Veto Day and Beyond– District 24 Rep. Will Mortenson’s legislative Mort Report

Veto Day and Beyond by District 24 Rep. Will Mortenson (March 30, 2021).

The 2021 legislative session concluded on Monday, often called “Veto Day” because it is reserved for the consideration of vetoes. We considered a proposal from the Governor to make “Style-and-Form” changes to HB1217, a bill focused on transgender participation in high school and college sports. I thought the Governor’s recommended changes made the bill better by cutting a bunch of bureaucracy, eliminating litigation traps, and re-focusing the bill on youth sports. However, the changes exceeded the Style-and-Form mechanism under the constitution. So, I voted “No” on the changes and the bill converted to a veto.

The problems the Governor pointed out led me to believe that HB1217 should not become law. I don’t believe boys should play in girls’ sports. The good news is: in South Dakota, no boys are playing girls’ sports. So, HB1217 would not have solved any problem that exists in South Dakota’s gymnasiums. It would have created bureaucratic headaches and inspired lawsuits against our schools and our taxpayers. So, I also voted “No” to override the veto. Enough colleagues joined me to defeat the bill in the House.

While I wanted to recap a tumultuous (and, frankly, way-too-political) Veto Day, I plan to re-focus my attention on impactful topics for South Dakota. This summer and fall, I am going to dig into the following issues:

College Affordability. I would love to see South Dakota become a regional leader in college affordability. Keeping our students in South Dakota, and attracting talent from other places, might be our best path to improving our state over the long haul. I’m going to approach this issue with an open mind as to the causes of increased tuition and fees, and will be looking broadly for suggestions on how to bring down the cost of higher education for our kids.
Property Taxes. I hear a lot from ranchers, homeowners, businessmen, and everyone in between about our property tax burden – its size and the fairness of its allocation. I don’t yet know enough about the property tax system to weigh in with much authority. That needs to change. On big, broad issues, it is important to spend more time learning and listening than immediately suggesting. So, I’m going to do the hard work and dig in. I would like to become a relative expert among my peers on property taxes, so that if we can prove changes are needed, I’m in position to bring them about.
Mental Health and Addiction Treatment. Addressing addiction and mental health is the leading public health issue of our time. We need to work on improving delivery mechanisms and developing quality workforce to provide much-needed services across the state.
State Employee Compensation. According to our own metrics, a large number of state employee wages are below the market level. In the last five years, the state has made significant strides to address teacher pay (½ cent sales tax) and Medicaid reimbursement (this year, we brought all providers up to 100% or more). Our next big priority needs to be fair compensation for the folks carrying out the business of state government. I plan to visit with BHR about a plan to get us there.

If you have any recommendations for other topics that need attention, I hope you’ll drop me a note at Will.Mortenson@sdlegislature.gov. As I told you the campaign, I’m going to keep my eye on the ball: making South Dakota an attractive place for hardworking young families. That means quality education, strong agriculture, and a good measure of freedom. I’ll never forget our debt to the men and women in uniform and those keeping us safe at home. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to serve you all.

Big Impacts from 2021 by District 24 Rep. Will Mortenson (March 11, 2021).

The main run of the 96^th Legislative Session ended as it always does: with adoption of a balanced budget. This is no small feat. Dozens of states fail to balance their budgets year after year. In South Dakota, a balanced budget is engrained in our governing philosophy. It is our tradition. We need to honor it. I’m proud to have cast my vote in favor of our balanced budget.

The legislative process makes a lot of noise. There are headlines on all sorts of bills, actions, and statements made in our Capitol during the two-month period. Some of them impact a few people in a major way, some impact a lot of people in a minor way, and some impact almost no one in any way. I’d like to highlight three topics that came through our legislative process that will have a substantial impact on a good number of folks.

Expanded Broadband Access. We made a $100 million investment in connecting our entire state to high-speed broadband internet. Tens of thousands of South Dakotans have insufficient internet connection for working, playing, receiving healthcare, or getting an education in the 21^st Century. These funds will be matched a like amount from private industry and the federal government to connect each of our citizens to high-speed, reliable internet. With these massive upgrades, all South Dakotans be equipped for decades to come.
State Fair DEX Building. After the Beef Barn at the State Fairgrounds burned down last year, the Governor, State Fair management, and community of Huron stepped up. They put forward a plan to not only replace the old Beef Barn, but to build a new facility that can host world-class events, from concerts and expos to cattle showing and rodeos. If you haven’t been to the State Fair in a few years, now you have a reason to go. We’re awfully frugal, but it’s okay for our state to have nice things. I’m looking forward to bringing my children (and maybe even their children!) to the Dex. It’ll be a great thing for our state for the long haul.
Medical Marijuana. There were a lot of headlines, a couple bills, and a fair amount of gnashing of teeth over the implementation of IM26, which passed in November and is slated to become law on July 1, 2021. I supported IM26 throughout the campaign and voted for it. I know people who have used cannabis as part of their care regimen during bouts with cancer. I think it can help. So, I was glad that we ultimately voted to have IM26 go into effect, on time, without amendment. I know it will put a burden on our Department of Health (who have had a heck of a year), but I am glad to know the law will be faithfully implemented.

Thank you for the faith you’ve placed in me and the friendship you’ve shown me. I worked as hard as I could all year to serve our state and district. I know I didn’t get everything right, and appreciate all the emails, calls, and text messages. Those notes helped – even when they were telling me I voted wrong!

In the next few months, I’m going to get back to being a good husband, father, law partner, and cow hand. I’ve got more than a little making up to do. Once I get my feet back under me, I plan to undertake some earnest study of a number of crucial issues for our state. If you’ve got any ideas for policies that should be examined or changed, I hope you’ll drop me a line at Will.Mortenson@sdlegislature.gov.

Finalizing the State Budget by District 24 Rep. Will Mortenson (March 4, 2021).

Every year I’ve been involved in the legislative session, I never seem to remember it until the end. It’s the budget.

We spend seven or eight weeks using our enthusiasm, time, energy, and effort on the various bills that have been proposed. We wrestle with them and raise them up in the public consciousness. To those involved in the process, including the legislators, lobbyists, and public advocates, these issues are monumental. They are emotional. They matter a great deal. To those who are not directly involved, they are often unseen.

However, no matter the level of involvement or attention, the state budget impacts all South Dakotans. Setting a fiscally conservative, targeted budget is the most important thing we do this year. How much do we spend? How much do we save? Can we pay our teachers? Our nurses? Our state employees? Are we funding special projects? With one week left, I’d like to provide an update on the most important budget aspects to me.

Conservative Budgeting. We don’t spend money we don’t have. We don’t spend One-Time money on Ongoing projects. This year, with a windfall of revenue from federal stimulus and conservative revenue projections, we added money to a Trust fund, paid off high-interest bonds, and created an endowment for Needs Based Scholarships rather than an ongoing obligation. I’m proud of these steps to keep our state budget on solid footing.
Targeted, Needed Funding. I’m committed to maintaining the Governor’s recommended 2.4% increase in funding for Schools, State Employee Wages, and Medicaid Providers. With inflation below that level this year, we are catching up this year to the degree we can. If we are going to stay out of 50^th place in teacher pay, it requires constant vigilance and annual priority. I’m always going to fight for our schools, state employees, and Medicaid providers.
Special Projects. Next week, we will vote to provide funding for statewide broadband access, upgrades to the railroad from Fort Pierre to Rapid City, and a new, world-class livestock arena at our State Fairgrounds. I’d also like to point out a particular priority of mine – mental health and addiction treatment. I’m working with my colleagues from Rapid City and Sioux Falls to help fund facilities to ensure access to services in those communities, rather than incarceration, where such access is feasible and appropriate. We’ve got a long way to go in this area, but these new facilities will help move us in the right direction.

As I told you the campaign, I’m going to keep my eye on the ball: making South Dakota an attractive place for hardworking young families. That means quality education, strong agriculture, and a good measure of freedom. I’ll never forget our debt to the men and women in uniform and those keeping us safe at home. I’d appreciate your feedback and advice throughout the session. Don’t ever hesitate to drop me a line at Will.Mortenson@sdlegislature.gov.

Finishing Strong by District 24 Rep. Will Mortenson (Feb. 26, 2021).

We have two weeks to go in the 96^th legislative session. While the Resolution that I filed earlier this week has garnered a lot of outside attention, I want you to know that my attention remains on finishing the legislative priorities of District 24. So, here are the things I’ll be working hard on:

South Dakota Freedom Scholarship. The needs-based scholarship that I wrote to you about in December got a fancy name when the bill was being put together. The South Dakota Freedom Scholarship will be operated in an endowment structure. We have one-time money now, so the prudent thing is to put $50 Million into this scholarship, to match $100 Million put in by generous private donors, and the interest from those funds will be used annually to fund scholarships for low-income students to attend universities in South Dakota. It’s a common sense, conservative, and innovative approach that I’m proud to support.

State Employee Compensation and Benefits. Your District 24 delegation (Weisgram-Duvall-Mort) are working hard to get the best deal we can for state employees. We have heard trepidation over the change to the state employee health insurance plan and are discussing options to ensure that folks on the lower end of the state employee pay scale, in particular, are not adversely affected by this change. The Administration is approaching this with good intentions and raises a good point: state employee compensation (salary + benefits) should look more like the private sector. However, if the benefits are going to be made to look more like the private sector, then the pay needs to look more like the private sector, too. The three of us are collectively fighting on this issue.

Homeschool Bill. SB177 has passed the Senate, which contains several topics related to homeschool education in South Dakota. I support parents’ rights to homeschool. The provisions of this bill include: homeschool student participation in extracurricular activities, removal of all testing obligations, and a generally loosening of reporting requirements. On education topics, I try to laser-focus on the impact on students and student achievement. I can see the benefit for students in extracurricular participation, but as drafted, that provision would place an unfunded mandate on our schools. The other provisions concern me, as I worry about their impact on students without strong support systems at home. I plan to work with other legislators to amend and improve the bill. I’m hopeful we can craft the bill into something positive for all students which I can support.

Legislating Remotely While Having COVID-19 by District 24 Rep. Will Mortenson (Feb. 19, 2021).

I spent last week (Feb. 16-18, 2021) legislating remotely after testing positive for COVID. I learned several lessons through the week, but none more important than this: our legislature works better when we are together.

Prior to session, I supported mask wearing to diminish transmission of COVID, but also insisted on conducting an in-person session. I feared that remote participation would lead to reduced public access to legislators and, thus, to substantively worse decisions made by the legislature. I thought that the public was too key a player to cut out and expect good results.

After a week of participating remotely, I came away learning where I’d been right and where I’d been wrong. I’ll give you a short description of how it worked, practically, followed by the lessons I learned.

Each morning, I would log onto Microsoft Teams, where the committee secretary (vote taker and parliamentarian) had organized the meeting. I could listen to the testimony, could see whoever was speaking, and could ask questions or make comments at the appropriate time.

In the afternoon, I would log onto Teams again, this time to participate in the House Floor session with all 70 Representatives. Once again, I could hear the debate and even had the ability to make a speech on the House floor via the online platform. I never felt it was appropriate to do so.

Those are descriptions of what I could do. Here’s what I couldn’t do: I couldn’t check in with other Representatives to get informal thoughts. I couldn’t ask a one-off question of a lobbyist. I couldn’t see who was in the room to testify (or just to watch) on a bill in committee. I couldn’t see my colleagues’ reactions to questions or comments.

By the end of the week, I realized how much additional perspective I gain from being there, in person, with all the other folks that make the legislative session work. I realized how important small interactions are to painting a complete picture.

I also realized how easy it is to create a misunderstanding if you’re not talking to someone in-person. Legislating is a wonderfully, terribly human endeavor. We want to take out the emotion, but no one can do so fully. Participating remotely often left me feeling more paranoid and less funny than I’d ever like to feel again.

Finally, I realized how much I cared for the people I served with. I missed my friends. I disagree with other legislators all the time. Sometimes we sharply disagree. But, I care about them. I worried for the other legislators with COVID. Our South Dakota legislature really felt like family to me.

I am looking forward to getting back to the Capitol, and back to full speed for you all, armed with a greater appreciation of the job you’ve sent me to do.

Local Issues at the State Level by District 24 Rep. Will Mortenson (Feb. 12, 2021).

The legislature is often asked to wade into local issues. Typically, these bills originate when someone doesn’t like the decision of a school board, city, or county. If you’ve ever attended any of these meetings, you know that one side or the other walks away frustrated at almost every meeting. It’s how you can tell our local leaders are doing their jobs.

So, the state legislature is often asked to overturn or override local decisions. Sometimes, no one even asks at the local level, and the bills would put a preemptive, blanket mandate on all local governments across the state.

These calls seem easy enough for a common-sense conservative. We don’t like mandates. We don’t like top-down governance. We don’t subscribe to one-size-fits-all solutions. We respect our neighbors’ ability to make decisions for themselves.

The tough part is – often these mandates propose policies that align with my worldview. Then it gets tough. I’ll explain through two examples.

This week, I voted against the following two bills (among many others): HB1093, which prohibits cities and counties from enacting regulations to combat the spread of disease, and HB1224, which would mandate displaying the state motto in all school classrooms. The sponsors of these bills talked about their commitment to freedom and their belief in our state motto. I love freedom, and now, more than ever, we could use a reminder of our state motto.

Ultimately, though, both bills made for good headlines, but bad policy. As much as I might agree with the animating purpose of the bills, I have to remember that I’m not the only person weighing these questions. We elect mayors, city councilors, school board members, and county commissioners. They hear more often and more directly from their constituents. Faith, SD is not Brookings, SD. What’s good for the goose is not always good for the gander. We need to respect local decision-making.

I know I won’t adhere to an absolute policy of local control. On 5% of issues, I’m sure I’ll run into a policy that outweighs this principle. When I stray, I hope you’ll send me this article and ask what was so different. I’d better have a good answer for you.

With all that said, it is important to remember restraint. It is important to admit the limitations of my own perspective. It is important to focus on what does good, and not just what looks good.

A Most Unusual Budget Year by District 24 Rep. Will Mortenson (Feb. 5, 2021).

If you follow the legislative process much, you have probably heard that the state had an unusually good budget year. In her December budget address, the Governor told us that as much as $250 Million in one-time revenues were generated in the past fiscal year. Recent news suggests that number may increase still further by the time the Legislature adopts revenue estimates.

To provide some context, $250 Million in one-time money is about five times as much as the state typically has in a given budget year. This year is beyond unusual. It is completely unheard of.

There are two important things to know about these funds, before I share my thoughts on how they ought to be allocated.

First – this one-time revenue boon largely came from three sources: federal stimulus, wind energy development, and conservative revenue forecasting.

Second – I cannot overemphasize the importance of the term “one-time.” This revenue should be thought of as a lump sum windfall rather than operating revenue. The sources of these dollars are, for the most part, unique to 2020. That means we can’t use the one-time funds for ongoing expenses like salaries, programs, or operations, since we’d be creating an expense without knowing whether we can pay for it the following year.

So, armed with that understanding, my priorities for using the one-time funds are the same as I told you in the campaign: building for South Dakota’s future while ensuring fiscal conservatism. That means using the funds for lasting projects, rather than immediate consumables. It means looking beyond this year’s flavor-of-the-week and focusing instead on how to build the state we want in ten, twenty, and fifty years. Finally, it means using these funds for true one-time projects, rather than incurring ongoing obligations.

Here are a few proposals that seem to meet those goals: providing broadband internet service to South Dakotans who lack internet access; buying down high-interest bonds to free up funds or reduce taxes; building a new Agriculture building at Mitchell Tech to train the next generation of farmers, livestock producers, and farm machinery mechanics; rehabilitating the crucial rail line from Fort Pierre to Midland; and matching $100M in private funds with $50M in state funds to endow the South Dakota Freedom Scholarship fund, which will help low-income students afford college right here in South Dakota.

Even if I see the merit in these projects, I am constantly cognizant of the fact that these are taxpayer dollars, not mine, and not the government’s. Even if DC is content to endlessly spend, we are not. We need to be as mindful of the prudence of spending money when there is $250,000 available as we are when there is $250 million.

I hope you’ll help me keep tabs on the worthy projects – and the unworthy ones. If you have any advice or perspective, please drop me a line at Will.Mortenson@sdlegislature.gov.

The Vital Importance of “No” by District 24 Rep. Will Mortenson (Feb. 1, 2021).

I ran for the legislature talking about the things I was “for:” agriculture, education, life, hunting, and the 2^nd Amendment. Those are the causes I believe in and my legislative priorities. I will support them for as long as you send me to the big stone building. While campaigning, I imagined championing those causes by voting “Yes” on bills in those areas and giving speeches about why we should be “for” a given law change.

I may have let my imagination get the better of me. I’m now learning the vital importance of “No.”

In the first three weeks, I have spent more time working against bills and voting “No” than supporting bills and voting “Yes.” Instead of championing dozens of changes to our state laws, I find myself regularly pumping the brakes on bills proffered by others.

Remember – every bill changes South Dakota. I love South Dakota. It’s my home and the place I care most about. Legislation that seeks to change our state needs to pass a high hurdle. As a common sense conservative, change comes hard for me. If four parts of a bill are good for South Dakota, but one part is bad, I’m bound to vote against the entire bill. It isn’t enough that a bill sounds good on the surface or makes for a good slogan. I’m interested in what does good, not what looks good.

Believe me – it’s a lot more fun to be for something than against it. Telling my colleagues that I don’t support their bill isn’t enjoyable, nor is it something I do lightly. However, I owe them a duty of uprightness and honesty, the same that I owe the voters. So, I spend a lot of my day delivering bad news to my friends. “No” isn’t fun, but it is necessary in government.

Veto Day and Beyond– District 24 Rep. Will Mortenson’s legislative Mort Report

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