board of Pardons and Paroles.
1. The statement of Financial Interest
2. Senate Confirmation Information
3. Oath
4. The November 14, 2013, letter of appointment
January 13, 2014
The Honorable Matt Michels
President of the Senate
500 E Capitol
Pierre, SD 57501
RE: Greg Erlandson/Board of Pardons and Paroles Attorney General Appointment
Dear Mr. President and Members of the Senate:
Pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 24-13 of the South Dakota Codified Laws and
subject to your consent, I have the honor to inform you that I have appointed Greg Erlandson
to the South Dakota Board of Pardons and Paroles.
Enclosed is a copy of the following:
1. The statement of Financial Interest
2. Senate Confirmation Information
3. Oath
4. The January 7, 2014, letter of appointment
This appointment is effective January 21, 2014, and will expire January 15, 2018.
The Honorable Matt Michels
President of the Senate
State Capitol
Pierre, SD 57501
Dear Mr. President and Members of the Senate:
Pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 24-13 of the South Dakota Codified Laws and
subject to your consent, I have the honor to inform you that I have appointed Mark R. Smith,
Hughes County, Pierre, South Dakota, to the Board of Pardons and Paroles.
This appointment is effective March 10, 2013, and shall continue until January 18, 2016.
January 3, 2014
The Honorable Matt Michels
President of the Senate
State Capitol
Pierre, SD 57501
Dear Mr. President and Members of the Senate:
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 1-45 of the South Dakota Codified Laws and subject
to your consent, I have the honor to inform you that I have reappointed Marilyn Hoyt, Beadle
County, Huron, South Dakota, to the South Dakota Board of Education.
This appointment is effective immediately and shall continue until December 31, 2017.
The Honorable Matt Michels
President of the Senate
State Capitol
Pierre, SD 57501
Dear Mr. President and Members of the Senate:
Pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 1-45 of the South Dakota Codified Laws and subject
to your consent, I have the honor to inform you that I have reappointed Glenna N. Fouberg,
Brown County, Aberdeen, South Dakota, to the South Dakota Board of Education.
This appointment is effective immediately and shall continue until December 31, 2017.
June 26, 2013
The Honorable Matt Michels
President of the Senate
State Capitol
Pierre, SD 57501
Dear Mr. President and Members of the Senate:
Pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 13-49 of the South Dakota Codified Laws and
subject to your consent, I have the honor to inform you that I have appointed Joseph Schartz,
Minnehaha County, Humboldt, South Dakota, to the State Board of Regents.
This appointment is effective July 1, 2013, and shall continue until July 1, 2014.
The Honorable Matt Michels
President of the Senate
State Capitol
Pierre, SD 57501
Dear Mr. President and Members of the Senate:
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 42-7A-17 of the South Dakota Codified Laws and
subject to your consent, I have the honor to inform you that I have appointed James S. Towler,
Union County, Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, to the South Dakota Lottery Commission.
This appointment is effective April 5, 2013, and shall continue until January 1, 2016.
July 11, 2013
The Honorable Matt Michels
President of the Senate
State Capitol
Pierre, SD 57501
Dear Mr. President and Members of the Senate:
Pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 1-16H of the South Dakota Codified Laws and
subject to your consent, I have the honor to inform you that I have appointed Ronald Wheeler,
Lawrence County, Lead, South Dakota, to the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority.
This appointment is effective immediately and shall continue until April 9, 2014.
The Honorable Matt Michels
President of the Senate
State Capitol
Pierre, SD 57501
Dear Mr. President and Members of the Senate:
Pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 13-49 of the South Dakota Codified Laws and
subject to your consent, I have the honor to inform you that I have appointed Bob L. Sutton,
Hughes County, Pierre, South Dakota, to the State Board of Regents.
This appointment is effective April 5, 2013, and shall continue until March 31, 2019.
MR. PRESIDENT:
Your Joint-Select Committee appointed to make arrangements for legislative days
respectfully reports that we recommend the days of the Eighty-ninth Legislative Session be
January 14 through January 17, January 21 through January 24, January 28 through January 31,
February 4 through February 7, February 10 through February 13, February 18 through
February 21, February 24 through February 27, March 3 through March 6, March 10 through
March 14, and March 31.
Respectfully submitted, Respectfully submitted,
Scott Munsterman Corey Brown
Jacqueline Sly Tim Rave
Peggy Gibson Jason Frerichs
House Committee Senate Committee
Your Joint-Select Committee appointed for the purpose of fixing the compensation of the elective and appointive officers and employees of the House and Senate for the Eighty-ninth Legislative Session, pursuant to SDCL 2-5-8, respectfully reports that a salary schedule for the elective and appointive officers and employees has been developed and filed with the Director of the Legislative Research Council and the State Auditor.
(1) A form listing each weekend during session will be delivered to legislators. Legislators
will be asked to list their travel on that single sheet which would be signed and turned in
at the close of session. Also, pursuant to statute, a voucher must also be signed by each
legislator requesting travel reimbursement.
(2) Legislators driving their own car home for a weekend will receive mileage paid at state
rates (37 cents per mile). Legislators not driving home will not be entitled to
reimbursement unless they leased a vehicle or somehow incurred an expense, equivalent
to 37 cents per mile, in such travel.
(3) Legislators flying commercially will receive the equivalent of flight expenses as long
as it does not exceed 37 cents per mile.
(4) Legislators flying charter or in their own plane will be reimbursed for actual expenses
as long as it does not exceed 37 cents per mile.
(5) A maximum of ten trips will be considered for the 2014 Legislative Session, including
the trip for the final legislative day.
(6) Pursuant to constitutional provisions, legislators will be paid for their initial trip to
Pierre and their final trip home at the rate of 5 cents per mile.
Respectfully submitted, Respectfully submitted,
Brian Gosch Corey Brown
David Lust Dan Lederman
Bernie Hunhoff Jason Frerichs
House Committee Senate Committee
Also MR. PRESIDENT:
Your Joint-Select Committee appointed for the purpose of conferring with the Director of
the Legislative Research Council in regard to making arrangements for the distribution of the
official directory, House and Senate journals and bills, and other legislative printing for the two
houses and the state offices with the full power to act respectfully reports that:
The Legislature orders 170 copies of the Senate and House bills and resolutions (each); and
100 copies of the Senate and House daily journals (each) for the Eighty-ninth Legislative
Session.
The free distribution of sets of bills, resolutions, and daily journals shall be as follows:
Eight copies for the Governor's Office, thirteen copies for the Supreme Court, eleven copies for the Legislative Research Council, four copies for the State Library Depository, three copies for the Attorney General, two copies for the Bureau of Finance and Management, four
copies for the Secretary of State, two copies for the Department of Legislative Audit, one copy
for the Code Commission, one copy for the State Treasurer, one copy for the State Auditor, one
copy for the Commissioner of School and Public Lands, one copy for the Public Utilities
Commission, and press copies as needed. Accomplishment of this distribution may be satisfied,
in whole or in part, by obtaining electronic copies of these documents from the legislative Web
site.
State's Attorneys and County Auditors shall receive free copies of bills and journals if they
pay mailing charges at a rate of $50 per set (bills or journals) for first-class mailing.
Distribution of bills and journals to state officials, boards, commissions, and institutions
will be made upon request in writing to the Legislative Documents Room at a charge of
$170 per set of bills and $100 per set of journals plus mailing charges, if applicable.
One copy of the official directory (red book) shall be distributed to each Senator and
Representative, four copies to the State Library, three copies to the Secretary of State and a
copy shall also be made available to state departments and the press upon request to the
Director of the Legislative Research Council. The public may obtain a copy for a fee of
$7 payable to the Legislative Documents Room.
One free copy of the South Dakota Legislative Index shall be distributed to the Governor,
the Lieutenant Governor, the Attorney General and the Supreme Court; four free copies to the
State Library Depository; and one free copy to Senators and Representatives. Upon written
request to the Legislative Documents Room before January 31, 2014, all other state and private
entities may purchase the South Dakota Legislative Index at a cost of $50 per copy.
The Chief Mailing Clerk shall upon written request furnish any individual, firm,
corporation, association, or other organization with a set of House and Senate bills for $170 per
set and a set of journals for $100 per set for the Eighty-ninth Legislative Session, plus mailing
charges, if applicable.
Legislators may have two copies of all bills and resolutions and two copies of the daily
journals distributed or mailed to constituents within the legislator's own district if constituents
or legislators pay mailing charges of $50 per set for first-class mailing.
Registered lobbyists shall be entitled to one copy of the official directory upon payment
of the $40 registration fee to the Secretary of State; and upon payment of an additional $170 per
set of bills and $100 per set of journals plus mailing charges, if applicable, to the Legislative
Documents Room, shall be entitled to one copy of all bills and resolutions or journals pursuant
to SDCL 2-12-3.
Bill status reports will be printed and sold to state agencies at cost and to registered
lobbyists for $200 payable to the Legislative Documents Room which receipted funds shall be
used to pay the printing costs. If bill status is mailed, the cost is $125 for first-class postage.
A free daily copy of the bill status report shall be distributed as follows:
The Chief Mailing Clerk shall at the end of the session file a report with the Director of
the Legislative Research Council of all money paid for the purchase of bills and journals and
show proof of having deposited such money with the State Treasurer. Such funds shall be used
to offset the costs of postage and printing of bills and journals.
Respectfully submitted, Respectfully submitted,
Steven Westra Dan Lederman
Kristin Conzet Ryan Maher
Scott Parsley Billie Sutton
House Committee Senate Committee
Also MR. PRESIDENT:
Your Joint-Select Committee appointed relative to securing chaplains for the Eighty-ninth
Legislative Session respectfully reports:
We have conferred with the Pierre/Ft. Pierre Ministerial Association and have arranged
for ministers to participate on a part-time basis under the direction of Pastor Sarah Goldammer,
Lutheran Memorial Church, as chief chaplain, to serve the Senate and House as chaplains
throughout the Eighty-ninth session of the Legislature. The chaplains are as follows:
John Armstrong, Dan Bader, Josh Baumann, Don Block, Paul Bly, Larry Cass, Kristopher
Cowles, John Fette, Sarah Goldammer, Michael Griffin, Mercy Hobbs, David Hussey, Fred
MacDonald, Auggie Minzlaff, Sunshine Minzlaff, J. P. Mosley, Jr., Dodie Noordermeer, Brad
Urbach, and David Zellmer.
Respectfully submitted, Respectfully submitted,
Scott Craig Larry Rhoden
Steve Hickey Bill Van Gerpen
Dennis Feickert Larry Lucas
House Committee Senate Committee
and convene in the House Chamber at 3:00 p.m. on January 23, 2014, and that a Joint Memorial
Resolution be introduced in their memory by their colleagues in the House of Representatives
and Senate.
A short program will follow the introduction of the Memorial Resolution. At the
conclusion of the Memorial Service, the Joint Session will be dissolved.
The Memorial Resolution shall be printed in the House and Senate Journals.
MR. PRESIDENT:
I have the honor to inform your honorable body that the House has appointed Reps. Wink,
Cronin, and Bartling as a committee of three on the part of the House to meet with a like
committee on the part of the Senate to arrange for a Joint Session of the two houses to receive
the message of the Governor.
Also MR. PRESIDENT:
I have the honor to inform your honorable body that the House has appointed Reps. Wink,
Cronin, and Bartling as a committee of three on the part of the House to meet with a like
committee on the part of the Senate to notify the Governor that the Legislature is duly organized
and ready to meet in Joint Session to receive any communications he may desire to make.
Also MR. PRESIDENT:
I have the honor to inform your honorable body that the House has appointed Reps. Lust,
Cronin, and Bernie Hunhoff as a committee of three on the part of the House to meet with a like
committee on the part of the Senate to arrange for a Joint Session of the Senate and House of
Representatives to receive a message from the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
I have the honor to inform your honorable body that the House has appointed Reps. Gosch,
Lust, and Bernie Hunhoff as a committee of three on the part of the House to meet with a like
committee on the part of the Senate relative to the Joint Rules for the Eighty-ninth Legislative
Session.
Also MR. PRESIDENT:
I have the honor to inform your honorable body that the House has appointed Reps. Gosch,
Lust, and Bernie Hunhoff as a committee of three on the part of the House to meet with a like
committee on the part of the Senate for the purpose of setting the compensation schedule of the
elective and appointive officers and employees of the House and Senate for the Eighty-ninth
Legislative Session, pursuant to SDCL 2-5-8, with the full power to act and that such
compensation schedule be filed with the Director of the Legislative Research Council and the
State Auditor.
Also MR. PRESIDENT:
I have the honor to inform your honorable body that the House has appointed Reps. Craig,
Hickey, and Feickert as a committee of three on the part of the House to meet with a like
committee on the part of the Senate relative to securing chaplains for the Eighty-ninth
Legislative Session.
Also MR. PRESIDENT:
I have the honor to inform your honorable body that the House has appointed
Reps. Munsterman, Sly, and Gibson as a committee of three on the part of the House to meet
with a like committee on the part of the Senate to arrange for legislative days for the members,
officers, and employees of the Senate and House.
Also MR. PRESIDENT:
I have the honor to inform your honorable body that the House has appointed
Reps. Westra, Conzet, and Parsley as a committee of three on the part of the House to meet with
a like committee on the part of the Senate for the purpose of conferring with the Director of the
Legislative Research Council in regard to making arrangements for the distribution of the
official directory, House and Senate Journals, and bills and other legislative printing for the two
houses and the state offices with the full power to act.
I have the honor to inform your honorable body that the House has appointed Reps. Wick,
Craig, Hickey, and Feickert as a committee of four on the part of the House to meet with a
committee of three on the part of the Senate for the purpose of arranging for a memorial
recognition of deceased former members of the House and Senate.
Also MR. PRESIDENT:
I have the honor to inform your honorable body that the House has adopted the report of
the Joint-Select Committee for the purpose of arranging a Joint Session of the two houses to
receive the message of the Governor.
Also MR. PRESIDENT:
I have the honor to inform your honorable body that the House has adopted the report of
the Joint-Select Committee for the purpose of notifying the Governor that the Legislature is
duly organized and ready to meet in Joint Session to receive any communications he may desire
to make.
Also MR. PRESIDENT:
I have the honor to inform your honorable body that the House has adopted the report of
the Joint-Select Committee relative to arranging for a joint session to receive the State of the
Judiciary message from the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
SB 6 Introduced by: Senators Soholt, Peters, and Tieszen and Representatives Stevens,
Conzet, Gibson, Rozum, and Soli at the request of the Interim Domestic Abuse Study
Committee
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to establish the crime of committing certain acts of
domestic abuse in the presence of a minor child.
Was read the first time.
SB 21 Introduced by: The Committee on Judiciary at the request of the Office of the Attorney General
Was read the first time.
SB 22 Introduced by: The Committee on Judiciary at the request of the Office of the
Attorney General
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to authorize the issuance of citations for certain
livestock inspection violations.
Was read the first time.
SB 23 Introduced by: The Committee on Judiciary at the request of the Office of the
Attorney General
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to revise certain provisions relating to deceptive trade
practices, including unordered property or services, lodging reservation and cancellation,
violation penalties, attorney's fees, entry rights for landlords and tenants, debit card theft, and
organized retail crime.
Was read the first time.
SB 25 Introduced by: The Committee on Judiciary at the request of the Office of the
Attorney General
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to establish the procedure to forfeit personal property
in child pornography, human trafficking, child solicitation or exploitation cases, and to direct
money from the forfeitures.
Was read the first time.
SB 26 Introduced by: The Committee on Judiciary at the request of the Office of the
Attorney General
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to establish certain electronic crime victim notification
procedures.
Was read the first time.
SB 37 Introduced by: The Committee on Appropriations at the request of the Department of Education
Was read the first time and referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
SB 38 Introduced by: The Committee on Appropriations at the request of the Department
of Education
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to revise the state aid to special education formula.
Was read the first time and referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
SB 39 Introduced by: The Committee on Transportation at the request of the Department
of Transportation
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to revise certain provisions regarding the regulation
of certain open containers of alcoholic beverages.
Was read the first time.
SB 40 Introduced by: The Committee on Retirement Laws at the request of the South
Dakota Retirement System
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to allow a surviving spouse of a member of the South
Dakota Retirement System to elect a reduced benefit prior to age sixty-five under certain
circumstances.
Was read the first time and referred to the Committee on Retirement Laws.
SB 41 Introduced by: The Committee on Retirement Laws at the request of the South
Dakota Retirement System
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to revise the definition of penitentiary correctional
staff for purposes of administering the South Dakota Retirement System.
Was read the first time and referred to the Committee on Retirement Laws.
SB 42 Introduced by: The Committee on Retirement Laws at the request of the South
Dakota Retirement System
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to authorize certain former state cement plant
employees and surviving spouses to elect a lump sum trustee-to-trustee payment in lieu of
monthly benefit payments.
SB 43 Introduced by: The Committee on Retirement Laws at the request of the South
Dakota Retirement System
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to revise the calculation of disability benefits and
certain benefits payable upon death of members of the South Dakota Retirement System.
Was read the first time and referred to the Committee on Retirement Laws.
SB 44 Introduced by: The Committee on Appropriations at the request of the Department
of Social Services
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to create a provider revolving loan fund for skilled
nursing facilities in the Department of Social Services, to make an appropriation therefor, and
to declare an emergency.
Was read the first time and referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services.
SB 45 Introduced by: The Committee on Commerce and Energy at the request of the South
Dakota Real Estate Commission
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to revise the Real Estate Commission's grounds for
disciplinary actions on home inspectors.
Was read the first time and referred to the Committee on Commerce and Energy.
SB 46 Introduced by: The Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources at the request
of the Animal Industry Board
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to revise certain provisions regarding animal welfare
and to provide a felony penalty for cruelty to animals.
Was read the first time.
SB 47 Introduced by: The Committee on Commerce and Energy at the request of the
Department of Labor and Regulation
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to establish new criteria for the certification, licensure,
and registration of real estate appraisers.
Was read the first time and referred to the Committee on Commerce and Energy.
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to require appraisal management companies to
maintain a surety bond or irrevocable letter of credit.
Was read the first time and referred to the Committee on Commerce and Energy.
SB 49 Introduced by: The Committee on Commerce and Energy at the request of the
Department of Labor and Regulation
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to revise certain provisions regarding private
placement policies.
Was read the first time and referred to the Committee on Commerce and Energy.
SB 50 Introduced by: The Committee on Commerce and Energy at the request of the
Department of Labor and Regulation
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to authorize rule-making authority to establish record-keeping requirements for insurers and producers.
Was read the first time and referred to the Committee on Commerce and Energy.
SB 51 Introduced by: The Committee on State Affairs at the request of the Department of
Revenue
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to revise certain provisions regarding the regulation
of tobacco.
Was read the first time and referred to the Committee on State Affairs.
SB 52 Introduced by: The Committee on Commerce and Energy at the request of the
Department of Labor and Regulation
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to authorize the informal settlement of insurance
examinations.
Was read the first time and referred to the Committee on Commerce and Energy.
SB 53 Introduced by: The Committee on Appropriations at the request of the Department
of Labor and Regulation
Was read the first time and referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
SB 54 Introduced by: The Committee on Transportation at the request of the Department
of Revenue
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to revise the definition of a boat dealer, used vehicle
dealer, and dealer of mobile homes or manufactured homes, and to revise certain penalties for
selling motor vehicles, snowmobiles, mobile homes, manufactured homes, or boats without a
license.
Was read the first time.
SB 55 Introduced by: The Committee on Taxation at the request of the Department of
Revenue
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to repeal the contractor's excise tax on certain new or
expanded power production facilities.
Was read the first time and referred to the Committee on Taxation.
SB 56 Introduced by: The Committee on Taxation at the request of the Department of
Revenue
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to revise certain provisions regarding auditing
standards used by the Department of Revenue.
Was read the first time and referred to the Committee on Taxation.
SB 57 Introduced by: The Committee on Taxation at the request of the Department of
Revenue
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to repeal certain provisions regarding the regulation
of the trading stamp business.
Was read the first time and referred to the Committee on Taxation.
SB 58 Introduced by: The Committee on Transportation at the request of the Department
of Revenue
Was read the first time and referred to the Committee on Transportation.
SB 59 Introduced by: The Committee on Transportation at the request of the Department
of Revenue
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to increase the penalty for the trafficking of vehicle
license plates and decals, to prohibit and provide a penalty for the unauthorized transfer of a
vehicle license plate or decal, and to impose a penalty for altering or forging certain vehicle
registration cards.
Was read the first time.
SB 60 Introduced by: The Committee on Transportation at the request of the Department
of Revenue
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to revise certain provisions regarding the titling and
licensing of boats and motor vehicles and to establish certain penalties for violation of those
provisions.
Was read the first time.
SB 61 Introduced by: The Committee on Transportation at the request of the Department
of Revenue
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to revise certain provisions regarding organization,
first responder, and organ donor emblem speciality plates for motor vehicles.
Was read the first time and referred to the Committee on Transportation.
Sen. Bradford moved that the Senate do now adjourn, which motion prevailed and at
12:53 p.m. the Senate adjourned.
O God of all Creation, in the words from Proverbs you tell us that you give wisdom and
"store up sound wisdom for the upright; they are a shield to those who walk blamelessly and
preserving the way of his faithful one..." Proverbs 2:6&7
On this day we remember in prayer those men and women who go in harms way on our
behalf, who keep us safe both day and night. We pray for their families in their waiting and ask
that those who serve might return home safely. We pray for the men and women who have been
set aside as Justices and Judges, that they might be blessed with Your abiding wisdom and
courage, so that justice and mercy might prevail for the people of South Dakota. We pray as
well for our Governor and Legislators and all those who hold elected or appointed office, bless
this legislative session that through their work what is best for all might be set forth.
In Your Holy Name we Pray. Amen.
The Secretary of the Senate, Jeannette Schipper, called the roll of the Senate and the
following members were present:
Begalka; Bradford; Brown; Buhl O'Donnell; Curd; Ewing; Frerichs; Heineman, Phyllis; Holien;
Hunhoff, Jean; Jensen; Jones, Chuck; Jones, Tom; Kirkeby; Krebs; Lederman; Lucas; Maher;
Monroe; Novstrup, Al; Omdahl; Otten, Ernie; Peters; Rampelberg; Rave; Rhoden; Soholt;
Solano; Sutton; Tidemann; Tieszen; Van Gerpen; Vehle; Welke; White.
The Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives, Arlene Kvislen, called the roll of the
House and the following members were present:
Anderson; Bartling; Bolin; Cammack; Campbell; Carson; Conzet; Craig; Cronin; Dryden;
Duvall; Ecklund; Erickson; Feickert; Feinstein; Gibson; Greenfield; Haggar, Don; Haggar,
Jenna; Hajek; Hawks; Hawley; Heinemann; Heinert; Hickey; Hoffman; Hunhoff, Bernie; Johns;
Kaiser; Kirschman; Kopp; Langer; Latterell; Lust; Magstadt; May; Mickelson; Munsterman;
Nelson; Novstrup, David; Olson, Betty; Otten, Herman; Parsley; Peterson; Qualm; Rasmussen;
Ring; Romkema; Rounds; Rozum; Russell; Schaefer; Schoenfish; Schrempp; Sly; Soli; Solum;
Stalzer; Steele; Stevens; Tulson; Tyler; Verchio; Werner; Westra; Wick; Wink; Wismer;
Speaker Gosch.
Sen. Rave moved that a committee of three on the part of the Senate and a committee of
five on the part of the House be appointed to escort the Honorable David Gilbertson, Chief
Justice of the state of South Dakota, to the rostrum.
Which motion prevailed and the President appointed as such committee Sens. Brown,
Rave, and Frerichs on the part of the Senate and Reps. Lust, Wink, Cronin, Bernie Hunhoff, and
Bartling on the part of the House.
The Sergeant at Arms announced the arrival of Chief Justice David Gilbertson, who was
escorted to the rostrum.
Sen. Rave moved that the Joint Session do now dissolve.
Which motion prevailed.
Pursuant to the Joint-Select Committee Report found on page 11 of the Senate Journal, the
following is Governor Dennis Daugaard's State of the State Address:
Before I begin today, I'd like to recognize a few new legislators who are joining us this year.
At the Budget Address, I recognized Senator Blake Curd, Representative Dave Anderson, and
Representative Kris Larger. Today I'd also like to recognize Senator Chuck Jones from
Flandreau and also Senator Alan Solano from Rapid City. Would all five of you please stand
and be recognized. Welcome!
I can still remember how I felt on that first day, so welcome to all of you. I am told that
Governor Frank Farrar is also here. Governor Farrar would you please stand? Welcome
Governor! This is my fourth State of the State Address. Just over three years ago, in my
inaugural address, you might remember a favorite quote I included from President Calvin
Coolidge:
Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more
common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a
proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and
determination alone are omnipotent.
I would never belittle the importance of education or knowledge; neither did President
Coolidge. But he identified the essential element to success - persistence and determination.
In other words - hard work.
South Dakotans believe in hard work. When we promote South Dakota as a good place to do
business, we promote the work ethic of our people. Those who do business in multiple states,
including South Dakota, will often remark to me that their South Dakota location is their most
productive, because South Dakotans know how to work.
In short, South Dakota works because South Dakota's people know how to work. We succeed
and excel because we work hard and stay true to our values.
South Dakota's unemployment rate fell again last month to 3.6 percent - the second-lowest in
the nation, even as Nevada and Rhode Island still struggle with 9 percent unemployment. Some
metropolitan areas in Arizona, California, Illinois, and New Jersey have unemployment rates
of 12 percent or worse.
Only 15 states have recovered all of the jobs those states lost during the recession. South Dakota
is one of them. Today South Dakota has over 10,000 more jobs than we did before the
recession. South Dakota, in fact, is 2.5 percent above our pre-recession peak, while the nation
remains about 1 percent below pre-recession levels.
South Dakota's average personal income growth continues to be among the highest in the
nation. In the third quarter of last year, personal income growth compared to the same quarter
in 2012 was the highest in the nation.
We have reached another important milestone as well, as our per capita income now exceeds
the national average. Numbers available for 2012 indicate that the average South Dakotan earns
about 3.8 percent more than the average American.
One consequence of our strengthening economy is that 2013 saw a 1.3 percent decrease in the
number of people on Medicaid and a 2.4 percent decrease in those enrolled for SNAP or food
stamps. This is the first year in recent memory that enrollments in these programs have
dropped.
Of course not all rankings are economic, and we can be proud of our success in many areas.
South Dakota continues to be among the nation's best in immunizations for kindergarteners and
for the percentage of the population who goes out and gets a flu shot.
Our young people understand the value of education. Our high school graduates go on to
college or tech school at one of the highest rates in the nation. Once those students graduate,
our low student loan default rates show that those who had to borrow are able to pay back the
loans they took out.
Although we must always be mindful of long-term funding needs, South Dakota's 8,000 miles
of paved state highways rank a 4.4 out of 5 for quality, and our state bridges rank 91 out of
100 on a 100-point scale. This year, we are going to be completing construction of South
Dakota's portion of the Heartland Expressway, which we began in 1997. We have reached an
agreement with the city of Sioux Falls to jump start progress on the northern part of Highway
100, which will eventually connect 1-29 to 1-90 traversing the southern and eastern edges of
Sioux Falls.
We can be thankful that South Dakota is no longer suffering from drought. A year ago at this
time 100 percent of the state was in drought condition and 97 percent of that was "severe
drought." Today, only 4 percent of the state is classified only as "abnormally dry," not even
drought level, and none of the state is even classified otherwise.
We've been rated among the top five states in the nation for our high credit scores as one of the
best states in which to retire and for volunteerism. It should be no surprise that an analysis last
year of photos posted on the Internet showed South Dakotans smile more than people in any
other state.
Of course, I'm very proud of the decisions we have made about our state finances. We have
structurally balanced our budget without using any financial gimmicks. We have conservatively
estimated revenue and enjoyed modest year-end surpluses. We are one of only a very few states
in the nation to have a public pension that is more than 100 percent funded. Last year, we
refinanced our tobacco bonds resulting in a $43.9 million present value increase to the
Education Enhancement Trust Fund. We have done it all without raising taxes. Achievements
like these and our low debt load led to South Dakota being named the "Best Run State in
America" in 2012.
Some of these achievements were caused by good decisions that you made and other governors
made over the years. But the real credit should go to people of South Dakota who tell us what
kind of laws they want or don't, what to regulate, and what not to regulate. They tell us every
year what kind of government they want.
Whenever we face a challenge, South Dakotans roll up our sleeves and work together to find
a solution.
Two years ago, I used my State of the State Address to speak to you about workforce. I
announced the South Dakota Workforce Initiatives, or "South Dakota WINS," a twenty-point
plan to get more South Dakotans trained and ready to work in a rapidly growing and changing
South Dakota economy.
South Dakota WINS included four categories of effort. I'd like to briefly update you on some
of the progress we've made in each of these areas over the past couple years and share new
proposals to continue our progress.
The first area of South Dakota WINS is "preparing our youth." We need to prepare our young
people to live and work in the 21st Century, and we need to give them the information they
need to make wise decisions about career choices and academic programs. Students need to
know that if they enter a high-need field, they will find a job in South Dakota, and they will
make good money in that job.
Over the past year, I have focused my attention on the need to offer high quality CTE, Career
and Technical Education, in our K-12 schools. CTE is at the intersection of education and
economic development. While many of our schools offer good CTE programs, these expensive
programs can be difficult to offer and maintain especially for our smaller school districts.
I can't overstate the importance of these programs. CTE programs are very closely aligned with
our state's workforce needs from welding and machining, to healthcare and information
technology, to engineering and biosciences. These programs give students experiences so they
understand these aren't "dirty jobs," but opportunities to work with the latest technology
hands-on. Even higher education opportunities are available right here in South Dakota at our
universities and technical institutes.
After session ended last year, I asked staff from my office and from the Department of
Education to reach out to those who are engaged in CTE programs. Over the spring, summer,
and fall, they visited all four technical institutes, as well as high school CTE programs. They
held a series of meetings to listen to over 40 high school administrators and educators - large
school and small schools. They learned about innovation already occurring in our state.
Fortunately, working together to provide CTE is not a new idea for South Dakota's schools.
Northeast Technical High School has provided CTE programs for Watertown area school
districts for decades. In northwestern South Dakota, a consortium of eight districts uses a fleet
of portable CTE labs in semi-truck trailers to share programs and equipment. In Sioux Falls,
the new CTE Academy is providing cutting-edge programs to students from all districts in that
area.
We need even more innovation like this, and today, I am announcing that I will use at least
$5 million in Future Funds this year to support a series of Governor's Grants for CTE. These
grants will help schools join together to strengthen their current CTE offerings.
The Department of Education issued a Request for Information to schools last fall, and we
received proposals from 26 districts totaling $20 million in requests. We are working now to
narrow down the requests we received and to sharpen the applications. We can't do it all this
year, but I believe these grants are a big step toward creating new opportunities for our young
people to learn, work, and live right here in South Dakota.
This year we will also help finance more high school students to take dual credit courses. More and more high school CTE programs are partnering with our technical institutes to provide courses that award both high school credit and post-secondary credit. Our state universities have also partnered for years with high schools to make dual credit opportunities available. Schools can't typically pay for university or technical institute credit. In some cases, the cost of the higher education credits makes these opportunities cost prohibitive for a student's family.
The FY15 budget I proposed last December proposes funds to help make these opportunities
more affordable. Using a combination of state funds and discounts from the Regents and the
Technical Institutes, we propose to buy down the cost of entry-level university and technical
institute courses. That way students can take these dual credit courses from the universities and
tech schools directly at the low $40 per credit hour.
Dual credit opportunities are a win-win-win-win. Students who start college or tech schools
with some credits already earned are more likely to complete on time and at less cost.
Universities and technical institutes get the opportunity to make themselves known to
prospective students and to help prepare them for success when they graduate. High schools
gain flexibility to offer more opportunities to students at no cost to the district, and the state gets
more young people who are ready to succeed, live, and work here in South Dakota.
Offering training for skilled jobs is the second major area of South Dakota WINS, and over the
past two years, we have made major strides in this area. We created a new welding and
manufacturing program at Mitchell Tech. As of this fall, 23 of the 24 slots are full. We also
expanded the welding program at Mike Durfee State Prison, so that more inmates can learn this
skill and prepare for a productive life after prison. The tech schools have created innovative
distance-based machining and welding courses that combine online and hands-on elements.
These distance-based programs have already served students in seven different South Dakota
communities.
Our technical institutes strive to teach using cutting-edge, up-to-date equipment, but that can
be very expensive. Last month, I asked the four technical institutes to let me know their
highest-need equipment upgrades. Earlier this month, I awarded $3.8 million in Future Fund
grants to the technical institutes to fund many of the needed upgrades in our workforce priority
areas. From hemodynamic monitors used in cardiovascular procedures, to computer
numerically controlled press brakes and robotics trainers used in manufacturing, to telecaster
production switches used in satellite communications, just to name a few. These are just a few
of the funded upgrades which will offer significant improvements to our technical institute
programs.
In addition, today I am announcing I will be awarding the technical institutes another
$1.5 million. That's $500,000 a year for the next three years for scholarships in 20 high-need
program areas. These scholarships of up to $5,000 for two year programs will be awarded to
students who agree to stay in South Dakota and work in a high-need field for three years.
Another important workforce need in our state is rural health care. That is the third area of South Dakota WINS. Between 2010 and 2020, South Dakota will need over 8,000 new healthcare workers. This is going to be a challenge because our elderly population is expected to double by 2025.
Health care providers who were raised in South Dakota, educated in South Dakota, and
on-the-job trained in South Dakota are more likely to stay in South Dakota. We have to work
even harder to make that happen for rural areas. That's where we've been focusing our efforts.
We've already made important strides.
Two years ago, we expanded the rural healthcare facilities recruitment program for fields such
as registered nurses and physical therapists. As a result of this expansion, we have 120 health
care professionals that were successfully recruited to 49 rural communities, including
communities like Faulkton, Scotland, Mission, and Timber Lake.
We also needed more capacity in our educational programs. In FY13, we increased the class
size at the med school by 4 students. In my budget this year, I am proposing that we add still
another 11 students per class. That means in five years we will have 60 more med students
being trained in our state than we did before the expansion began. In the future, we must work
to add residencies to keep these additional med school graduates during their residency training
right here in South Dakota.
We have also increased the capacity of the physician assistant program at USD from 20 to
25 students and reserved 20 of those spots for South Dakotans. For the first time, we are now
paying preceptors who provide practice experiences for physician assistants' graduates. This has
increased the number of willing preceptors in South Dakota. In my budget proposal for FY15,
I am encouraging you to provide the same financial incentive for nurse practitioner preceptors.
Again, if we can keep these graduates doing their on-the-job training after school in South
Dakota, it's more likely we can keep them working in South Dakota.
To encourage practice in rural areas, the FY13 budget included funding to establish the Frontier
and Rural Medicine, or FARM program, to give third-year medical students a nine-month
experience in rural communities. These programs are important because we find that students
who have good rural experiences are more likely to then practice in rural areas.
The fourth and final area of South Dakota WINS is our effort to attract more workers to South
Dakota. I mentioned in my Budget Address last month that the New South Dakotans program
designed to recruit workers from other states has worked more slowly than we had hoped.
Conversely, we have seen great success with the Dakota Roots program, which focuses
recruiting efforts on inviting former South Dakotans to come back home. Since it began, in
2006, more than 3,000 people have returned to South Dakota to accept employment thanks to
Dakota Roots. A small investment of marketing dollars two years ago has led to an 89 percent
increase in annual Dakota Roots registrations and a 66 percent increase in annual job
placements in that two-year period.
The issue of workforce continues to be a major challenge for our state. Our low unemployment
rate is a sign of our economic strength, but it also means it's difficult for employers to add more
jobs even if they have the business to justify it.
Over the next several weeks, I will be going on the road to carry this message to several
communities around the state. I will address chamber of commerce groups, visit with editorial
boards, and meet with employers about their workforce needs. Then after session ends, in the
spring and summer, we will organize larger workforce summits around the state. I'll invite you
so that business and community leaders can come together to review our current efforts, learn
about demographic and workforce trends, and so we can learn from them and discuss what we
need to do next.
Two years ago, South Dakota WINS initiated some important efforts to address this challenge
by strengthening K-12 and tech ed, addressing healthcare shortages, trying to bring more
workers to our state, and other efforts. Some of these initiatives have been immediately
successful, while a few haven't worked out as we had hoped. We need to recognize that the
challenge of workforce will not be overcome easily, and it won't be overcome in one year. I
hope we will continue to focus on this issue during this legislative session and during the years
to come.
On another topic, nearly two years ago, our state embarked upon a review of the state's criminal
justice system. The Chief Justice, legislative leadership, and I formed a work group to study our
prison population and corrections system using a data-driven approach. We charged the work
group with three clear goals: improve public safety; hold offenders accountable; and save
money.
The work group recommended and the legislature passed, last session, an extensive reform of
our system - the Public Safety Improvement Act. These reforms included measures to
strengthen offender accountability, offender supervision, ensure sustainability of the reforms,
and focus prison space on violent and career criminals.
I am pleased to report today that over the last 10 months the Executive and Judicial Branches
have worked tirelessly to ensure diligent, deliberate, and effective implementation of the Act.
Several parts became effective last July, others became operative last fall, and some took effect
just two weeks ago, on January 1st.
Development teams are still vigorously working on a few remaining issues, but regardless of
the difficulty that comes with transformational change, the Executive and Judicial Branches
have worked very hard to achieve the goals we set. It's too early to declare victory, but the
statutorily created Oversight Council is receiving very positive reports on the implementation
so far. Let me give you an example.
From July through November, over 91 percent of eligible parolees have been compliant
following all the rules and paying their fines and restitution. Over 342,000 days of parole credit
has already been earned. That is over 937 cumulative years and equates to about 5 fewer
parolees supervised by each parole officer.
Experts tell us it will take 2 or 3 years to complete implementation and 3 to 5 years to see all
the results of our combined efforts. However, early data suggests the reforms you passed will
succeed. We will continue to closely monitor implementation of the law to ensure that the three
goals of increased public safety, offender accountability, and reduced spending are met.
The other major piece of legislation that passed last session was Senate Bill 235, which created
the Building South Dakota Fund. This important legislation allows the state to partner with local
economic development efforts, and it recognizes the crucial role that housing, infrastructure,
and career and tech ed all play in growing our state's economy. I have already discussed some
efforts I have made in some of these areas. Building South Dakota ensures we will continue to
focus on these issues into the future.
Over $3.4 million in grants have already been awarded since Building South Dakota took effect
last year, and the legislation is also providing extra funding for schools to support English
language learners.
In the Budget Address, I discussed my proposal to change the funding mechanism for Building
South Dakota. Again, by pre-funding Building South Dakota with $30 million of one-time
dollars, we can free ongoing dollars for other priorities. I know many of you wondered what
this proposal would mean for the future of Building South Dakota. The bill that I introduce will
ensure this program is funded for years to come.
Thanks to your commitment over the past three years to conservative budgeting, South Dakota
has enjoyed a budget surplus each of the last two years. So long as we stay true to those
principles, we should expect that to continue more often than not.
Under current law, budget surpluses are transferred into budget reserves as part of our rainy day
funds at the end of the fiscal year. I am proposing to change that in certain circumstances.
Under my proposal, the first priority for surplus funds will be to keep our rainy day funds at
10 percent of general fund appropriations for the year just ended. Once that is met, the second
priority will be to automatically pre-fund Building South Dakota, so that the program is always
funded at least one year in advance.
It is important to remember that the $30 million pre-funding I have already proposed secures the Building South Dakota Fund for more than a year into the future. In addition, I believe we all agree this program is a very prudent place to invest one-time dollars mid-session. If we are
conscientious about investing one-time dollars in the years when we have them, the automatic
funding I am proposing will never be necessary. My proposal will guarantee that Building
South Dakota is the first in line for year-end surplus funds when our rainy day funds are
adequate.
Building South Dakota created some important new tools to aid our economic development
efforts. Thanks to our favorable business climate, we have already seen many businesses
expand and add jobs over the past three years.
For example, in the manufacturing sector, two Texas-based companies, Permian Tank &
Manufacturing and Pipeline Plastics LLC, expanded to Belle Farce to take advantage of the
opportunities in the oil and gas fields, especially in North Dakota. Together, they will bring
105 jobs to the area. A third Texas company, WL Plastics, began production in their new Rapid
City location last August, adding 43 jobs. In 2012, A.G. North American Operations, Inc., a
German-based company that provides brazed aluminum air-cooled heat enchanters, added a
new addition to its Mitchell facility to create space for 215 jobs. Last year, Madmen Energy,
a Quebec-based manufacturer of wind towers, purchased a 150,000 square foot building in
Brandon. They are expanding the facility to over 200,000 square feet and will employ up to
250 people this year.
We have also seen growth in the financial and professional business services sector. Over the
past three years, T.F. Bank, Capital One, and TONE have all expanded in South Dakota. These
expansions alone account for about 750 new jobs in South Dakota.
We have seized opportunities in agriculture, our state's No. 1 industry. Glanbia Nutritionals, a
flax-seed processor, will cut the ribbon on their new Sioux Falls plant in April. Pulse
Processors, a processor of edible beans, broke ground last October in Harrold. In 2012, we
announced that Bel Brands USA would build a new cheese processing plant in Brookings.
Construction is on-schedule, and it should open later this year.
To ensure a strong milk supply for Bel Brands and our state's seven other milk-processing
facilities, we initiated a plan to expand our dairy herd. Through our County Site Analysis
Program, state officials have worked hand-in-hand with local county commissions and
landowners to identify the best locations for new livestock operations and ag development. As
a result, South Dakota dairies have added or are in the process of adding 8,000 more cows to
their existing herds. Several counties have issued building permits for new dairies that could
expand our state's dairy herd by still another 15,000 cows. By embracing local control and
working together with counties to site these facilities, we're capitalizing on the clear economic
advantages of livestock agriculture.
Whether in manufacturing, finance, agriculture or elsewhere, this strong economic growth is
due to the hard work of the employers and employees of many companies and the wise policy
decisions you have made to preserve a strong business climate. It is also due to the efforts of
local economic developers and our staff at the Governor's Office of Economic Development.
Before I move on, I'd like to speak for a moment about the concerns that have arisen surrounding alleged wrongdoing by a former employee of the economic development office.
I called for an investigation into this matter last spring, and I released the Attorney General's
findings to the Legislature and to the public last fall.
Good stewardship of public money is very important to me, and I know that every legislator and
every South Dakotan shares this concern. In November, I sent every legislator a memo
explaining that, in addition to the Attorney General's investigation, I have ordered three
separate, independent audits or reviews of the economic development office in response to this
situation.
One external auditor is reviewing every disbursement made under several economic
development programs reaching back as far as 2009. This review will verify there was a signed
agreement or approved application and supporting documentation for every disbursement, each
payment amount was correct, and that a check or electronic payment was made to the intended
recipient.
The second review is being conducted by your Department of Legislative Audit, which is
independent of the Executive Branch and reports to you, the State Legislature. Legislative
Audit is performing a financial and compliance audit of the fund financial statements for all
government funds in the economic development office, again reaching back to 2009. The
Attorney General has received a court order authorizing him to release records he obtained
during his investigation to your Auditor General to aid in this audit, which will supplement
those audits that Legislative Audit already performs of some economic development programs.
Still another third independent auditor is conducting an examination of internal control
procedures. This review will look for weaknesses in policies and procedures and will make
recommendations to ensure the economic development programs have adequate internal control
procedures in place to safeguard public funds.
In addition, members of my team are working closely with the State Auditor's Office to improve
our internal practices regarding travel reimbursements. They will be proposing administrative
rules that will require additional justification for travel reimbursement submitted after 60 days.
We are also implementing new protocols for submission of travel expenses at the agency level,
and the State Auditor is considering processes to ensure reimbursements are not duplicated.
All of the reviews and audits I have discussed are expected to be completed by the end of
January and will be shared with you, the Legislature, and the general public. When the results
are known, I will work closely with legislators to decide how the state should respond to the
results and to determine if further reviews are warranted.
This is a serious matter and it deserves serious attention from state officials. It is important to
be thorough and comprehensive, even if doing so takes more time. My goals moving forward
are three-fold: to continue to cooperate in any way in the federal investigation, to recover
misappropriated state funds, if possible, and to use these extensive audits and reviews to find
ways to improve our processes.
Another topic I know many of you have heard about is the Common Core State Standards adopted by South Dakota in 2010. The Common Core standards are the product of a state-led effort by governors and chief education officers to provide a clear and rigorous set of academic
standards for mathematics and language arts. The standards were not written by the federal
government, are not required by the federal government, and South Dakota receives no federal
funds that were contingent upon adopting the Common Core standards.
We need to have content standards. We need standards that are rigorous. We need our students
to learn English and math, and we also need them to learn how to think independently and solve
problems in real-world situations. These were the goals of those who wrote, evaluated, and
adopted the Common Core standards, and I support those goals.
For many people, however, the Common Core has come to mean much more than that. It
encapsulates our opposition to federal interference in education, our concern about the privacy
of individual student data, and our strong belief in local control of our schools.
I share those concerns as well, and I hope we will all work together this year to protect our
students without undermining the important goals of rigorous and competitive content
standards.
I spoke earlier about our good finances. Although South Dakota's budgetary picture is good,
there is one area of concern. It was an area of concern when I delivered the budget proposal last
month. It was a concern a year ago, and it was concerning two years ago. I'm talking about bank
franchise taxes.
In 2011, when we struggled to balance the budget, we had a repayment liability hanging over
our heads. It was a bank franchise tax problem. In my budget address in 2012, I acknowledged
the possibility we might not receive any revenue from bank franchise taxes. Last month, I told
you that BFM had adjusted bank franchise taxes downward for FY14 and that this revenue
source is significantly lower than historic levels. It's a bank franchise tax problem.
Why is this revenue source so unpredictable and so volatile? Let's understand how the tax
works. First, understand how the bank franchise tax is levied.
For community banks, banks that do their business primarily in South Dakota, the tax is very
straightforward and stable. Community banks do virtually all of their business in South Dakota.
Thus the tax is calculated on virtually all their business.
For large interstate and international banks, which do business in many places both inside and
outside South Dakota, the bank franchise tax is volatile and problematic. Those banks need to
identify the share of their business activity which should be apportioned to South Dakota and
then calculate the tax on that share.
South Dakota apportionment law uses three factors: property, payroll, and receipts. The first factor is property, and it's a straightforward calculation. How much property does an interstate bank have in South Dakota vs everywhere? If a bank has $5 million of property in South Dakota and a $100 million of property everywhere, its got 5 percent of its property in South Dakota. That's a factor. The second factor is payroll. That's also very straightforward. If a bank has
$10 million of annual payroll paid to South Dakotans and a $100 million paid everywhere, its
got 10 percent of its payroll in South Dakota.
The third factor though is the receipts factor. That's where we have this problem. Our
apportionment law was last amended in 1977 before Congress approved interstate banking,
before personal computers, before the Internet, and before mobile computing. South Dakota's
three factors have been unchanged since 1977.
Think about 1977. In 1977, if I wanted a loan, I went into the bank, signed papers, and I paid
my interest payments to that same bank. It was very easy to determine the location of the
receipt. Then came interstate banking and the Internet. Now I might go online in Colorado and
connect to a computer in Nevada to apply for a credit card. The computer might have some
algorithms by which it screens me automatically, but if my credit history is marginal, my file
might get examined by a real human person in South Dakota. If I get the card, I might send my
payments to a payment center in New York. If I have a problem with the card, I might call a call
center with customer support operators, and they might be in Ohio. With all the locations
involved in these credit card matters, who is entitled to claim the receipt? This is the problem
confronting our interstate banks and our Department of Revenue. It makes calculating the tax
a nightmare and auditing virtually impossible.
We need to modernize our statute, but we also should maintain our tax revenues. I'll say that
again -maintain, not increase, our tax revenues.
South Dakota is a very good place for interstate banks. In a recent study by RSM McGladrey,
banks in South Dakota rank #2 in net income, #3 in total assets, #3 for return on assets, #3 in
net loans, and #3 in total deposits. Several interstate banks have located their home charters in
South Dakota because of our stable regulatory environment.
Even though more banks are locating in South Dakota, our bank franchise tax revenue has
actually fallen in recent years. Here is how our revenue has dropped.
Looking back twenty years, if you look to the left of the black line, that's actual bank franchise
tax collections that the state has received through 2013. If you look to the right of the black line,
the first two lines are what we have budgeted in FY14 and for FY15. Today, I believe if we do
nothing in this area, the far right bar is what we will actually collect at the state level. We are
going to have to adjust our expenditure levels down from the budget that I proposed.
I will be bringing forward legislation to address this issue in a way that does not - I repeat - does
not impact our South Dakota community banks. It will impact nine very large interstate banks
doing business in South Dakota, but it will not, it will not increase the total tax paid by these
nine banks collectively over historical averages. Let me say that one more time. It will impact
nine large interstate banks, but it will not increase the collective tax that these nine banks have
paid historically over average years.
This legislative session I hope to have your support to address this problem, not to raise taxes, but to preserve what modest taxes we have. If you agree, we will have more stability, more
transparency, and more simple tax administration. South Dakota will remain one of the lowest
tax environments in the country for all banks.
Last summer, one of our very large daily newspapers ran a series of articles describing how
citizens had been seriously hurt by an insurance carrier doing business in our state. After
reading the articles, I asked the Secretary of Labor and Regulation to investigate how we
regulate the insurance industry and how this could have happened. A few weeks later, she
issued a report that found the Division of Insurance lacks the statutory authority needed to
properly protect consumers.
Our Division of Insurance cannot fine carriers unless the carriers themselves agree to the
penalty. The Division cannot inform affected consumers if their insurance carrier has agreed
to remedial action. We can't even tell the consumer who has complained. Most states have
adopted some version of a national model unfair claims act setting forth the basic requirements
carriers need to follow when rejecting claims. South Dakota has no such law despite proposals
to do so in 1994, 1997, 2006, 2007, and 2008.
I think you all know how much I believe in South Dakota's common sense regulatory
environment. I don't like over regulation. There is, however, a vital role for government to play
in protecting consumers. The Division of Insurance will be bringing four bills to address the
deficiencies in our current regulatory landscape. This is the year to get these bills passed, and
I hope you will join me in supporting them.
Beyond protecting consumers, a government that serves the public in an open, efficient, and
accessible way is important to us all. These principles of openness, efficiency, and accessibility
underpin the Better Government initiative that I began three years ago.
Unless there's a clear, compelling reason, government information should be open and
accessible. Since I took office, the state has placed considerably more information online. Every
economic development grant is now listed online. Restaurant inspections are now online. The
Department of Environment and Natural Resources has put all oil, gas, and water drilling
information online. We have released the invitation lists for the Governor's Hunt and other
economic development events.
A couple of months ago, we took another important step, unveiling a new state website,
rules.sd.gov, where the public can track proposed administrative rules and submit their
feedback. The site is based upon the LRC website for tracking legislation. It makes it much
easier for the public to be involved in the rulemaking process.
We are also moving to mobile platforms. Game, Fish, and Parks has an excellent outdoors app
for hunters and fishers. The Department of Tourism has an app for visitors who come to our
state, and now travelers can use the Department of Transportation's new 511 app to check road
conditions.
Better government is also about finding places to roll back government, and I will be proposing another package of repealer bills this year. It's the nature of government to add to the body of
laws. When running for office you've probably been asked, "If elected, what will you do?" We
sometimes took that to mean, "What law will we pass?" We sometimes measure productivity
by the number of bills we pass. But when it comes to laws, more isn't always better.
We shouldn't place unnecessary hurdles before our citizens or entrepreneurs. Things shouldn't
be overly complicated. Thanks to you, we've already gone a long way in removing unnecessary
red tape in state government.
During the 2012 and 2013 Legislative Sessions, we repealed 378 unneeded rules and
919 obsolete sections of law, totaling more than 148,000 words. This year, the Executive
Branch will be introducing more than 10 bills to repeal even more unnecessary rules and laws
that are just taking up space or causing confusion.
Let me share a concrete instance where these Better Government principles have made a real
difference. In the summer of 2012, we had a problem at some of our driver licensing stations.
Many citizens were experiencing wait times of more than two hours. Some had to wait more
than three hours.
That's unacceptable. In July of 2012, I announced a comprehensive plan to make the driver
licensing system more efficient and convenient. We extended our hours of operation, instituted
aggressive hiring and training programs, and developed a new scheduling system so citizens
could call ahead or use the Internet and make appointments. We installed self-service kiosks
at a number of exam stations. We also created a driver license superstation in Sioux Falls to
handle substantially higher volumes. Last year, I worked with you to pass legislation
authorizing online driver license renewals.
The steps we have taken have made a real difference. Before we made these changes, only
1 customer out of 10 was served in 10 minutes. By last summer, 4 out of 10 customers were
served within 10 minutes. In the last few months, we have served 8 out of 10 customers within
10 minutes of walking in the door.
Driver licensing is not the most exciting sexy issue, but we have seen real improvement in this
area because of the changes we made and because of the hardworking employees at the exam
stations. I want citizens to be able to interact with government, all government, in a way that
is convenient and efficient. I'm proud of the progress we've made in this area.
In South Dakota, we enjoy a high quality of life, in part because of great outdoor spaces. People
travel from around the world to enjoy them with us. We have worked hard the past three years
to be good stewards of these important resources. In 2012, I began the Black Hills Forest
Initiative to address the serious mountain pine beetle epidemic threatening western South
Dakota. The Legislature appropriated $6.2 million to support this work and together we have
made tremendous progress.
Our cost-share program has provided direct assistance to more than 3,800 private landowners. Our crews have surveyed 189,000 acres. That's almost 300 square miles of forestland. And using progressive forestry techniques, we have treated 417,000 infested trees. Our aggressive
action to improve the health of the Black Hills forest earned an "Innovations Award" from the
Council of State Governments. We know there is more to do, but we can all be proud of the
progress we have made.
Even as we seek to protect our natural resources, we look forward to an exciting future. Last
session, you passed, and I signed a bill to create Good Earth State Park, our first new state park
in 40 years. Since its dedication in July, 12,000 visitors have experienced its scenic vistas and
walked its beautiful trails. Just last month, I convened a summit in Huron to seek ideas for
confronting the recent decline in pheasant numbers. Just as we acted to "beat the beetle,"
together we can identify and implement creative solutions to secure South Dakota's position as
the world's best pheasant hunting destination.
Even as we enjoy South Dakota's great outdoors, our climate is sometimes challenging, and we
need shelter from the weather. I'd like to talk for a moment about the Governor's House
program. As you know, this program builds affordable homes using inmate labor at Mike
Durfee State Prison in Springfield. The inmates gain valuable skills that help earn them jobs
when they leave prison and many South Dakotans across the state gain an opportunity to own
their home.
Over the past year, I asked the Department of Corrections and the Housing Development
Authority to explore the options to make the Governor's House more energy efficient.
Their first step was to build a prototype which met the Passive House standard. The Passive
House standard is a rigorous energy efficiency standard that requires heavy insulation, an
airtight envelope around the house, highly efficient windows, highly effective heating and
cooling systems, and an energy recovery air exchanger. Structures meeting the Passive House
standard have very low utility bills, and the homes retain enough heat to provide survivability
even in extreme cold weather without power.
The demonstration house was built in only a few months applying techniques that the builders
had learned only that year. In spite of these limitations, they met the Passive House standard,
and the house was put on display at the State Fair to educate fairgoers about new cutting-edge
building technologies.
Building every Governor's House to Passive House standard would make the house too
expensive for the target purchasers, but we have redesigned the Governor's House to apply
many Passive House principles such as better insulation and windows, an airtight envelope, and
an energy recovery air exchanger. These houses will now meet the Energy Star standard, which
makes them eligible for federally insured mortgages available only to energy efficient homes.
We have also ensured that the increased cost of the upgrades is offset by the decreased costs
homeowners see in their utility bills.
In the past few weeks, the news has covered the potential sale of the former DM&E railroad
line by the Canadian Pacific Railway. This rail line hauls more than 80 million bushels of grain,
13,000 cars of clay, and hundreds of thousands of tons of cement and other material each year.
I believe our efforts over the past year have been a success. Last month, the federal Surface
Transportation Board granted the state's petition to obtain information we need from the
Canadian Pacific to verify that the upgrades have indeed been made. We were supported in that
petition by the U. S. Secretary of Transportation and the U. S. Secretary of Agriculture, as well
as by our congressional delegation.
Canadian Pacific has now announced its intention to sell the line to Genesee & Wyoming, the
nation's largest short-line operator. The CEO of Genessee & Wyoming came to Pierre last week
to meet with me. I am optimistic they will operate the line in a way that benefits our state, as
they have with similar short lines in other parts of the country.
Another important piece of legislation that we passed a year ago dealt with organ donation. We
created a new online donor registry to make it easier for South Dakotans to register as an organ,
eye, or tissue donor. That registry is already beginning to serve its purpose, and South Dakotans
have proven again their generosity and concern for others. In 2013, we had more than doubled
the number of new registered donors than we had in 2012 and more than triple the number we
had in 2011. I encourage every legislator and every South Dakotan to register as a donor. Those
waiting for transplants are our friends and our neighbors. They are literally in this room today.
We can give no better gift than the gift of life.
I was encouraged to propose this legislation by my senior advisor, Deb Bowman. Deb would
not be with us today if she had not received a kidney transplant more than a decade ago. Deb
is planning to retire at the end of this legislative session after twenty-two years with state
government. She has been a friend and an advisor to me, as well as to Governors Mickelson,
Janklow, and Rounds. I know Deb has also worked closely with many of you in the Legislature.
We all know how passionate and compassionate she can be. Please join me in thanking Deb for
her years of public service.
Every one of us is here today because of the support of those who love us - our families and
friends. I know I wouldn't be standing here today without my wife, Linda.
Linda has worked tirelessly over the past three years as our state's first lady. In addition to
hosting thousands of people in summer tours at the Governor's Mansion, she has taken on
several important initiatives that focus on our state's children.
In my first State of the State Address, I spoke about the issue of infant mortality, and Linda has also worked hard on this issue. She chaired the infant mortality task force in 2011 and has also spoken around the state to promote safe sleep practices and to raise money for the Cribs for Kids program, which has already distributed more than 3,000 cribs to families, child care programs, foster care providers, and domestic abuse shelters.
Shortly after I took office, Linda also began traveling the state to promote reading in our
elementary schools. So far, she has visited the third, fourth, and fifth graders in 242 grade
schools - over half of the elementary schools in our state.
As part of the FosterOne campaign, this past summer and fall, Linda traveled across the state
to talk with more than 500 people about the importance of foster care and the positive impact
foster parenting has on children who need our support. Linda has asked that people learn more
about foster care, and her efforts are paying off. In just the last six months, the number of
people interested in becoming foster parents has doubled. More than one-third of those people
have already taken the next step toward becoming a foster family.
Please do me a big favor, and thank our first lady for her efforts.
Just days before Christmas, I joined soldiers and family members in Harrisburg to send off the
National Guard's 1742nd Transportation Company. Holiday or not, 162 soldiers answered the
call to duty, leaving homes and families for a year-long tour in Afghanistan.
Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the South Dakota National Guard has deployed more than 7,200
soldiers and airmen overseas. I am very happy to report that, according to the Adjutant General,
we believe the 1742nd may be the last South Dakota National Guard unit called up to deploy
in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
These brave men and women represent the finest that our state has to offer. They have served
and sacrificed much in defense of our state and nation.
Our returning heroes are also creating a new generation of veterans. Since South Dakota gained
statehood in 1889, our state has provided a home for veterans in Hot Springs. I read the initial
State of the State by Governor Mellette and he talked about that home. As I reported to you last
month, our plan to build the new Michael J. Fitzmaurice Veterans Home is on track and under
budget. Since December, contractors have been busy moving earth and blasting rock.
Underground utilities are being installed and one old building is being demolished. The new
home, which is scheduled to open late next year, will provide a place for our aging veterans for
decades to come.
Of course, the veterans who live in Hot Springs are just a small portion of the 75,000 veterans living in South Dakota. They range in age from World War II veterans to those just returning from Afghanistan. This year, the South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs is launching "Operation Reach All Veterans," a plan to meet every veteran in South Dakota and to offer assistance with federal, state, and local benefits. The Department will host more than 130 open houses, including at least one in every single county to reach out to veterans. Later today, I will
sign a proclamation declaring today "Operation Reach All Veterans Day" in South Dakota to
kick off this effort. Please join me in a round of applause for the service of our veterans and
active military personnel.
As I close today, I'd like to return to the topic of workforce. Last year, I convened the
Employment Works Task Force to focus on employment opportunities for a very specific group
of South Dakotans - our citizens with disabilities.
Too often, employers with job openings overlook people with disabilities. According to a 2011
estimate, only 41 percent of working age individuals with a disability were employed in South
Dakota - less than half the rate of those without a disability.
I can't pretend that I understand all the obstacles that confront a person with disabilities, but I
do feel a special appreciation for the disabled worker and for the employers who hire them.
Both my parents were born deaf, and I witnessed the challenges they faced as they job-hunted.
My father was a farmer, but our small farm wasn't big enough to support our family and cover
the farm mortgage, so Dad always had another job off the farm.
I believe that in this world people with disabilities often develop higher levels of determination
and accomplishment. Like my parents, they work harder than most. They have to. Good
employers know that the most valuable worker is the one who works hard, is loyal, is
honorable, and gives an honest day's work for an honest day's pay, whether that worker is
disabled or not. These employers know that hiring people with disabilities is good business.
They know that adversity builds character, and people with character are good employees.
For too long, some have seen employment of people with disabilities as a favor done with
sympathy. But I agree with the Employment Works Task Force - that needs to end in South
Dakota. We need to connect employers with employees who have disabilities because it makes
good business sense for the employer, and we need to start today.
We can begin by making the state of South Dakota an employer that sets the example for others.
There are already many examples in which state agencies and service providers work together
to provide employment opportunities for those with disabilities. The Bureau of Human
Resources and the Department of Human Services are working together to increase those
opportunities in the state work force.
In the past year, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation alone assisted over 900 people with
disabilities to reach their employment goals. I support the task force's report to make the
Department of Human Services a single point of contact to educate employers, provide
technical assistance, and connect employers with qualified individuals with disabilities.
The best thing we can provide for every South Dakotan is the opportunity to enjoy the rewards
that come from work. I'm not talking about financial rewards. They are important, of course,
but I am talking about the sense of self-worth that we all gain from accomplishment gained
through personal effort and hard work.
As Laura Ingalls Wilder recalled her father's words in "The Long Winter" of 1881, "It's got to
quit sometime and we don't. It can't lick us. We won't give up."
South Dakotans don't give up, and we saw that proven to us, again, last fall. The early winter
storm hit western South Dakota at the worst time for our ranchers. They lost tens of thousands
of sheep and cattle and saw decades of work wiped out in just a few days.
But as a friend from Union Center said to me yesterday, the next rancher to demand a
government handout will be the first one. Ranchers worked hard, braved the elements, and did
what they could to save their livestock. Neighbors came together to help respond to the
devastation. State and local governments helped clear away carcasses. As of last week, the
Rancher Relief Fund has raised more than $4 million to help those who were hurt to get back
on their feet. $4 million is a lot of money, but in comparison to the value of lost livestock, it's
relatively small. Still, what's important is what is says about South Dakotans - that we care
about each other and do what we can to help when we can.
That's what we do in South Dakota. We pull together when times get tough. We work hard, take
care of ourselves, and help our neighbors. As South Dakota celebrates 125 years of statehood
this year, we can be proud that we are strong because we have not forgotten those values.
What is the state of our state today? The state of South Dakota is strong. I know the best is yet
to come. Let's all work hard this year.
Pursuant to the Joint-Select Committee Report found on page 12 of the Senate Journal, the
following is Chief Justice David Gilbertson's State of the Judiciary Message:
DAVID GILBERTSON
CHIEF JUSTICE
This marks the 12th year I have been privileged to come before you to present the State of the Judiciary. In reviewing past messages, I noticed I discussed problems facing the UJS and suggested options to solve them. This year, however, I am delighted to present a message to you which focuses on programs undertaken to remedy the problems. At least one nears completion. Others are just getting started. As Churchill said: "It is not the beginning of the end,
but the end of the beginning." All show when the three branches of government partner together
to address a problem, progress toward resolving that problem happens. A retired judge friend
of mine was fond of saying we are all in life's rowboat. If we row together, the boat moves
forward. However, if we row at our own pace and not in sync with the others, no matter how
hard we row, the boat goes in circles or goes nowhere.
In life we have a lot of options. Options broaden our opportunities. However, options do
not amount to anything without some type of decision and action. If we arrive at the end of our
term in office or life with nothing accomplished the options are still there, just being options.
Alternative sentencing, Veterans Courts, the rural attorney recruitment program along with
the Odyssey software upgrade, now possess statutory authorization. However, the legislation
passed last year is only a map to a goal, not the goal itself. The goal will be achieved only by
successful implementation of those statutes. That is our challenge.
On July 1, 2013 Senate Bill 70 went into effect and we started to look at potential sites to
expand the drug court and alcohol court programs. It takes about two years to select a city, gain
local community and public official support, and train staff. We are also looking to expand
existing programs in Sioux Falls and the Black Hills.
In rural areas that lack counseling and other professional services, we are piloting the HOPE
Program, which comes from Hawaii. This program aims to reduce probation violations by drug
offenders and others at high risk of recidivism. Pilot programs are planned for the Selby and
Sioux Falls areas.
These programs are not "get out of jail free" cards. The focus is changed from imprisoning
non-violent felons to giving each felon with addictions the personal responsibility to be in
charge of his or her destiny. The felon is literally walking around with the key to the
penitentiary in his or her pocket. That felon decides by his or her actions whether the key gets
used. As the Governor declared last year, we as a state need to not only be tough on crime, we
need to be smart on crime and tough on criminal justice spending. Senate Bill 70 puts this state
on a path that espouses our traditional conservative principles of personal responsibility by the
perpetrator, and limited government and fiscal restraint by the state.
are under a suspended sentence to the penitentiary. Although the data is incomplete, it indicates
veterans who come into our legal system often stand accused of misdemeanors, rather than
felonies. In cases where the judge, prosecutor and defense attorney deem it appropriate, the
veteran may be directly diverted to a rehabilitation program with the Veterans Administration
with the option that the misdemeanor charge will be dismissed if the veteran successfully
completes the program. This is a significant advantage to the veteran because he or she will
not have a criminal conviction if the program is successfully completed. Employers would
rather hire a person without a criminal conviction than a person with one, even if the person is
rehabilitated. We are moving forward with pilot projects in Sioux Falls, Watertown and Hot
Springs.
In 2010 the Governor's Council of Juvenile Services initiated JDAI in Minnehaha County and
Pennington County. The results have been impressive. The use of a Risk Assessment
Instrument by JDAI coordinators in Minnehaha County has reduced the average daily
population in secured detention from 41.28 in 2009 to 10.59 in 2012. This saved much of the
daily costs of detention for Minnehaha County and made discussion of the need for a larger and
more expensive facility unnecessary.
In Pennington County the result was the same. The average daily population in secure
detention decreased from 23.47 in 2009 to 9.19 in 2012. An additional benefit to the
Department of Corrections during this time period was the reduction of 42 post-adjudication
youth commitments ordered by the juvenile courts of this state.
Given this success, the Unified Judicial System is working to make the benefits of this program
statewide by achieving similar reductions in all areas of the state.
President John F. Kennedy said, "Things do not happen. Things are made to happen." That is what occurred last year with the passage of House Bill 1096, the South Dakota rural attorney
initiative. This bill would not have passed without the tireless leadership of Senator Mike
Vehle. More impressive than his leadership on this issue is Senator Vehle's lack of connection
to the legal profession and his residence in Davison County, a county that does not stand to
benefit from the program. As Samuel Johnson said, "The true measure of a man is how he
treats someone who can do him absolutely no good."
The rural attorney initiative allows the State of South Dakota to take a giant step forward to
stem fifty years of decline in the ability of our citizens in rural areas to have reasonable access
to legal services. I have observed that South Dakota is becoming a state with islands of justice
provided in the larger cities and a sea of justice denied in rural areas. House Bill 1096 will
hopefully reverse this trend. This law will help provide our citizens with access to an attorney
and will work to ensure that our rural county governments, school boards, cities and towns have
access to legal services in those underserved areas.
The South Dakota Association of County Commissioners is aware of the benefits of the rural
attorney initiative and the association's responsibilities, should a county seek to participate. Its
initial response is enthusiastic. I have also met with the administration of the University of
South Dakota's School of Law and spoken directly with many law students about this
opportunity to receive assistance should they opt to set up a law practice in a rural area.
South Dakota is the first state in the nation to undertake a progressive response to overcome this
problem. Perhaps the reaction outside of South Dakota is as strong an indication of the
initiative's merit and creativity as is the reaction within South Dakota. It has drawn positive
national interest because every state, with the exception of one or two, has rural areas in the
same situation. Your legislation was the topic of front page articles in the New York Times and
the National Law Journal. CBS radio also covered the issue on its national news broadcast.
We plan for orderly growth of our state by zoning. We place special protection where needed
such as "drug-free" zones around schools. "No parking" zones protect access to fire hydrants
for firemen. However, no one wants to see the growth of "lawyer-free" zones through benign
neglect. House Bill 1096 will go a long way toward avoiding the growth of "lawyer-free" zones
in South Dakota.
The pilot project proved an immediate success and allowed access between judges, attorneys
and their clients, and law enforcement. A five minute bond hearing, with the use of this system,
cut down hundreds of miles in travel time preceding and following such a short, but necessary,
hearing. Access for emergency matters needing the attention of a judge was also vastly
improved.
We moved forward and installed television units in about six counties per year. Along the way
we discovered the advantages of larger counties having a unit in a county jail and another unit
in their courthouse. This system eliminated travel time, expense and security risks between the
two buildings. By 2010 approximately half of our courthouses enjoyed the benefits of this
system.
With the budget cuts of a couple of years ago we were forced to end the expansion of the
program, although it continued to be highly successful where it existed. I am pleased to report
that with improvements in technology, we can now purchase a smaller unit which will do the
job for around $3,200 per unit as compared to the $15,000 purchase price for an original unit.
This will allow us to move forward with the installation of systems in 11 additional counties.
Deuel, Miner, Sanborn, Corson, Dewey, Ziebach, Campbell, Edmunds, McPherson, Mellette,
and Lyman counties will now be connected and their citizens can enjoy the advantages and
financial tax savings of this system. Upon completion of this expansion nearly every courthouse
in the state will be connected to this system. Such a blizzard-proof system is preferable to the
hands-on "thrill" of sliding into the ditch, which I experienced more than once in my circuit
judge days.
Once full implementation is achieved, the Supreme Court's records will be converted to a
paperless format. While Odyssey deals with circuit and magistrate courts, the same format will
be needed at the Supreme Court level to assure the same high level service to the bar and the
public.
I now have an answer. We are on a hunt to discover the original beauty of the Supreme Court's
Law Library. The Law Library is open to the public and is probably the only remaining portion
of this gorgeous Capitol Building which has not been restored to its original beauty. The reason
was simple: we needed shelving for the ever-increasing amount of law books we received.
Now, with the advent of computerized legal research, the need for physical books is reduced
and we can consider decreasing the amount of shelf space in the law library.
For years we had heard rumors of a long-lost mural hidden behind the book shelves. After a
little snooping on my part, and with the aid of some hand tools, I removed shelving flush with
the library wall and found original stenciling from 1911. We then brought in an expert painter
who worked on the original Capitol restoration decades ago. To our surprise, when he removed
some paint, he found a word on the wall. It was not a legal term. A check in Kingsbury's
History of Dakota Territory found it was the name of a territorial judge. Every four feet, the
expert painter removed paint and found the name of another judge stenciled in large letters on
the wall. The names of nine territorial and early state judges have been found. We believe
more are concealed behind the bookshelves.
We have a picture of how the library looked the day it was opened in 1911 and are working
with the Bureau of Administration and the Capitol Restoration Commission on various options
for restoration. Not all is what we suspected it to be however. We found names, stenciling and
other early memorabilia, but discovered the rumored long-lost mural never existed. I invite you
to stop by the Law Library on the second floor of the Capitol to see the hidden treasures for
yourself.
I have never met a more dedicated public servant who has spent countless hours undertaking
his judicial duties. There is no area of the Court which has not benefitted from his efforts.
Legal scholars are well aware of his well-written and thoroughly researched opinions which
cover the entire range of legal subjects.
In 2005, Justice Konenkamp became concerned some South Dakota citizens were not being
allowed to equally participate in our legal system. He convinced the Supreme Court to create
the Equal Justice Commission which he co-chaired with Judge Pat Lee of the Oglala Sioux
Tribal Court. After holding hearings on every reservation in the State and elsewhere
throughout South Dakota, the Commission wrote a detailed report. All recommendations which
fell within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court were enacted and implemented within the
following year. An example of what was accomplished is the requirement the South Dakota
bar exam test on Indian Law. At the time it was initiated, South Dakota was only the second
state in the nation to do so. We continue that policy to assure the public new lawyers admitted
to the South Dakota Bar possess a working knowledge of Indian Law.
Justice Konenkamp was also the leading force behind the Odyssey project which, as I have
reported to you, will bring our court records and filing into the 21st century and allow better
access by the bar and the public.
My father once said it is humbling to think that the world could have gotten along quite nicely
without us if we had never been born. He said it was the few, the very few, who have risen to
the point where the world would have been a poorer place without them. Justice John
Konenkamp is one of those very few.
Judge Ramynke's list of accomplishments is impressive by any standard, but even more so
when one considers all were accomplished as a first for a woman in our state's legal profession.
When she graduated from the University of South Dakota School of Law in 1939 as one of only
two women in her class, she was one of the few female attorneys in the state.
She interrupted a legal career during World War II to serve her country. Instead of supportive
tasks many women were relegated to, she was a pilot of such skill she trained male bomber
pilots for combat missions.
After resuming her legal career, Judge Ramynke became the first woman to serve as a District
County Judge, a Circuit Judge, a Presiding Circuit Judge and sit, by designation, with the South
Dakota Supreme Court. She held these offices with a dignity and fairness which was a
hallmark for anyone who aspires to become a judge. She treated the town drunk with the same
courtesy and fairness as a senior member of the Bar.
Today 50% of the enrollment at our law school is female. There are 664 female members of
the South Dakota State Bar. That is one-third of the membership of the state bar. Thirteen
wear the robe of a judge and one wears the robe of a justice. All owe a significant debt to this
woman from Peever, South Dakota who paved the way.
In order to ensure election rules are followed by judicial candidates, South Dakota is only one of two states which requires all judicial candidates, be they incumbents or challengers, to attend a school on how to legally campaign for judicial office. South Dakota also has a non-partisan committee of distinguished citizens to monitor judicial campaigns. The Committee is chaired by the Hon. Robert A. Miller, a former Chief Justice of our Supreme Court. Any complaints found to be meritorious are promptly reported to the public, through the press, while the judicial
campaign is still on-going. Since this program was implemented, I am pleased to report that
during the last two judicial elections violations have been few and far between.
From time to time, I am asked why judicial candidates, including me, do not take public
positions on the legal issues of the day which rage in the public sector, as well as in other
courts. The reason is every person who comes into a court deserves to have his or her case
heard by a neutral and fair jurist who will decide the case on the facts presented in court and
the existing statutory and constitutional law. How would you feel if you were going into court
to protect your freedom or property and you faced a judge who in the last campaign made a
point of publicly campaigning on the opposite side of your cause? Depending on which side
of the issue you were on, you might say such a system is not all bad if the judge happens to be
biased in your favor. However, as with the pendulum on a clock, history shows the majority
in power sooner or later becomes the minority and the minority becomes the majority. A biased
system would quickly lose credibility with the public. Who among us would tolerate a baseball
umpire who called the pitch a ball or a strike before the pitch was thrown?
This does not mean judges do not run on their record. In my home county during the 1930s
times were tough and there was quite a problem with chickens being stolen from farmers. The
local circuit judge had a policy when a chicken thief was caught. The thief's sentence was one
year in the penitentiary per chicken stolen. Simply put, stealing six chickens got you six years
in the pen. The judge's justification for this rather harsh sentence was when the male farmer
came into town to sell cattle, grain, milk or cream, he got the money from the sale. The money
received from the sale of the eggs, by custom, went to the farm wife to purchase what she
wanted for herself, such as a new dress. Obviously, a chicken stolen meant less egg money.
Apparently this sentencing policy found favor with the voters of the Fifth Circuit. The judge
was continually re-elected by handsome margins and ultimately died in office after a lengthy
judicial career. Although, there was no post-election polling in Roberts County in the 1930s,
the "old timers" told me "local wisdom" had it the judge did very well with the farm wife vote.
When he passed away, he was the only judge in the history of the county who would be
honored by lying in state in the rotunda of the county courthouse.
Recidivism was also successfully eliminated. During my tenure as a prosecutor and as a circuit
judge in Roberts County, I never was called upon to deal with a case of chicken thievery.
In 1787, this was not a country but a collection of states so loosely connected it appeared the
entire experiment in democracy might collapse into anarchy. In a last attempt to salvage the
victory of the American Revolution, delegates met in Philadelphia. Disagreements between the
states threatened this effort. Finally, through timely compromises, our Constitution was
drafted.
Franklin was correct. May we all strive to serve the people pursuant to our constitutional duties
to ensure the sun of the United States and South Dakota continues to be a rising sun and not a
setting sun. This is not a one-time effort. Each day requires we meet this obligation anew.