January 24, 2010

Week two:

Activity has picked up in both of my committees, Local Grovernment and Commerce. The first of many agency, constituient, and Legislator bills were presented.

In Commerce the most discussed were Insurance and Liquor bills, of which many were clean up bills. However, because of the complexity of a couple of the Liquor bills the final action will be delayed until week three. The one that caused the most concern and discussion was an amendment to allow municipalities and counties to set and oversee the hours and days that their local liquor establishments can be open to sell and serve liquor.

As of now the law reads that the Muncipalities and Counties may or must apply for authority to set the hours and days the establishments within their jurisdiction may be able to sell and serve liquor. This takes the power of setting laws away from the Legislature and puts it in control of municipalities and counties. I will have to be convinced that this is necessary for the good of the public, as those counties or municipalities that want that local control to set the hours and days may pass it for their areas, rather than make it a statewide referendum.

In Local Government, we had one bill that will require a lot of discussion deferred. It is rumored that the sponsors may be making revisions to more clearly outline who will be effected.

The Bill: An Act to permit counties to require criminal background checks for persons seeking employment or applying for certain licenses or permits and to permit municipalities to require criminal background checks for persons applying for certain licenses and permits. I will be interested in learning more about the width of this bill, as there are a lot of permit applications that I question need a full background check. The important things about the committee process is that it allows for testimony of proponents and opponents and also questions by the committee members. It is a very informative process and I am committed to listen carefully to all testimony and then weighing the Pros and Cons, prior to my vote.

Other news:

*I am extremely appreciative of the groups and constituents that come to Pierre to talk to us Legislators and to those that contact us through email, phone, and letters. All input is very important and I urged all constituents to contact Legislators with concerns, questions, and facts.

*Legislative progress on ways to promote wind energy in S.D. has been very slow. We need to work together to encourage projects of all sizes and to protect the communities and landowners' rights in cases of large developments. Renewable energy will help us reduce our dependency on foreign oil and will also provide for more jobs in S.D.

*Our caucus has been working diligently to trim government with cuts that won't hamper essential services. There is very little appetite by our caucus or citizens to raise taxes in a recession. Our caucus is compiling a long list of budget reductions and effiencies.

We feel legislators should lead by example and cut our own salaries and travel budgets.

Now is the time to evaluate and scale back the state's airplane fleet. We have planes that would be the envy of Wall Street. Governors in other states are flying commercial and chartering, and finding big savings.

We also want cut the state's lobbying costs in Washington, D.C. and look for other savings in executive branch travel and corporate tax breaks. The latter could be a sizable savings: it appears that we have been giving away millions in contractor's excise tax breaks to companies like Trans Canada, the pipeline company that crossed East River in 2009. The firm is planning a similar next year and it is doubtful that they'll circle around S.D. if we don't give them a tax break.

REDISTRICTING IS COMING: After the 2010 Census, the legislature and our next Governor will be charged with the development of a legislative redistricting plan. We have 35 legislative districts in S.D., and no one can argue about the fact that some of the districts have been badly gerry-mandered in the past to create safe districts for the majority party. A good Government needs legitiment checks and balances to better serve the residents of the state. Legislative districts shall "consist of compact, contiquous territory and shall have population as nearly equal as practicable." That hasn't been the case in South Dakota, thus deminishing the checks and balances needed in governement.

*Our caucus member, Representative Bill Thompson hopes to reform the process. He is proposes that redistricting be removed from the politicans' hands and turned over to a citizen's commission, as has been done in Montana. We are hopeful that it gets passed this year, so that the legislature is more responsive to serving the needs of all people in South Dakota. It would increase the competitiveness of the legislative races and lead to encouraging more qualified candidates to run.

Think of how a football game would unfold if the players on one team made the rules. The same is true of state government. Government is only as good and fair as the rules, and redistricting is a classic case.

*This past week I spend much time in developing my bill, the Resident Lifetime Hunting and Fishing bill. We have seen a leveling off or decline in the number of overall resident licenses being sold and also a drop in the number of youth participating in hunting and fishing. Plus it is discouraging for me to find that many residents that hunt and fish don't buy a license every year, thus they don't hunt or fish that year. Once an individual gets out of the habit of doing so each year, they become less enthused about it. With a lifetime license it makes it more convenient and they also have it, so why not use it. I am in hopes that this lifetime license would encourage more resident to get into hunting and fishing.

I have met twice with the S.D. Game, Fish, and Parks Department and will meet again to discuss the final version. They philosopically support the bill. I will also be meeting with the South Dakota Wildlife Federation President and their lobbyist again to go over the bill. It has met with wide support from legislative house and senate members. I have 9 senate and 32 house co-sponsors. The bill will be heard by the House Ag committe and when it passes it will come to the house floor for a full vote.

*Another bill that I am working on is one that will clarify who is responsible for the maintenance of township roads within each township. There is some ambiquity in some townships that has left residents of those township without proper road maintenance, which leads to unsafe conditions. These roads are extremely important and must be plowed and maintained as fire departments, law enforcement, U.S. Mail service, garbage haulers, school buses, and residents use them and must have access to them. This bill will be heard in the Transportation Committee.

It is a real pleasure to serve the people of my district, county, and state. I will continue to pledge to work for the betterment of all citizens and not just a few. Education, care of our elderly, and support and guidance for our less fortunate continue to be my priorities.

If you have questions, comments, requests, or need additional information please contact me at rep.solberg@state.sd.us.

January 19, 2010

The first week of the 85th Legislative session is behind us. Much of the week was spent organizing committees, listening to State Department Heads, submitting bills, and attending informational meetings in the evening. Much of the talk in the halls was centered on the Governors budget for fiscal year 2010-2011 which begins July 1, 2010.

There are a lot of mixed emotions in regards to this budget, as it did very little to address the structural deficit. For seven of this administration’s years we have had a structural deficit, which means that the state is spending more money than it is taking in.  The budget by law must be balanced, however, the method of balancing it has me troubled. We have been using state reserves and Federal Stimulus dollars to do so, which means that we are not correcting the over spending of the state. The July 1, 2010-June 30, 2011 fiscal budget will again be balanced using state reserves and utilizing the Federal Stimulus monies for the funding of ongoing programs. On the surface this may look OK, but with the continued structural deficit we are digging an enormous hole for the upcoming years. We need to do a better job of managing state funds and controlling expenses.

Fiscal year 2011-2012

We currently have a projected structural deficit of 107 million dollars. Families cannot sustain themselves with this method of living and the state should be in a likewise situation. We have had this problem seven of the last eight years, which means the next Governor and Legislature will be faced with an enormous burden. We have the responsibility of evaluating every department's spending and obligations and the revenue available from state taxes and fees and the Federal Government. We cannot afford to put the cuts on the shoulders of a few, but rather look for waste and possible cuts in all areas.

The upcoming fiscal year budget again does not include a raise for state employees, which is disheartening to me. That means if this sticks we'll have two years in a row where the state employees will have gone without any raise. This is an area we need to address or we risk the loss of some of our valued employees.

We do need to evaluate state FTEs as we have seen a tremendous increase in those numbers in the past eight years. We will also need to evaluate the unfilled but funded FTEs to see where those dollars are going.

We have a disagreement with the current administration in regards to funding education.  Strong economical development begins with education and right now the state of S.D. does not adequately fund education with state funds. We risk losing quality teachers to other states because of better salaries and teachers leaving the teaching vocation. Also because of the low beginning salaries for teaching we risk people not going into teaching or leaving.  It is very difficult for these students to come out of college with those large debts and make it on the low pay of S.D.

Thus, I would also like to see the state of S.D. set up a need based loan program for state students that attend college and technical schools in S.D. A lower interest could be charged and with the students paying it back we'd have a revolving fund to encourage more youth to go to higher education.

Also we must put more emphasis on the start of education for our state's youngsters. A good start would be Pre-K standards. This would not cost the state additional dollars but would assure all young individuals of a good start. Study after study shows that when pre-schoolers get a good start they become better students in most cases. A strong workforce in South Dakota, which begins with education, will help attract jobs through relocating companies and local startups.

I will be introducing a bill very soon that would allow S.D. State residents the right to buy a lifetime fishing and upland game hunting license. My intent is that this would encourage youngsters and their families to buy them so we can carry on that great S.D. tradition. With so many activities available for our youth today, we are not seeing an increase in the number of 16-30 years old buying licenses, which means we could be losing future hunters and fisherman.

It would also allow residents who purchase the license that move out of the state to come back and hunt or fish with that license. This would encourage those that move out to come back often to keep contact with the state and also bring their out of state friends with them, which would mean more non-resident license sales. I have talked to nine states that offer this type of license and they are basically happy with them.

If you have questions, comments, or need additional information please contact me at 605-361-9923.

January 2010

State politicking is starting to heat up as we approach the 2010 session. We are seeing a lot of posturing in regards to the budget and the upcoming session. I hope that all of our elected Legislators understand that we are elected to serve the people of our great state and not just legislate for personal gain or power. We will have many important issues to deal with and hopefully we’ll see a bi-partisan effort to do so.

The national situation in Washington, where the parties are extremely polarized and are jockeying for power is extremely frustrating to me. It seems that they spend more time trying to tear each other down rather than working for the good of the people and building the country up. I’m hoping we don’t see those same sorts of tactics on our state level.

I’m extremely concerned that we’ve had a structural deficit for 7 out of the 8 years of the current administration. This year is unprecedented with a 100 million plus structural deficit and seeing the needs of so many people going unmet. The budget address we heard January 8 is the start, but it is the Governors recommendation. He plans to balance his budget with 70 million in stimulus money and 31 million from Property Tax Relief fund. I for one would like to see a good scouring of the current state expenditures and put together a balanced plan that truly serves all people of the state. That of course will require some very tough decisions in targeting and prioritizing. Individual families are dealing very tight budgets during this economic downturn and they should not be the only ones that feel the pinch. State Government needs reforming, as we can’t do the same thing year after year and expect different results.

We have many areas of concern, but the following are some that I singled out for the upcoming session.

**2010-2011 fiscal budget seems to lack sufficient consideration for three levels that provide very important services in South Dakota that are being asked to sacrifice again for the year July 1, 2010-June 30, 2011.

#1.  State Aid to Education
#2.  Provider reimbursement
#3.  State Employees

*Education, as state aid to education is not or has not been sufficient. We rank near the bottom in teacher’s pay and with the cost of a college degree that makes it very difficult for graduates to want to stay in S.D. for the low wages and allow them to retire their college loans. Education is the crux of economical development. 

The Governor is recommending shifting 3.8 million from the state funding to be shifted to the local tax payer, which will mean an increase in Personal Property Taxes. We cannot afford to let the state shun its educational funding responsibility.

*Medical, Dental, Chiropractors and Long term care providers and others are being denied an increase in Medicaid reimbursement for the second year in a row. South Dakota currently has one of the lowest provider cost and provides one of the highest quality of care, thus these individuals need to be rewarded for their efforts through increased Medicaid reimbursement. We get two dollars of Federal money for every dollar the state invests in Medicaid funds. There are 90,000 plus in South Dakota that qualifies for Medicaid of which 60% are children and 11% disabled adults. This is definitely one issue that needs addressing.

*State employees are being asked to go without any increase in wages for the second year also.  In talking to many state employees needless to say their morale is not the highest at this point.  We are not talking about a lot of over paid state employees, as the average salary of a state employee is $34,000. 

The Birth to three program is being funded with stimulus dollars for the next fiscal year. So what can we expect when the stimulus money is not available again? This is a very important program as this little up front investment saves the state many, many dollars down the road.

During this current administration the average growth of State Government has been around 5.7%. If that growth would have been held to what the counties and education are required to be at 3%, we would have had a 75 million per year surplus for a total of over 500 million, plus the base state budget would be 75 million less that it is today.

The Open Government bill that was passed by us in the 84th Legislature is still very perplexing to me.  The bill was intended that the records are resumed open to the public except for limited exceptions.  Well by the time that all exceptions were included by the Administration the bill is no longer a truly open government bill. We need to join together and improve this bill.

We can be partisan, condemn, or point fingers, but that only perpetuates the problem. It is my desire to work together as a Legislative body to work to solve the problems that exist.  It won’t be easy, but we can’t avoid them in hopes that they go away.

I will work to keep you informed during the upcoming session, which begins Tuesday, January 12, 2010.

Click here to read Darrell's journal from 2009