South Dakota Rep. Scott Craig on Education Tax Vote Switch

South Dakota Rep. Scott Craig
At the Rapid City Legislative Crackerbarrel meeting today, South Dakota Rep. Scott Craig was one of the featured speakers (video below).
Craig used his time primarily to address his change of heart on HB 1182, the education tax increase. The bill was voted down earlier this week, and Craig was one of the “no” votes. However, a vote to reconsider the bill was cast yesterday (to reconsider the bill on Monday), and the reconsider vote passed. Craig sent out a press release last night stating that he was going to change his “no” vote to a “yes” for the vote on Monday.
Craig said that like everyone who voted “yes” to 1182, even the “no” votes are committed to education. However, they were holding out to find a way to provide a teacher pay increase without raising taxes.
Craig said that after the vote that day, he saw something he didn’t expect. He said “a bomb went off, and we couldn’t stop the bleeding.” He said his “my emails lit up.” and he heard “lengthy, thoughtful stories from teachers” about what they go through. Craig said he heard from people throughout the community who felt we needed to have the tax increase. He said he believed the “no” vote caused a lot of grief, and that he believes he needs to do something to encourage the teachers.
Craig said he would like to put any and all bills for raising teacher pay side by side so legislators can choose the best one.
He also said that even if the governor’s plan (HB 1182) passes the House, it will probably be tweaked in the Senate.
Craig said the legislature really does support teachers, but is struggling to find the best way to do that.
The video below features Craig’s statement in full.
This article is printed with the permission of the author(s). Opinions expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the article’s author(s), or of the person(s) or organization(s) quoted therein, and do not necessarily represent those of American Clarion or Dakota Voice LLC.
Comment Rules: Please confine comments to salient ones that add to the topic; Profanity is not allowed and will be deleted; Spam, copied statements and other material not comprised of the reader’s own opinion will be deleted.
Similar Posts:
- South Dakota Rep. Brian Gosch at the Rapid City Crackerbarrel Meeting
- Rep. Lance Russell at the Rapid City Legislative Crackerbarrel Meeting
- Where to Find Money for Teachers
- Education Tax Dominates Rapid City Crackerbarrel Meeting
- South Dakota Teacher Pay Bills Filed
-
Dawn Johnson Pence
-
http://www.americanclarion.com/ Bob Ellis
-