House Report by Scott Moore
The summer has gone by quite quickly and the start of a new school year has arrived. Remember to be careful as you drive through our communities as there will be multiple bicycles and young walkers crossing our streets and highways.
Since the legislative session ended in March, I have had opportunities working mostly with legislators from District 23 and District 3 to meet with individuals and groups to discuss 2023 legislation and future legislation in 2024. In April a group of legislators met with about 12 local school superintendents and had a discussion on several topics. Topics included the apprenticeship program for teachers, school breakfast and lunches along with state retirement educators can participate in. Teacher shortages are real, but the most disturbing item is our educators need to make sure the kids are not only learning on a full stomach but the concern for kids lack of food on weekends and holidays. Our kids going hungry in South Dakota is a real issue and it doesn’t matter what community you live in, the problem exists.
District 23 legislators have also met with Faulk, Potter, and Walworth County commissioners just to see what concerns each county is facing. I have also attended a Brown and McPherson County commissioner meeting and met with individual commissioners. Counties are like families they all have similar successes and needs but also have specific issues that need attention. One thing is for sure, the county commissioners all are looking to operate the county’s business professionally and in the best interest of the county residents in their decision making. My belief has always been that local decisions are the best decisions and at the state level we need to not throw more expense or costly mandate onto the county’s budgets. Topics included cost of road repair and infrastructure, jails, finding employees, and revenues. It is a balancing act and not taken lightly by the ones making decisions. In the next couple of months, we will see the findings from the 2023 Legislative Summer Study.
Two big issues are CO2 pipelines and landowner rights. Taking the CO2 pipelines out of the discussion I believe we need to review and strengthen landowner rights. If a person asks to enter your home and you say no, close the door then turn around to find that person in your kitchen that would be trespassing. This isn’t just a rural issue it includes urban areas and both sides of the river. Eminent domain may be needed but for who and what? These are issues that need some attention. For the past 23 years with my job in the electric industry, I have obtained right-of-way easements and have found very few South Dakota landowners that will not agree to sign an easement. If they do not want our power lines on their property, we move to the public right-of-way. That is why public rights-of-way were put in place. We all need to remember that if we enter a person’s kitchen or a quarter of a farm ground, we are the guest and should respect that. Needless to say, the legislative team and I have had multiple meetings with pipeline personnel, ethanol companies and landowners. All meetings have been professional and informative.
In June I got the privilege to speak to about 50 Transition Services Liaison Project (TLSP) students at the NSU campus. These students have disabilities and were attending an annual Youth Leadership Forum. The group was full of good questions and personal stories as they prepared for their next chapter in life. One phase I heard several times is “Being a productive citizen” and I’m sure the young group of individuals will be productive citizens.
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