2021 S.D. Legislature: Appropriations Committee has work to do
Throughout the months between Sessions there are ongoing meetings and work to be done. There have been many meetings in regard to establishing the means for implementing access to medical marijuana, redistricting (which occurs every 10 years), meetings in regard to government operations and audit, and meetings of the Joint Committee on Appropriations.
Over this past week, the Appropriations Committee met throughout the Black Hills area. We reviewed operations at the Cottonwood research facility, which is part of SDSU, Western Dakota Technical College, the SD School of Mines and Technology, and Black Hills State. Part of the inspection was intended to review the results of expenditures and to assess the need for additional space for the various nurse education programs. There is an expected shortage of nurses, but we should not be duplicating programs in multiple state colleges.
The last day of our Appropriations meetings included a tour of Ellsworth Air Force Base. There, we heard of the current mission of the base and its use of the B-1 bomber, and we also heard of the new mission of the B-21 bomber. However, the primary reason for being at Ellsworth was to reinforce the idea that the neighboring town of Box Eder requires expansion of their infrastructure to meet the needs of additional housing when the new B-21 Raider comes to the base.
The B-21 will replace the B-1 and the B-2 bombers and has the appearance of a boomerang, like the B-2. The B-21 includes features that make it the next level of weaponry. It is a new and improved version of the B-2. The B-21 will be capable of carrying nuclear weapons and is designed to accommodate both manned and unmanned operation.
The upgrading of the mission at Ellsworth will also require additional airmen. That will account for over 3,000 airmen and family members with as many as 300 new students in the local schools. Many of those new arrivals will live on base but others will need housing nearby. So, it is expected that there will be nearly 1,000 new homes. In our last Session the city of Box Elder was requesting funding for some of their new infrastructure. This is likely going to be an ongoing request, but the issue is whether the state should fund costs incurred by the city of Box Elder.
Finally, the issue of Impeachment of Attorney General Ravnsborg has again become a news item. This entire matter has been driven by the Governor’s office as opposed to the Legislature. Behind the scenes there is ongoing pressure to move this forward. In reality, there has been far more concern with vaccines and hospitalizations than there has been with the status of the Attorney General. The AG has continued to carry out all of his responsibilities and has engaged in necessary nationwide litigation to support the objectives of our state.
The Legislature’s inclusion of the impeachment issue at the same time as the Special Session for Legislative Redistricting will likely only result in the establishment of a House subcommittee for the purpose of obtaining evidence and making a recommendation to the full House. That process will potentially take months to accomplish.
If the House supports the issuance of Articles of Impeachment, then the matter will be sent to the Senate for a ‘trial’. The Governor’s apparent goal in this process is to replace the Attorney General with someone of her own choosing as opposed to an election. If the matter is not completed before next year’s primaries, then the voters will make the decision as to whether he will continue to serve as the Attorney General.
Please feel free to contact me with questions or comments at steven.haugaard@sdlegislature.gov or go to www.sdlegislature.gov to see what else is happening in state government.
