Jensen For Senate

Legislative Update, Week 3                         Representative Kevin Jensen

Sometimes we are faced with votes that could be used as a “score card” bill, but score cards do not always tell the whole story. If you are not familiar with scorecards, they are a record of your votes. Each lobby group, industry and civic watchdog groups pick specific bills to rank a legislator’s votes and these groups are usually very selective in the bills they pick to score. HB1043 may be one of those bills. There are foreign governments and businesses that want to open pit and strip mine in the Black Hills for Lithium. This bill adds lithium as taxable, valuable mineral along with gold and silver. I voted for this tax to do whatever we can do to protect the Black Hills from destructive mining processes of foreign owned companies. This not a tax on South Dakota residents, however, the score card publishers may report that some members in the legislature voted for a ‘new tax.’  This tax is intended to protect the Black Hills and other areas of the state and not give foreign entities an easier path to strip mining the most beautiful lands in the state. 

HB1090 is a bit of a complicated bill but it not hard to explain. Under current law, if someone purchases your property for the back taxes they get a tax deed and they can sell your property. If the property is sold, the purchaser of the tax deed gets to keep the profit from the sale of the property. If HB1090 makes it through the senate, the original owner of the property gets to keep the sale amount above the taxes, or the remaining equity. The bill is intended to minimize the predatory practice of making huge gains at your expense. People can still pay your taxes and then charge you a fee and interest but they cannot take all your equity on the process. I think this bill is a win for people struggling with back taxes, but it may have a hard time in the Senate.

HB1097 made it through the House Health and Human Services committee, but not easily. HB1097, in certain instances, would allow the air ambulance services to make a complete patient transport with their own ambulance. Air ambulance services often use their own ground ambulance to transport people to the airport to complete the air service. In some cases local EMS ambulance crews may be on another transport and cannot get the patient moved for what might be a long wait. The original proposal was that the air ambulance crew could make the transport if the wait was over an hour or if the medical provider want the patient moved quicker. The bill was heard on Tuesday and because 4 committee members were introducing their bills in other committees, a majority vote was not reached. In a committee of 13, you need 7 to pass, a majority of the committee, not a majority of those members present. The bill was deferred to Thursday for final action. In the meantime an amendment was offered as a compromise so I allowed each side 7 minutes of testimony on the amendment. The amendment would only allow the air ambulance crews to make a full transport if an air transport was ordered or necessary for the safety of the patient, and the weather grounded the aircraft, or they experienced mechanical problems. The bill passed 11-2 as amended.

Are you ready for a 40,000 pound driverless semis on our highways? In South Dakota we have no regulations for autonomous vehicles. If you are not familiar with what is coming, there are 6 vehicle types we must deal with. Level Zero has no automated features at all but may have blind spot sensor or lane departure warnings. Level One is what most newer cars are equipped with including adaptive cruise control, automated braking and lane centering. Level Two vehicles have more advanced features like automatic braking, lane guidance, collision sensors and more, but require the driver to be in control all the time. Level Three vehicles are much more advanced and can actually drive the car for you but a diver is still required behind the steering wheel. Now it gets interesting. Level Four vehicles can drive from place to place with no driver within a set area or boundaries like some of the driverless cabs you may have heard about. Level Five is totally driverless vehicles, including trucks, that can operate anywhere. 

HB1095 was introduced to put some guidelines in place for these, but also allows for these vehicles to possibly operate on South Dakpota roads before we are ready for them. I would argue that in South Dakota we may never be ready for them. An amendment was brought to allow local municipalities to set regulations on where Level Four and Five vehicles can operate, possibly restricted from school zones. That amendment was defeated. Have you ever been driving along in a heavy rain and the road in front of you is underwater, or even washed out? How will black ice or a glaze of freezing drizzle affect safety? How would they navigate during construction season? I think, for the time being, Level Five vehicles should be restricted until they are proven safe.  This bill was also pitched as a workforce bill, I guess I am not sure how removing the drivers adds to the workforce. That bill did move to the senate. 

The pace has picked up and most committees are hearing 4 or more bills in every session. If you have a question or want to contact me about a bill, please use my personal email because our legislative email accounts are swamped by lobbyists and groups from all over the country. Kevinj605@gmail.com. Remember, I represent you, not the government.