Archive for January, 2008
Liquor license bill - ‘I’m not dead yet!’
By Denise Ross
When they weren’t talking about education (pre-K and beyond) at Saturday morning’s crackerbarrel, they were probably talking about efforts to revive the liquor license bill on the Senate floor. Watch for action Monday on Senate Bill 126, which last week died the kind of death you see in the movies (perhaps temporary).
Former legislator, liquor license holder and real estate broker Mike Derby asked if his proposed amended language might revive SB126.
As I understand it, Derby’s proposal would change the language that pertains to compensating existing license holders. Instead of paying them based on their purchase price, even if that purchase was 20 years ago, it would instead pay them based on current market value.
Rep. David Lust, R-Rapid City, is the prime sponsor of SB126 on the House side. As a second-year legislator, he’s catching on to the remnants of the Capitol’s back-room deal days that haven’t entirely gone by.
No comments
Dykstra attends RC crackerbarrel
By Denise Ross
Republican candidate for US Senate Joel Dykstra, who also represents a slice of southeastern SD in the state Legislature, turned up at Rapid City’s crackerbarrel Saturday morning.
Dykstra in Rapid City. (Photos by David Larson)
When an audience member asked about health insurance, Dykstra, R-Canton, got roped into answering, due to his role on the Zaniya task force. But Joel declined prodding to take the podium and instead answered from his place in the audience.
Now’s no time to be shy, Joel!
Dykstra said that an oft-quoted study that pegs South Dakota’s uninsured at 90,000 was proven wrong by another study done by the Zanyia task force, which showed that 9% of our state’s population doesn’t have health insurance. That’s about 48,000, almost half the other figure.
Both studies were advanced as having been scientific. Dykstra said the 90,000 figure was arrived at by extrapolating South Dakota’s rate from national figures.
1 commentFriday’s top 3 bills
By Denise Ross
It’s that time in session when the interesting bills spill out of the committee rooms and into the Capitol’s hallways, there’s so dang many of them. Here are the three up for hearings on Friday that interest me the most.
Senate Bill 164 - The birth control bill. This one speaks mostly for itself, so here it is, with only a tiny bit of further explanation afterwards.
1 commentSection 1. The terms, contraception and birth control, mean any method of preventing pregnancy that is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration.
Section 2. The Legislature hereby makes the following findings:
(1) Citizens of this state have a protectable interest in the freedom from unreasonable government intrusions into their private lives;
(2) This interest in freedom from unreasonable government intrusions into the private lives of citizens encompasses and protects the right of consenting individuals to obtain and use safe and effective methods of contraception without interference by governmental entities; and
Wednesday’s top 3 bills
By Denise Ross
It’s a bill-o-palooza in the Capitol Wednesday, but here are the Hoghouse’s picks for the top 3. The competition was tough.
Senate Bill 110 - Like all tremblors that rattle the Capitol, this is a simple bill. SB110 would remove the 2-cent per gallon tax break on motor fuels of the ethanol persuasion. Gulp. Geez, Jerry Apa, why don’t you just impose a sur-tax on apple kuchen. (Actually, Apa is joined by several Black Hills types in sponsoring this bill. This might be explained by the fact that gas stations in the Hills did not pass on the tax break, which served to bring mid-grade fuel closer to the price of the low-grade fuel, to us little consumers until the prices crept near the $3 mark. Nice.)
The Senate Tax Committee is likely to give SB110 a 2-cent funeral, but it’s a good conversation that’s started.
No commentsThursday’s top 3 bills
By Denise Ross
Here are the Hoghouse’s picks for the most interesting 3 bills being heard before the SD Legislature on Thursday.
The blogger’s dream, Senate Bill 67, is up for a vote in Senate Education today. This is the one that would require all high school students to apply to college. While SB67 will die a merciful death in committee, it will live in infamy. (Remember that one time … )
House Bill 1017, which we first told you about before its hearing on Tuesday, got attention over at GamePolitics.com, the blog “where politics and video games collide” (totally true! and proof that there really is a blog about everything.)
VIDEO: Tim Johnson speaks in Rapid City
By Denise Ross
His travel schedule sounds like that I’ve Been Everywhere song - Sioux Falls, Vermillion,
Yankton, Brookings, Watertown, Mitchell, Huron, Lower Brule,
Chamberlain, Aberdeen and Spearfish.
I’ve edited a few video clips from Johnson’s 45-minute meeting together so folks can evaluate his speech improvements for themselves.
His speech is still thick, and he stumbles on some words - priorities, for example - but the pauses are far fewer than they were on the conference call a month ago, and you can see that he’s fully engaged in the discussion and interacting with those at the table.
1 commentSen. Johnson concludes whirlwind tour
By Denise Ross
Sen. Tim Johnson will wind up his extensive tour of South Dakota - and in January! What could be more fun than that? - with tour of Ellsworth Airforce Base on Thursday.
Wednesday, he toured the Fort Meade VA hospital near Sturgis and drove around Spearfish with the mayor. The Hoghouse covered his meeting at his Rapid City office with agricultural leaders. Of course, they talked about the farm bill.
Sen. Johnson needed assistance to navigate his way into his chair, but his speech was noticably improved. (Video of that coming soon.) (Photos by Denise)
Johnson led the meeting, reading some prepared remarks but also offering numerous spontaneous assessments of complex policy situations. (His speech is better, more fluid when he talks off the cuff.)
Rapid City’s TV stations turned out.
No commentsWednesday’s top 3 bills
By Denise Ross
Here’s the Hoghouse’s pick for the three most interesting bills scheduled for a legislative committee hearing on Wednesday - which is, of course, no guarantee that anything will actually happen. They’re just scheduled.
For example, Wednesday’s top 3 bills are all leftovers from Monday. They were on deck but got postponed.
From the lineup of worker’s comp and unemployment bills, there’s House Bill 1036, which would require employees making a worker’s comp claim to sign a release granting their employer access to the employee’s medical records, so the employer can conduct an investigation. Isn’t that a little like the fox and the Hoghouse’s first cousin, the henhouse?
Tuesday’s top 3 bills
By Denise Ross
First things first
By Denise Ross
Pat Powers at the War College knows a good headline when he sees it, and SB67, which would require SD high school students to apply to college, is as good as they get.
Here’s the entire bill:
Section 1. That chapter 13-1 be amended by adding thereto a NEW SECTION to read as follows:
In addition to adhering to the standards and practices established by the South Dakota Board of Education and the Department of Education, each student who attends an accredited high school in this state shall also, prior to the time of graduation, complete and submit at least one application to a college, university, or other postsecondary educational institution.