Legislators to tackle tourism, liquor, meth, midwives, more

By Bill Harlan, Journal Staff Writer | Saturday, January 06, 2007

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Freshman state Rep. David Lust, R-Rapid City, is almost apologetic about the first two bills he will introduce as a Republican representative from District 34.

“I’m dealing with really sexy stuff here,” he said, joking.

One bill could help counties collect delinquent property taxes. The other fixes mechanics-lien statutes.

Lust is an attorney who often handles real-estate issues, so he knows those subjects. “They aren’t very controversial,” he said. “It gives me a chance to learn the process.”

Lust is among a dozen legislators representing Rapid City and its outlying areas in legislative districts 32 through 35. Each of the state’s 35 districts has two representatives and one senator.

Local lawmakers will probably get chances to vote on the big issues such as property-tax changes, campaign-finance reform and state aid to education. But they’ll also have their own proposals, which offer insights into how they’ll represent their districts.

Republican Rep. Ed McLaughlin’s main proposal will be part of one of the big issues. McLaughlin, a former school administrator who also represents District 34, is a member of a task force on state aid to schools. He’ll co-sponsor a 25-page omnibus bill that would, among other things, speed consolidation of small school districts.

Other Rapid City legislators will offer their own proposals related to big issues.

Gov. Mike Rounds, for example, in his budget address last month recommended spending $3 million to combat methamphetamine addiction.

Republican Sen. Bill Napoli, who represents District 35, would add a five-year plan to create two addiction-treatment centers in buildings that the state already owns — one in Rapid City, off Highway 44, and the other in Yankton.

The Department of Corrections emphasizes security, he said, “Treatment has got to be part of the discussion,” he said.

Napoli also will propose an alternative to the governor’s proposal for a $1 million matching-fund grant program for tourism. Napoli would raise it to $2 million to promote tourism and eliminate the requirement for a local match.

“The second-biggest industry in our state is tourism,” Napoli said. So he’ll also propose a “blue-ribbon task force” of consultants to study ways to attract tourists.

Rep. Mark Kirkeby, who also represents District 35, resigned his seat on the Pennington County Commission to serve in Pierre, but he’ll still be an advocate for counties.

Kirkeby will propose legislation to allow counties to charge the state of South Dakota rent for certain kinds of offices in county courthouses. Pennington County could get $250,000 a year, he said.

He’ll also reintroduce an oft-rejected proposal for a liquor tax for counties to compensate for law-enforcement and social costs related to alcohol, he said. The penny-an-ounce tax could get Pennington County $2 million a year, he said.

Rep. Alan Hanks, a District 32 Republican incumbent, will also propose an alcohol-related measure. He believes second-offense drunken drivers should have “ignition interlock” devices on their cars that can measure blood-alcohol levels. If the level is too high, the device prevents the car from starting.

Hanks also will introduce a measure to automatically terminate parental rights in cases of rape or incest.

“It might not be used very often, but to a handful of rape or incest victims, it could be very important,” he said.

Rep. Tom Katus, also of District 32, is the only Democrat elected from the Rapid City area.

Katus admits that his proposed tax-review commission got a cool reception. “I get a great response from the public, but the political leadership on both sides are pretty wary of it.”

But Katus also will propose a grant program for small, mom-and-pop businesses, and he’ll propose a scholarship program to help American Indian colleges, such as Oglala Lakota College in Kyle, attract non-Indian students.

Rep. Mike Buckingham, a District 33 incumbent Republican, is working with the National Rifle Association on a bill to reduce the hunting age. “Now, it’s 12 for everything in South Dakota,” he said.

Buckingham said he saw a story about an 8-year-old girl in Vermont who got a bear-hunting license — and a bear. “That got me to thinking,” he said.

Buckingham would reduce the big-game age to 10 and eliminate the age limit for smaller game. “I want to get kids out from behind video games and out with their parents, where they belong,” he said.

Republican Sen. Royal “Mac” McCracken, a veteran legislator from District 34, wants South Dakota to adopt a uniform child-abduction act that will make enforcement here more compatible with other states.

McCracken will also sign on to a measure giving a property-tax break to disabled veterans, and he’s watching legislation to help create an off-roading trail in the Black Hills.

Rep. Don Van Etten, a District 33 Republican who also is a physician, is chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee, so he’ll be introducing a number of bills sought by that department. One bill would require licenses for counselors. “Anybody can say they’re a counselor now,” Van Etten said. “This would protect the public from people who don’t have the education to do that.”

He’ll also introduce legislation to allow physicians assistants, under the supervision of doctors, to perform more kinds of medical procedures.

But Van Etten will oppose a measure to allow midwives who aren’t also nurses to deliver babies. “I don’t think we should be delivering babies in homes without mechanical suction, oxygen, fetal monitors and capability to do a C-section in an emergency,” he said.

Then there are Lust’s “sexy” bills.

The mechanics-lien measure is complex and arcane, but the other bill could spark public interest. So-called “tax-sale certificates” would allow anyone to pay delinquent property taxes on any property. Pay back taxes three years in a row and you own the property — unless the delinquent owner repays you with interest.

The Legislature had abolished the practice. “Some county treasurers around the state said these things are a nightmare,” Lust said. But he said the certificates were effective in Pennington County. His bill would let counties decide whether to allow them.

Republican Rep. Jeff Haverly and Rep. Brian Dreyer, both new legislators, each said they’d need more time before talking about specific proposals.

The Rapid City Journal was unable to reach Republican Rep. Dennis Schmidt, also a new legislator.

The Legislature opens Tuesday and runs through March 6, with a “40th day” on March 26 to consider vetoes.

Lawmakers will submit hundreds of bills, but only a fraction become law. One measure of local legislators’ success will be whether their own proposals survive the gauntlet.

Contact Bill Harlan at 394-8424 or bill.harlan@rapidcityjournal.com