South Dakota Legislative Billwatch, Feb. 3, 2016

There’s a busy docket scheduled for the South Dakota Legislature on Wednesday Feb. 3.

HB 1096 provides an exception for certain students from academic assessment tests.

HB 1107 is a very important bill protecting religious freedom and the right of conscience.  Given the war that has been waged on both in recent years, with that war stepping up several notches in the past year, with government leading the charge to persecute people of faith, we need this more than ever. Given that the “Republican” supermajority South Dakota Legislature gave religious liberty the middle finger last year, and our “Republican” governor likes to join Leftists in the Democrat Party in smearing conservative Christians as “racist,” we can only hope that this bill might pass this year–an election year.

HB 1112 is a bill to spell out what used to be common sense, i.e. that if you’re born with a penis you’ll be treated as a boy and if you’re born with a vagina you’ll be treated as a girl.  This has apparently been a difficult concept for a number of people, including a majority of our “Republican” supermajority legislature, to come to grips with. One can have some sympathy for confused young people; after all, some home environments aren’t the greatest, and pop culture heroes spread confusion left and right.  But there are plenty of people in authority who should know better, and who should consider holding the line on right and reality more important than humoring people in order to be thought of as a “nice guy.”

HB 1057 seeks to provide greater authority to the South Dakota Commission on Gaming, which could very well end up expanding gambling in a state already suffering from gambling addiction.

HCR 1004 expresses support for the property rights of ranch and range allotment owners. Given the way the federal government has taken to treating property rights in recent years, especially those of farmers and ranchers, this is an important declaration of what we the people of South Dakota expect from our federal government.

If you would like to express your opinion on any or all of these bills to your elected representatives, there are links below to help you get in touch with them.  Fortunately, there are still some Republicans in the legislature we can count on to uphold Republican principles to protect liberty and limited government…but they are in the minority.  The rest need to hear from us, and as Ronald Reagan once said, if we can’t make them see the light, we need to make them feel the heat.

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	Date	Committee/Chamber	Bill	Title
	2/3 7:45 AM	House Education	HB 1096	provide for the exemption of certain students from the requirement to take certain academic assessment tests.
	2/3 7:45 AM	House State Affairs	HB 1107	ensure government nondiscrimination in matters of religious beliefs and moral convictions.
	2/3 7:45 AM	House Education	HB 1111	require the high school interscholastic activities association to promulgate major policy statements under the procedures of the administrative rules process.
	2/3 7:45 AM	House State Affairs	HB 1112	establish a determinant in identifying a student’s sexual identity for purpose of participation in high school activities and to declare void any present or future transgender policy of the South Dakota High School Activities Association.
	2/3 7:45 AM	Senate Local Government	SB 64	revise the voting authority of an alderman.
	2/3 10:00 AM	House Commerce and Energy	HB 1067	promote quality, competition, and freedom of choice in the health insurance market place.
	2/3 10:00 AM	House Judiciary	HB 1085	provide for the forfeiture of any vehicle used by a person convicted of a third offense for driving under the influence.
	2/3 10:00 AM	House Judiciary	HB 1088	revise and consolidate certain civil forfeiture provisions.
	2/3 10:00 AM	Senate State Affairs	SB 106	provide for the collection of sales taxes from certain remote sellers, to establish certain Legislative findings, and to declare an emergency.
	2/3 2:00 PM	Senate	HB 1052	revise certain alcoholic beverage business restrictions on Department of Revenue employees.
	2/3 2:00 PM	Senate	HB 1057	revise the rule-making authority of the South Dakota Commission on Gaming.
	2/3 2:00 PM	House of Representatives	HB 1123	require the Department of Health to include certain information regarding the inspection of an abortion facility on the department’s website.
	2/3 2:00 PM	House of Representatives	HCR 1004	Expressing support for the property rights of ranch and range allotment owners.
	2/3 2:00 PM	Senate	SB 54	adopt the Elder Abuse Task Force’s statutory recommendations in order to protect South Dakota seniors and adults with disabilities from abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

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Bob Ellis has been the owner of media company Dakota Voice, LLC since 2005. He is a 10-year U.S. Air Force veteran, a political reporter and commentator for the past decade, and has been involved in numerous election and public policy campaigns for over 20 years. He was a founding member and board member of the Tea Party groups Citizens for Liberty and the South Dakota Tea Party Alliance. He lives in Rapid City, South Dakota with his wife and two children.

Bob Ellis

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