South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard today signed the General Appropriations Act, which sets the budget for Fiscal Year 2016. Including general, federal and other funds, the total budget for Fiscal Year 16 is set at $4.3 billion dollars.

Gov. Dennis Daugaard today signed Senate Bill 1, a comprehensive state and local road and bridge funding package, which will cost South Dakota taxpayers an estimated $40.5 million in gas taxes, $30 million in vehicle purchase exise taxes, and $18 million in additional license plate taxes.

Gov. Dennis Daugaard today signed into law legislation to reform South Dakota’s juvenile justice system. Under these reforms it is expected that 29 percent fewer juveniles will be on probation in the next 5 years and more than 50 percent fewer youth will placed in state-funded facilities by 2020.

By my count, the good senators and representatives of South Dakota have now made four attempts to rescind the pro-transgender, pro-homosexual policy adopted by the South Dakota High School Activities Association (SDHSAA) last year. The fourth is now on “life support” in a conference committee as a last attempt to remove this harmful policy from our education system.

As you may know, the South Dakota Senate Education Committee in the “Republican” supermajority legislature killed two bills last week to rein in the pro-homosexual/transgender policy of the South Dakota High School Activities Association. Today, however, enough senators still in favor of “smoking out” or reviving HB 1195 to bring it for consideration of the full senate.

South Dakota Rep. Jeff Partridge was one of the featured speakers at the Rapid City legislative crackerbarrel meeting March 7, 2014

South Dakota Rep. Dan Dryden was one of the featured speakers at the Rapid City legislative crackerbarrel meeting March 7, 2014

South Dakota Senator Bruce Rampelberg was one of the featured speakers at yesteday’s legislative crackerbarrel meeting in Rapid City.

At the Rapid City legislative crackerbarrel meeting yesterday, Tonchi Weaver with South Dakota Citizens for Liberty asked about HB 1228 concerning debt collections for monies owed to the state of South Dakota.

At the legislative crackerbarrel meeting in Rapid City today, a question was asked about SB 176 concerning textbook which “provide[s] for the development of online resources and a rubric of textbook analysis for use in school districts, to make an appropriation therefor.” The question was about why we were seeking to hire a private agency to do something that government was prohibited by law from doing.