Week 3 of the 2017 Session is complete and it gets us a third of the way through the legislative year! It is amazing how fast the time goes, all at one location in Pierre!
I mentioned last week that I would address some of the pending legislation. The topic this week seems to be HB 1069, an act to repeal and revise certain provisions related to campaign finance and to declare an emergency. There are many reasons why I supported the measure.  This particular bill would repeal Initiated Measure 22, which was passed by the South Dakota voters last November by a slim margin.
A judge ruled it is unconstitutional so your legislators are trying to properly legislate what the voters voted for, minus the millions of tax dollars that would be required to fund political campaigns,  which would also require a tax increase. IM 22 sponsors  knew  before  filing the measure that it was unconstitutional, but pushed forward anyhow. Not one of the original sponsors of IM 22 showed up to testify in our committee hearing in support of IM 22! It passed the House 54-13. The Senate will take it up this coming week.
In the interim, we have several bills that have been introduced to address some of the ideas that have surfaced with IM 22.
We are moving into the heart of our calendar now, with many different bills, and topics, to consider. The range of issues include trust laws, Board of Elections recommendations, hunting rights, gun laws and health related bills, to name a few. If you have a particular interest in any one item, please contact me and let me know your thoughts.
I would like to thank Rep Wollman for his past two years of service to the citizens of District 8. He has been in communication with many of you, and we wish him the best in his future plans. We welcome Marli Weise, who was appointed by the Governor to fill Rep Wollman’s seat in the SD House. Marli lives just outside of Madison, and is ready to come out to Pierre and get to work for her constituents in District 8 next week.
As always, feel  free to contact me at Leslie.Heinemann@sdlegislature.gov

Week 2 closed with a number of issues coming to the surface. Many of you have asked me to talk about them, so I will address them as best I know how, given the difficulty of the topics.
As most of you have learned through the media, my district mate in District 8 admitted to sexual contact with an intern in both the 2015 and 2016 Sessions. While many of you have weighed in as to the appropriateness of his actions, as a member of leadership in the House of Representatives, my duty is to ask for, and we received, approval from the membership to convene a committee (Committee on Discipline and Expulsion) to determine the facts of the case. There will be a hearing this coming week, and that committee will make a recommendation to the House members whether to expel, censure, discipline, or exonerate the member.
I would hope the process will be as fair and open as possible, and my duty to my constituents in District 8 is to listen to the facts presented, and  then, after prayerful consideration, make a final decision via a vote on the House floor.
Another topic many of you have asked about is the passage of Initiated Measure 22 last November, and the subsequent actions that have occurred since then. As you will recall, that measure dealt with campaign finance reform, as well as a host of other issues related to campaigns. In December, a South Dakota Judge ruled IM 22 unconstitutional and entirely unenforceable. As written, IM 22 would cost the state taxpayers well over $5 million every year to pay for political ads and prohibit teachers, nurses, business owners and others from serving in our citizen legislature.  We will have a joint State Affairs Committee hearing on the merits of repealing the measure this Monday.
For those of you that believe the Legislature should not meddle  in what the people just voted on, you may be surprised to discover  that the measure  implements NO limits on out of state spending in our state on ballot measures,  and the reporting process we have right now, in some cases is more transparent than what the IM requires. I have had numerous constituents tell me the measure was confusing, and the best thing for the state would be to repeal it, and then work to address some of the concerns that were brought up by the measure’s sponsor. There are proposals that are being brought forward, and I would appreciate your input on them.
On a lighter note, it was my pleasure to attend the FFA breakfast this past Thursday. I got to meet Jessica Burghardt from Howard and Nathan Linke from Woonsocket, and I wish them well on their future as they participate in their local and state FFA programs to better their lives, their communities, and the state. Thank you for the opportunity to meet and visit with you both!
I am working on some particular bills, and I will expound on them a bit when they are finalized. It’s too early to predict where the budget is going to be yet, so I will report to you when I see more numbers.
I would remind you to please contact me before you come to Pierre so that I can be sure to attend your particular event and visit with you. With sometimes two and three events/night, I prefer to stay home and do my preparation for the next day, as I must retire early due to my health. It’s always great to see all of you, and even better if I can help you get set up to testify, contact a particular department, etc. Please don’t hesitate to contact me at Leslie.Heinemann@sdlegislature.gov.

Greetings all, and I hope this week one review finds each and every one of you well. The 92nd legislative session has started and I am excited to get to work again for District 8. Many of you already know, but I will be serving on the House and Joint Appropriations committee this session. This committee dedicates many long hours to our state’s budget, that is required to be balanced every single year unlike our federal budget.
We started out the first week by hearing from the Legislative Research Council, Auditor General, Public Utilities Commission, the Secretary of State, State Auditor, the Bureau of Finance and Management, and other governmental agencies. Each agency provided a budget overview, and an in-depth summary of their department and expenditure requests and changes. If anyone would want to see these presentations, I would be more than happy to share them with you.
Outside of appropriations committee, we had the privilege to listen to the Governor’s State of the State address, the State of the Tribes,  as well as the State of the Judiciary from Chief Justice Gilbertson. The Governor reiterated that revenue is down another $5.8 million from the time of the budget address, and down a total of $31.9 million from expected. This is due to the lagging farm economy, low inflation, lower tourism numbers, cautious consumers, and online purchases.
On a lighter note, it is very good news that online retailer Amazon will start collecting sales tax on Feb. 1, which could see an estimated added revenue of $12 million to our state’s funds. Chief Justice Gilbertson addressed changes that need to be made to improve public safety and treatment of people with mental health illness. We need to move quicker and more effectively to identify those that are suffering from a form of mental illness.
There has been much news on Initiated Measure 22 in the past weeks, and what the legislature will put in place. Initiated Measure 22 has been deemed unconstitutional, and we as legislators have taken an oath to uphold the Constitution of the State of South Dakota. It is unclear what will be put in its place, but I have been advocating to other legislators that we need to keep in mind the will of the voter, and the need for more accountability within the political process.
I look forward to the coming weeks, the discussions that we will have, and again thank you for your support during the 2016 general election. Feel free to contact me at Mathew.Wollmann@sdlegislature.gov  with any questions or issues. Thank you!