Legislative Update, week one                        Representative Kevin Jensen

The 99th Session of the SD Legislature has started.  Last year, in the 2023 session, we anticipated a shorter session and new legislators bringing more bills and because of that we agreed that having the Governor’s State of the State Address on the opening day and having the State of the Judiciary and State of the Tribes addresses on the second day would help us get a jump start  on assigning the pre-filed bills to committees and start committee hearings on day 3. Typically in week one, the days were not very productive because of spreading the speeches over 3 days, this year was different. 

The Governor’s address was a top 10 list of the best things about South Dakota keying on the strong economy, freedom,  second amendment, low unemployment and growth. We are, and will continue to strive to be, the freest state in the Nation.

Chief Justice Steven  Jensen delivered the State of the Judiciary Address with concerns of rising crime and the burdens this has put on the judges and staff in Rapid City and in particular Lincoln and Minnehaha Counties. Two months ago a number of us legislators met with the judges, court staff and probation from Minnehaha and Lincoln counties to hear their concerns. One of the major issues was that the population of the area has grown by 11% over recent years and violent crime has increased 26%. The Chief Justice is requesting an additional judge and 2 clerks to relieve the work load in the 2nd Circuit which has almost doubled since the last judge was added. 

Another request came as a result of the summer study looking into ways to relieve the financial stress on county government. One of the recommendations from the summer study was to create a state office of court appointed legal assistance for indigent funded defense rather than the cost being covered by each respective county. While I understand the need to find ways to help the counties, I am leery of expanding state government with a new department. The 1.4 million dollar start up for the department is only the beginning; as the population centers grow this new department will have to keep pace. 

The State of the Tribes speech was delivered by Santee Sioux Tribal Vice President Cynthia J. Allen-Weddell. This being the 8th such address I have heard, it was the most informative. If you have been involved with tribal governments at any level you know that it is not always an easy balance. In South Dakota we have 9 reservations and 9 sets of tribal law and order code. Many times the speeches have been slightly inflammatory with a lot of finger pointing. This year’s address was refreshing and a great start for the year. 

On Thursday and Friday almost every committee was hearing bills and moving them through the process. The first bill that passed on to floor debate on Friday was HB1001 introduced by Representative Chris Karr of Sioux Falls. HB1001 would make permanent the .03% sales tax cut that was passed last year. When that bill passed last year there was a compromise with the Senate to add a sunset clause which if left untouched would revert the tax back to 4.5% in 2027. Keep in mind that the 2016 .5% tax increase was the largest in state history.  The vote in the House on Friday was 54-12 in favor of making the cut permanent. It now moves to the Senate where it will have a tough battle. Under Governor Daugaard, while I was on the Canton School Board, there was a 10% across the board state wide tax cut. It was hard, but we survived and we are stronger now for having gone through that process. I believe that the issue is not so much about how much tax we collect, but how we spend what we collect.

One fascinating and frustrating aspect about introducing a bill is how occasionally the coverage in the media is by an individual who has a total lack of understanding of the subject matter and more importantly, the intent of the bill. The reporter in question stated my bill, HB1024, bans firearm ownership, it does NOT. For 56 years federal law has prohibited the ownership, transportation and possession of firearms and ammunition if you are a drug user. Whether you agree with the law or not, it is part of the Federal Gun Control Act of 1968. If you have purchased a firearm in the recent past you had to answer a question on the ATF form 4473 firearms transaction record, asking if you are a marijuana or other drug user and the question specifically warns that recreational and medical marijuana laws in the state in which you reside do not supersede  the federal law. The bill simply puts the same warning on the application for the medical marijuana card as on the firearms transaction form so everyone can make an informed decision. My bill does NOT ban the ownership of guns and does not restrict the applicant from receiving their card. 

Likewise, my HB1036 simply requires medical marijuana dispensaries to post the same language informing consumers  of the federal firearms warning as on the application for the medical marijuana card. This will inform those who already have a card and never received this information when they originally applied. The dispensaries can simply print the warning on a piece of paper and post it at virtually no expense to the store. Keep in mind that Hunter Biden has been charged by the DOJ for lying on the 4473 form indicating he was not a drug user. My bills change nothing except to inform the public of the law like we do for laws relating to  tobacco and alcohol purchases. 

Another bill I introduced, H1035, passed out of State Affairs and will allow you to take the Enhanced Concealed Carry permit renewal class up to a year in advance of expiration.  Currently the law only allows you to take the class 6 months in advance. Many instructors do not teach classes in the winter so this gives permit holders more options, especially for those whose permits expire in the spring. In anticipation of being asked if I would gain from this personally I indicated in testimony that the truth is I will lose money. I teach enhanced classes all 12 months of the year since I have access to an indoor range.  I have had people come from as far as 200 miles to take the renewal class so their permits will not expire. With this bill people can take the class with a local instructor well in advance of expiring. It was the right thing to do for the people.  

We are in for an interesting year with over 600 bills and many very controversial subjects. If you have questions or comments please use my personal email kevinj605@gmail.com. As Chairman of the Health and Humans Services Committee I get hundreds of emails in my legislative email, I don’t want to miss emails from District 16,  because I represent you.