SDPB is playing live video from the Senate today. As I listen to Senator Lance Russell (R-30/Hot Springs) ask whether South Dakotans can trust the Legislature to keep any of its promises, I notice that, over his shoulder, out the window, one can see it snowing in Pierre.
Senator Russell is expressing his concerns about SB 172, the bill to build the animal disease lab at SDSU.
Senator Stace Nelson doesn’t want to get snowed.
“Do-Guard your wallet,” says Senator Nelson, lamenting the taxes he sees disguised as fees in SB 172. He wants to tap the REDI Fund to pay for the building. Senator Deb Peters says the REDI Fund is for revolving loans to help private business development, not fund state buildings.
We folks watching at home can’t really follow the debate, since the conference committee reports on SB 176 and other important bills (like SB 176, the Governor’s anti-protest bill, targeting those darned Indians who make noise about pipelines) aren’t available online. So we watch the snow out the window and wonder how much shoveling we’ll have to do later.
It is appropriate that it is snowing in Pierre since it is the snow capital of the snow job.
And throughout all of this education screwed
So the REDI fund is in addition to the general reserves SD has? As of 2011 on its website the REDI has over $91,000.000.
SD has more than enough money to fund education, its stingy and selfish legislators just choose not to.
Someone please explain why the new lab is so essential at this point when resources – especially in the ag sector – are apparently so scarce. All it purports to do – at a cost of about $60M – is duplicate in SD animal testing services now provided in Ames, Iowa.
Yes Sen. Peters. by all means keep the money for business and the hell with education.
Incredibly stupid
Speaking of getting the business, where is Wall Drug, Keystone, the entire tourism industry going to get their replacements for H2B workers with the restrictions on immigration? Making America great again? Maybe not so? Branson, Missouri is finding out what all this means so if you want that job in Wall, now is your chance your crazy trumpers. Go get’um
Maybe legislators would understand the proper use of reserves better if we called them snowy-day funds.