Week Two

Last week the Senate passed 12 bills pertaining to the medical use of cannabis. These bills were recommended by the summer study committee on medical cannabis to clean up the statutes and language passed by the voters. Unfortunately, some of these bills, and the ones to come yet, are more restrictive than what the voters passed. I did not vote for all of the bills presented because I feel they went beyond why the voters passed medical marijuana. At the end of the day, all of the bills did pass off the Senate floor. SB 18 and SB 16 were two of the bills I voted against. They both had close votes. SB 18 passed 18 Ayes to 16 Nays and SB 16 passed by a vote of 19 Ayes to 16 Nays. There will be bills dealing with medical marijuana and recreational use of marijuana for most of this year's session as there are bills in the House moving their way through also. I do have a fear that the state will do everything possible to strangle the use of medical marijuana, and I will continue to vote against the bills I believe that are overly restrictive.

We continue to work with the Governor's office for the proper way to expend the 150 million dollars proposed for workforce/affordable housing. I continue to state that my support is contingent on a grant/loan program and that a pot of funds is reserved for smaller communities to utilize. To this point in time, there has not been much movement by the Governor's office in our direction. They still want to have the funds available first-come, first-serve, regardless of the size of the community. My fear is that Sioux Falls and Rapid City will suck up the greatest majority of these funds and a conversation from a forward-thinking developer in one of those communities pretty much confirms that fear. They also believe, as I do, a well-balanced state economy and workforce dictate that a fair share of these and other funds need to be infused into communities that are not our two largest Cities.

Last week I introduced these five bills. 

SB 125 & 127, which would transfer the ownership of a person's boat or motor vehicle upon their death. These two bills would allow a person to bypass probate and the need to have their wishes written into a will. 

SB 90 would revise provisions regarding building codes. SB 90 would delay the time frame new building codes go into effect, require a public hearing, and show what the cost impact is to a homeowner because of the building code change. Very, very few times does a code change reduce the cost of housing or remodeling. 

SB 114 would refund the contractor's excise tax to individuals who buy a new home that qualifies as affordable housing. The SD Housing Authority would be required to set the income limits and maximum sales price to qualify.

SB 126 requires Game, Fish, and Parks to close the legal action affirmed by the State Supreme Court as it pertains to Parks vs. Cooper and Durre vs. Hepler. These two cases were at the center of the non meandered waters closures by the state. The legislature has acted as the court required, but GFP refuses to take the actions needed to lift the injunctions on these bodies of water, and this bill aims to push them in that direction.

I can be contacted at herman.otten@sdlegislature.gov with your comments and concerns.