End of the Road for Driver’s Manual/Exams in Spanish

SB 117 – Nesiba (D- Sioux Falls) – Driver’s manuals and tests in non-English

When driving down a nice road, the point at which that road ends with no alternate routes is known as a dead-end.  The hard work to convince the state legislature to have the Department of Public Safety publish the driver’s license manual and examination material in Spanish hit a dead-end last Wednesday in House State Affairs Committee.

The committee took nearly an hour to hear from a coalition supporting the bill and also to hear the lone opponent, which was the Department of Public Safety, only to have the motion to give the bill a “Do Pass” recommendation fail with 5-Yea to 8-Nay”.  Here is that vote:

SB 117, House State Affairs, Do Pass -

  Yeas 5   Nays 8   Excused 0   Absent 0 

Anderson	Yea	Dennert	Nay	Diedrich     Yea	Yea
Goodwin	Nay	Gosch	Nay	Hansen    Nay	Nay
Haugaard	Nay	Jensen (Kevin)	Nay	McCleerey    Yea	Yea
Peterson (Kent)	Yea	Smith (Jamie)	Yea	Beal    Nay	Nay
Qualm	Nay

 

Before the Pavement Ended.  SB 117 is important to the business community as one way to find people for the workforce needs which is an issue all across South Dakota.  The coalition supporting SB 117 believes that Spanish speaking legal immigrants are about 4% of the population with approximately 36,000 people. 

Many are eager to have jobs and SB 117 was designed to let non-commercial (CDL) driver’s license applicants study the rules of driving in their native language and have a guide while taking the examination in English.  Under current rules, non-English speaking people are allowed to hire interpreters at their own expense to help take the test. 

To the Departments credit, this system allows them to accommodate any language for which someone can find an interpreters – that are not family members.  As we all know, Great Aunt Greta can be VERY helpful as an interpreter!! 

Why Spanish?  This is the most common foreign language spoken by the largest number of people.  Some have pointed out that Native Americans speak one of the dialects of “Lakota” and there are more of them than Spanish speaking people.  While that is true, Native Americans in South Dakota are raised in an English speaking culture and learning their native language makes them bi-lingual.

Here are members of the coalition that was supporting SB 117:

• Association of General Contractors
• Avera Health Systems
• Multi-cultural Center of Sioux Falls
• Presentation Sisters of Aberdeen
• Rapid City Chamber of Commerce
• Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce (2,100 members, 85,000 employees)
• South Dakota Chamber of Commerce
• South Dakota Home Builders
• South Dakota Voices for Justice

A final thanks.  SB 117 was approved by the full Senate on a vote of 19-Yea to 15-Nay (with 1 excused).  The South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry appreciates those Senators that voted for SB 117.  Here is the record of that vote:

SB 117, Senate, Do Pass Amended - 2019

  Yeas 19   Nays 15   Excused 1   Absent 0 

Blare	Yea	Bolin	Yea	Cammack   Nay	Nay
Cronin	Yea	Curd	Yea	DiSanto    Nay	Nay
Ewing	Nay	Foster	Yea	Greenfield (Brock)    Yea	Yea
Heinert	Yea	Jensen (Phil)	Nay	Kennedy    Yea	Yea
Klumb	Nay	Kolbeck	Yea	Langer    Yea	Yea
Maher	Nay	Monroe	Nay	Nelson    Nay	Nay
Nesiba	Yea	Novstrup	Yea	Otten (Ernie)    Nay	Nay
Partridge	Nay	Rusch	Excused	Russell    Nay	Nay
Schoenbeck	Nay	Smith (VJ)	Yea	Soholt    Yea	Yea
Solano	Yea	Stalzer	Nay	Steinhauer    Yea	Yea
Sutton	Nay	White	Yea	Wiik    Nay	Nay
Wismer	Yea	Youngberg	Yea

 

Property Rights Prevail - HB 1173 – Jensen (Kevin) (R-Canton) – permit the possession of firearms by certain employees

This bill would have state law override property rights that allow businesses to maintain a “no firearms” policy on their property and in their buildings.  This bill was written to create a right to take a firearm onto a parking lot if it remained locked in the car. 

The bill was hoghoused during the committee hearing and the language was removed that protected employees who kept a handgun with them for self-defense from being fired or disciplined for having that gun. Here is the new language:

 FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to permit the possession of firearms by certain employees.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA:
    Section 1. That chapter 22-14 be amended by adding a NEW SECTION to read:

    An employer, whether public or private, may not prohibit an employee from keeping a legally owned and lawfully possessed firearm locked inside a private motor vehicle in a parking lot under the employer's control.

    The prohibition in this section does not apply to:

            (1)    Any property under federal jurisdiction;

            (2)    Any school district;

            (3)    Any correctional facility;

            (4)    Any entity providing shelter or programs to victims of domestic violence or sexual assault;

            (5)    The South Dakota Human Services Center;

            (6)    The South Dakota Developmental Center; or

            (7)    Any employer that is required to restrict firearms in accordance with the terms of a federal contract.

  The language of (7) is important and was designed to address concerns expressed by the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry about manufacturers selling to the federal government which requires them to have a policy that does not allow firearms on their property. 

The bill passed out of committee with the vote that is reported below:

HB 1173, House State Affairs, Do Pass Amended

  Yeas 7   Nays 4   Excused 2   Absent 0 

Last Monday (2/25), the bill was debated on the floor of the House of Representatives followed by the vote posted below.  There was an impressive coalition working to defeat HB 1173 including the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Rapid City Chamber; Sioux Falls Chamber; Brookings Chamber; Dakota Valley Chamber; Associated General Contractors and South Dakota Bankers Association.  Special thanks to Nathan Sanderson of the South Dakota Retailers Association for coordinating the group’s actions and keeping the “count” as people worked the floor.

HB 1173 was defeated on the floor of the House on a vote of 32-Yea to 36-Nay.  Here is that vote:

HB 1173, House, Do Pass Amended - 2019

  Yeas 32   Nays 36   Excused 2   Absent 0 

Anderson	Nay	Bartels	Nay	Barthel     Nay	Nay
Beal	Yea	Bordeaux	Nay	Borglum    Nay	Nay
Brunner	Yea	Chaffee	Yea	Chase     Nay	Nay
Cwach	Nay	Dennert	Nay	Deutsch    Yea	Yea
Diedrich	Nay	Duba	Nay	Duvall    Nay	Nay
Finck	Yea	Frye-Mueller	Excused	Glanzer    Yea	Yea
Goodwin	Nay	Gosch	Yea	Greenfield (Lana)    Yea	Yea
Gross	Yea	Hammock	Yea	Hansen    Yea	Yea
Healy	Nay	Howard	Yea	Hunhoff    Nay	Nay
Jensen (Kevin)	Yea	Johns	Nay	Johnson (Chris   Yea)	Yea
Johnson (David)	Nay	Karr	Nay	Koth    Nay	Nay
Lake	Nay	Latterell	Yea	Lesmeister     Nay	Nay
Livermont	Yea	Marty	Yea	McCleerey    Nay	Nay
Mills	Yea	Milstead	Nay	Miskimins    Nay	Nay
Mulally	Yea	Olson	Nay	Otten (Herman)    Yea	Yea
Perry	Yea	Peterson (Kent)	Nay	Peterson (Sue)    Yea	Yea
Pischke	Yea	Post	Yea	Pourier    Nay	Nay
Qualm	Yea	Randolph	Excused	Rasmussen    Yea	Yea
Reed	Nay	Reimer	Yea	Ring    Nay	Nay
Rounds	Nay	Saba	Nay	Schoenfish    Nay	Nay
Smith (Jamie)	Nay	St John	Yea	Steele    Yea	Yea
Sullivan	Nay	Weis	Yea	Wiese    Yea	Yea
Willadsen	Nay	York	Nay	Zikmund    Nay	Nay
Haugaard	Yea

 

The balance between gun owner rights and the Federal Constitution’s Second Amendment and the equally strong sense of property rights is difficult for many legislators.  The business groups that are part of this coalition have not tried to influence the bills dealing with firearms and issues such as concealing those weapons.  The South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry and this coalition draw the line where property rights are involved.  A special thank you to those legislators for defeating HB 1173.

 

Update:  Maximum Length of “Non-Compete” Stays at Two Years

SB 120 - Greenfield (R-Clark) - modify the time period allowable for certain covenants not to compete.  Bill reduces allowed time for a “non-compete” agreement from 2 years to 1 year.  A previous edition of Capitol-ism reported on this bill which would reduce the maximum time for a non-compete clause from two years to one year.  The section that included the insurance industry was removed from the bill and it passed to the floor on a vote of 4-Yea to 3-Nay.

The South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry remained neutral on SB 120.  The bill failed to pass the Senate by a vote of 16-Yea – 18-Nay.  Here is that vote:

SB 120, Senate, Do Pass Amended - 2019

  Yeas 16   Nays 18   Excused 1   Absent 0 

Blare	Nay	Bolin	Nay	Cammack    Nay	Nay
Cronin	Nay	Curd	Yea	DiSanto    Nay	Nay
Ewing	Nay	Foster	Yea	Greenfield (Brock)   Yea	Yea
Heinert	Nay	Jensen (Phil)	Nay	Kennedy    Nay	Nay
Klumb	Yea	Kolbeck	Nay	Langer     Nay	Nay
Maher	Yea	Monroe	Nay	Nelson    Yea	Yea
Nesiba	Yea	Novstrup	Nay	Otten (Ernie)    Yea	Yea
Partridge	Yea	Rusch	Excused	Russell    Yea	Yea
Schoenbeck	Yea	Smith (VJ)	Nay	Soholt    Yea	Yea
Solano	Nay	Stalzer	Yea	Steinhauer    Nay	Nay
Sutton	Yea	White	Nay	Wiik    Yea	Yea
Wismer	Yea	Youngberg	Nay

 

Early Learning a High Return Investment

HB 1175 - Healy (D-Sioux Falls) - establish the Early Learning Advisory Council.

HB 1175 would have established a formal council known as an “Early Learning Advisory Council” that would examine and report on the various programs offering pre-kindergarten education.  The Minneapolis Region of the Federal Reserve was part of a study that did research indicating there is an enormous return on the investment to make sure young kids are ready for kindergarten by knowing basics of numbers and letters.  The return on investment was measured in lower incarceration rates and greatly reduced remedial education costs.

Rep. Healy’s bill was supported by the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and the Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce.  It was a study only – estimated to cost $14,000.  It was opposed by those expressing fears about everything from socialism, threats to the family unit and this idea being a “gateway policy” that would lead to mandatory pre-school.

It was defeated (motion to deferred to the 41^st day) in House State Affairs Committee on a straight party line vote of 9-Yea to 2-Nay.  Here is that vote:

HB 1175, House State Affairs, Deferred to the 41st legislative day - 2019

  Yeas 9   Nays 2   Excused 2   Absent 0 

Anderson	Yea	Dennert	Yea	Diedrich	Excused
Goodwin	Yea	Gosch	Yea	Hansen	Yea
Haugaard	Yea	Jensen (Kevin)	Yea	McCleerey	Nay
Peterson (Kent)	Excused	Smith (Jamie)	Nay	Beal	Yea
Qualm	Yea

 

The following is a list of bills followed by the South Dakota Chamber.

Bill	Title
	HB 1050	revise certain provisions regarding the use and possession of scanning devices and reencoders.
	HB 1056	prohibit certain local ordinances regarding firearms.
	HB 1066	require students to take a civics test before graduating from high school.
	HB 1074	provide a privilege for journalists and newscasters regarding refusal to disclose information.
	HB 1103	establish a lemon law for certain farm machinery.
	HB 1111	provide for professional or occupational licensure for certain active duty military personnel and spouses.
	HB 1272	provide for remote notarization.
	SB 9	provide for the Firearms Protection Act.
	SB 12	revise certain provisions pertaining to the disqualification of commercial driver license holders for failure  to consent to chemical analyses.
	SB 36	revise the membership of the State Workers' Compensation Advisory Council.
	SB 37	revise certain provisions regarding association health plans.
	SB 47	repeal and revise certain provisions regarding permits to carry a concealed pistol.
	SB 59	revise certain provisions regarding public records.
	SB 86	provide for calculations of sales tax revenues from sellers located outside of the state.
	SJR 2	Proposing and submitting to the voters an amendment to the Constitution of the State of South Dakota,  providing for wagering on sporting events.
	SJR 5	Proposing and submitting to the electors at the next general election an amendment to the Constitution  of the State of South Dakota, relating to the authorization of certain games of chance in the City of Yankton.

Thank you for your support of the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

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