Deutsch: A roundup of action in Pierre

Legislative report

Posted

Greetings! Week one of the 95th legislative session is in the books. The first week began slow with the governor giving the State of the State address on Tuesday, followed by the state Supreme Court justice’s address on Wednesday, and the tribal leader’s address on Thursday. We had terrible weather, so we had an abbreviated Friday to allow everyone to make it home. Some even decided to stay in Pierre and not risk the bad roads.

Here are a few high points of the week:

I witnessed Gov. Noem sign the Executive Order 2020-01. This order condemns anti-Semitism and stands against any boycotts of Israel. This executive order directs state entities not to contract with businesses that support boycotting Israel.

During Gov. Noem’s address, she changed her mind on hemp, saying she would sign legislation, providing it encompasses the four guardrails she stipulates.

She also declared that revenue is up over what was anticipated a month ago, so we could possibly support a 2% raise for our teachers. State statute stipulates 3% or the rate of inflation, whichever is less, for our teachers’ raises. Well, we had a 1.9% inflation rate, so by state statute, that should be their raise. Really, if we are the lawmakers for the state, we need to set the example and abide by our laws. It’s a no-brainer for me.

I authored a bill that’s getting a lot of attention. It is House bill 1057, Vulnerable Child Protection Act. This bill makes it illegal for a minor to have a sex change. It also has language that makes it a felony for a doctor to perform such an operation. This bill, HB1057, will be heard week two in State Affairs Committee. If it passes, then it goes to the House floor for debate and passage, and then off to the Senate.

If you want to look up any bills, go to sdlegislature.gov and that site will list all the bills on the docket so far. I suggest you take a look at HB1057 just to get a feel for how to look through this site.

To the citizens of District 4 and to the men and women in uniform, in honor of all who served, thank you for giving me the opportunity to represent you. Please feel free to contact me at fred.deutsch@sdlegislature.gov.