The proliferation of secret hoghouse bills that were among the items spurring Governor Noem to strike up the band-castrator is also bugging House Majority Leader Lee Qualm (R-21/Platte):
“I don’t like this at all,” Qualm said. “It’s a big concern to me. It’s not something I want to see happen again. I’ve never seen this before” [Lisa Kaczke, “Halfway Through Legislative Session, 1 in 10 Bills Are Empty Shells,” that Sioux Falls paper, 2019.02.08].
Last month legislators filed 46 hoghouse bills—bills with vague titles and no substantive text, placeholders filed so sponsors can insert their desired text later. Such surprise packages allow legislators to spring proposals in committee without public notice and reduce opportunities for the public to mobilize and testify against any such proposals. Hoghouses bills epitomize the arrogance of the South Dakota Legislature: they say, “Only we legislators really need to know what’s going on here in the Capitol.”
Of course, Majority Leader Qualm only has himself and his caucus to blame for the hoghouse explosion. Of 46 empty bills—exactly 10% of the total 460 bills filed this Session—45 came from 20 Republican legislators. One came from a Democrat; one came from the Senate Education Committee.
| Prime Sponsor | Party | Hoghouse Count |
| Rep. Chris Karr | R | 6 |
| Sen. John Wiik | R | 4 |
| Rep. Steven Haugaard | R | 4 |
| Rep. Arch Beal | R | 4 |
| Rep. Kyle Schoenfish | R | 3 |
| Rep. Jon Hansen | R | 3 |
| Sen. Jim Bolin | R | 3 |
| Rep. Tom Pischke | R | 2 |
| Rep. Carl Perry | R | 2 |
| Rep. John Lake | R | 2 |
| Rep. Kevin Jensen | R | 2 |
| Sen. Wayne Steinhauer | R | 1 |
| Rep. Tamara St. John | R | 1 |
| Senate Education Committee | R | 1 |
| Sen. Russell | R | 1 |
| Rep. Tim Rounds | R | 1 |
| Rep. Tim Reed | R | 1 |
| Sen. Jeff Partridge | R | 1 |
| Sen. Ryan Maher | R | 1 |
| Sen. Troy Heinert | D | 1 |
| Sen. Lynne DiSanto | R | 1 |
| Rep. Tom Brunner | R | 1 |
| Grand Total | R | 46 |
Thirteen Representatives under Representative Qualm’s leadership filed 32 of those 46 hoghouse bills. Qualm himself signed on as a co-sponsor to eight hoghouse bills.
Representative Qualm sorta-kinda grumbled about hoghouses last year when he voted for a rule change requiring that hoghouses wait in committee at least a day after their substantive language is filed, but he quickly backed away from that rule, allowing hoghouses to continue their surprise rush through committee unless a fifth of the members objected.
The Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce agrees that the hoghousing is bad for business:
It’s difficult to advocate for the city’s business community when they don’t know when a bill’s text will be added or what law will be proposed in that text, [SF Chamber lobbyist Debra Owen] said.
“We’re left out of the process by virtue that we don’t know what the Legislature intends to do with the bill,” she said. “We just think legislation should be public and open for debate while under consideration” [Kaczke, 2019.02.08].
Get serious, Leader Qualm. If you don’t like hoghouse bills, don’t co-sponsor them. And take a leadership cue from Governor Noem: if you don’t like what your caucus is doing, you call them into your office and tell them to knock it off.
Mr. Qualm is taking his marching orders, as is Mr. Haugaard, from the bearded man behind the curtain on the west wing of the legislatures. They are but puppets without a clue of what it means to lead. Those who voted these castrated fellows into the leaders are insaner than most and will rue the day because the whole state is laughing at them. These clown fellows make their side of the legislatures look just silly.
Mr. grudznick. Who’s the bearded man of whom you refer? Are you being cryptic to be juvenile or are you just making things up, again?
No doubt! Who’s the beard with power?
I do not have a problem with them if they are amended into form in the first committee, deferred for action in committee for several interveneing days, then has a full committee hearing in the chamber of origin. If that does not happen, I will oppose all of them that I am aware of, especially the ones that come to the floor empty as I believe those are a violation of the SD Constitution and have been subject to unethical and illegal vote trading in the past.
The Legislature is a totally corrupt institution run by insanity, and getting corrupter and insaner, as Grudz would say. But Grudz has no solution. The corrupter and insaner it gets on Third Floor, the more the corrupt and insane try to prevent the people from changing the corruption and insanity. The inmates are running the show, and the sane are left to watch, as in “Marat/Sade.”
I don’t have much sympathy for the business lobbyists. A big FU to Debra Owen for decades of that kind of behavior from that corner of the corrupt. Turnaround is a bitch, Ms. Owen.
Stace has a good compromise, but he’s just one Legislator. I agree that empty bills violate the Constitution. I think if one of these things pass, take it to court.
Grudz is running scared. Check out the DWC post about hemp, where grudz is claiming that he’s really Nick Nemec. Deplorable little Irish Catholic punk!
Qualm’s had no qualms about co-sponsoring, so one wonders, where’s his beef on the hoghouse’s?
I asked Murphy if he was grudz. He will neither confirm nor deny.
Has hoghousing been taken to court? Can it be appealed beyond SD?
BCB, you’re the expert here. What is your learned opinion?
Murphy, do the entities you lobby for know how you attack their causes here on DFP?
Makes me laugh, Debbo. Porter is laughing. 😂 No wonder the Irish ☘️ Punk hates pot. He works for Big Booze.
@The Irish Punk … You work for the teacher’s union? Really? With your distaste for teachers? Who hired this poseur?
I Quote:
grudznick 2018-12-17 at 21:00
Me.
And I have explained the SILT (Seven Indisputable Levels of Teacher) many times. Mr. H, he hisownself, has often pointed out the really good and the really really good teachers, so it’s not that tough to pick them out. And in any group, there is always an average. Law of the maths.
So if you have an average, which we have, and we know there are below average and above average, we have at least 3 levels of teachers. If we take Mr. H’s word about the really good and the really, really good ones, and the great ones he was talked about and is one himself, we have at least 3 levels if not 4 above the average so that’s 5 levels. We know there are below average, by the laws of the maths again. And we know that there are really bad teachers, again, based on some of Mr. H’s bloggings where he points out really bad ones.
So we have
Really Bad
Bad
Average
Good
Really Good
Really Really Good
Great
SILT. It is, of course, indisputable.
Grudznick (Jeremiah M. Murphy) works for South Dakota Society for Respiratory Care with all women on the board with this over-sexed, misogynistic attitude? C;mon, man.
grudznick 2018-12-17 at 16:27
Back in my day they used to have to saltpeter me regularly just to make it safe for all the womenfolk, and you would not believe all the complaining that cause from the womenfolk, so they overruled the man-hating short haired lady who was saltpetering me and the ladies were happy and the rest is history. But that was back in the day and you probably can’t get away with that now. Women’s rights to be promiscuous if they choose, you know.
And oh the stories my good friend Bill could tell.
Grudznick. Regarding your seven levels of teachers, fallacy. I replied and union guy Porter stands strong.
Porter Lansing 2018-12-17 at 21:33
The average is well above the level of acceptability, thus those below average are still easily acceptable. There are no unacceptable, below allowable teachers. You set the average unrealistically low with no criterium to support your supposition. – Failing Grade “F”
I do appreciate the refocus on the SILT. It is one of grudznick’s best works. Mr. Murphy is on retainer to the teachers union and won’t be able to comment at this time. Please email grudznick’s granddaughter with your feedback on this topic.