South Dakota American Legion district meeting ... - Pioneer Review

The Bison Courier • Thursday, March 14, 2013 • Page 7
Representative Betty Olson’s views of week 9 of the 2013 Legislative session
Rep. Betty Olson
The 2013 session of the South
Dakota legislature has finished. We
return to Pierre for Veto Day on
March 25, but so far the governor
hasn’t vetoed any bills.
Friday started off on a positive
note early that morning when Gov.
Dauggard invited Sen. Mike Vehle
and me to his office to watch him
sign our bill, SB 205, to put wolves
on the predator list in South Dakota.
Just as I returned to caucus, Rep.
Scott Craig got a call from the governor’s
office asking Rep. Craig, Rep.
Hickey, Sen. Tiezan, and me to come
down while he signed our bill, HB
1087, that provides for the creation
of school sentinel programs and for
the training of school sentinels. The
governor’s office staff took pictures
of both bill signings and I think I’ll
print them off for show and tell!
Another of my bills, HB 1123 to increase
the surcharge on hunting licenses
for predator control, to make
an appropriation, and to declare an
emergency, had a long, torturous trip
that ended late in the night on Friday.
HB 1123 passed the House on
Monday. Tuesday the Senate
amended a one-time appropriation
of 300,000 dollars into it to cover the
extra predator control costs until the
hunting license surcharge revenue
starts coming in when the law takes
affect in July and then passed HB
1123. Since the bill was amended in
the Senate, it had to go to conference
committee and the House appropriators
strongly opposed it because they
had already killed Senate Majority
Leader Russ Olson's bill, SB 238 to
appropriate $300,000 to the animal
damage control fund for predator
control services. The conference committee
invited Tony Leif from GF&P
to sit down with us to find a solution
that would provide the needed funding
until the surcharge starts. He offered
a cash transfer of $160,000
from GF&P that will be repaid with
interest when the surcharge money
starts coming in. The conference
committee accepted the compromise
and sent the bill back to the Senate.
The Senate finally passed the
amended HB 1123 at 11:00 Friday
night and sent it to the governor's office.
The legislature spent all day dealing
with amendments to SB 90,
which is the General Appropriations
bill. SB 90 revises the General Appropriations
Act for fiscal year 2013,
provides funding for the increased
costs associated with the employee
health insurance and internal service
bureaus, and declares an emergency.
After a long discussion, the
House passed SB 90 and sent it on
to the Senate. The Senate also had
long discussions before they passed
the G bill at midnight. Needless to
say, most of us spent what was left
of the night in Pierre and drove
home on Saturday.
These are some of the bills the legislature
sent to the governor this
week:
HB 1050†to†make an appropriation
for costs related to the suppression
of mountain pine beetles, to establish
a cost share program with
the counties in the state, and to declare
an emergency.
HB 1122 revises requirements relating
to health insurance plans for
county officers and employees.
HB 1137 impacts education in
South Dakota, makes an appropriation,
and declares an emergency.
HB 1164 establishes a classroom
innovation grant program and
makes an appropriation.
HB 1165 revises provisions concerning
the agricultural land task
force.
HB 1168 is my bill to allow predator
control boards to increase levies
to pay for predator control if approved
by a majority of the livestock
producers within the district.
HB 1184 appropriates 4 million
dollars to the Department of Game,
Fish and Parks to fund improvements
to the state park system. You
can bet I voted NO on this one!
HB 1126 revises the massage
therapy licensing requirements.
HB 1144 permits the euthanization
of wildlife seriously injured in
motor vehicle accidents.
HB 1098 requires the Legislature
to approve bonds for lease purchase
agreements with the four postsecondary
technical institutes, and to
approve bonds for lease purchase
agreements with Western Dakota
Technical Institute and Southeast
Technical Institute.
HB 1234 provides a limited exception
to the provisions that exempt
sport shooting ranges from the public
nuisance laws and to declare an
emergency.
SB 166 extends the number of
years that permits to carry a concealed
weapon are valid from four
years to five years.
SB 106 prohibiting minors from
using wireless communication devices
while operating motor vehicles
upon the public highways was
amended to make it a secondary offense.
SB 59 prohibits the disposal of oil
and gas field wastes unless it comes
from energy development within
South Dakota.
SB 194 extends the sunset date
for expenditures from a school district's
capital outlay fund.
SB 151 clarifies the maintenance
responsibilities on unimproved section
lines.
SB 28 revises the property tax
levies for the general fund of a school
district.
SB 235 creates the building South
Dakota fund, deposits money into
the building South Dakota fund, creates
programs and funds to enhance
economic development, makes continuous
appropriations to these
funds, provides reinvestment payments
to stimulate economic development
and investment, revises the
state aid to general education formula
by including an adjustment for
students with limited English proficiency,
and to declare an emergency.
SB 195 establishes incentives for
wind energy facilities, revises the
amount that may be rebated for the
gross receipts tax on electricity produced
on wind farms, provides a
penalty for filing a false affidavit,
and makes a continuous appropriation.
SB 233 creates the critical teaching
needs scholarship program and
makes an appropriation to the education
enhancement trust fund to
provide for the annual funding of the
scholarships.
SB 237 to appropriate funds for
deposit into the need-based grant
fund, to provide for annual funding
of the need-based grant fund with a
portion of the funds received from
the education enhancement trust
fund, and to declare an emergency.
SB 39 to establish a penalty for a
juvenile convicted as an adult of a
Class A or B felony and allowing a
sentence of up to life imprisonment
after a sentencing hearing.
This link will let you check on the
final disposition of all legislation:
http://legis.state.sd.us/ and you can
call me at home at 605-855-2824.
Caffeine is a natural herbicide. Tea and
coffee grounds make excellent compost,
but don't add too much.
Meadow News .....By Tiss Treib
Jerry and Carolyn Petik returned
last Monday after spending several
days visiting family and
friends in Arizona and California.
Jerry attended an extension meeting
in Lemmon on Wednesday.
Carolyn Petik hosted Hope
Women's Bible Study on Thursday
afternoon.
Jerry and Carolyn attended the
Farm and Home Show in Lemmon
on Friday. Carolyn and Mirandi
Bakken visited with Irene Young
in the afternoon.
Mirandi Bakken was a weekend
guest at Petiks.
Carolyn and Mirandi helped with
a "Moms and Kids Get Together"
at Hope Church on Saturday
morning.
DeJon, Jeri Lynn, Leif and Mirandi
Bakken and Irene Young
were Sunday dinner guests at
Petik's.
Jane Christman of Boulder, CO arrived
Sunday at Art and Marilyn
Christman’s to spend some time.
Della Hatle and Mary Ellen Fried
attended the Farm and Home
show in Lemmon Friday.
Kenneth Randall, Mary Ellen’s
cousin, called on her Sunday afternoon.
Dorothy and Kathleen Carmichael
were Sunday afternoon visitors of
Bernie Rose
Sen. Mike Vehle, Gov. Daugaard signing SB 205, Rep. Betty Olson, to put wolves on the predator
list.
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