Amidst the outbreak of freewheeling spending in our cash-flush Capitol, my favorite bill of the 2021 Session is House Bill 1278, wherein we declare that the purchase of a new skid steer is an emergency:
An Act tomake an appropriation for the purchase of a new skid steer and to declare an emergency.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of South Dakota:
Section 1. There is hereby appropriated from the general fund the sum of $69,565 to the Department of Public Safety, for the purpose of purchasing a new skid steer.
Section 2. The secretary of the Department of Public Safety shall approve vouchers and the state auditor shall draw warrants to pay expenditures authorized by this Act.
Section 3. Any amounts appropriated in this Act not lawfully expended or obligated by June 30, 2025 shall revert in accordance with the procedures prescribed in chapter 4-8.
Section 4. Whereas, this Act is necessary for the support of the state government and its existing public institutions, an emergency is hereby declared to exist, and this Act shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and approval [House Bill 1278, introduced 2021.02.04].
A new skid steer—now that’s a real South Dakota emergency!
But hey, Appropriations Committee—if it’s such an emergency, why are you giving the Department of Public Safety until 2025 to spend the money?
And hey, by telling us all the exact appropriation for DPS’s new skid steer, aren’t we creating a security risk that allows terrorists to plan attacks that can overcome the bulletproofing of that skidsteer?
That’s a lot for a skid loader. Whose brother-in-law are they buying it from?
Kristi and the majority party never ceases to amaze me!!! I haven’t heard anything about properly funding education in South Dakota!! Oh, that’s right the money goes for Noem’s out state travel, ill advised fire works show at Mount Rushmore at a cost of 1.6 MILLION as a tribute to her and her mentor; her advertising on FOX prior to her speaking at the RNC amounting to $900,000; the lack of transparency on how much it is costing South Dakota taxpayers for the travel of the security when she was campaigning for former President Trump, solicitating funds for her campaign and forwarding her self-serving political ambitions? Plus buying an overpriced skid steer loader! When is the legislature going to check into abuse of power by the Governor?
Skid loaders aren’t much for providing security, as amazing as they are. The lege needs one to clean up the caca del toro left in heaps by one party rule. Plus, if you remove the drive chain from the driver’s right side wheels/tracks, the machine will run clockwise circles.
Mr. H, this is a silly law bill. Why does it take 4 years to buy a skid steer, and how come there aren’t law bills for every skid steer the state buys? I bet you a breakfast they are buying others for I have seen some of the bulldozers the fire fighters use and I see no law bill for those. I am suspicious about what is so special about this skid steer.
Cathy, I see that my friendly Madison implement dealers keep their prices under wraps for new equipment, but I see that Stan Houston has a variety of Gehl skid steers, vintage 2016–2020, priced between $23K and $45K. Dang: settle for used, and DPS could get two skid steers.
Darrell, Grudz, I do find it at least odd, if not silly, that we should need a bill just to cover the purchase of one skid steer. Does not DPS, like every other department, have a budget for buying new equipment? Through November, DPS had burned up less than 40% of its budget. When else do we see specific appropriations bills for specific pieces of equipment like this?
This law bill should be bonked on the head.
Are there special bills for the purchase of new snowplows or HP patrol cars? I’ve never seen one, isn’t this stuff usually purchased by including it in the department capital outlay budget? Something fishy is going on, I hope legislators ask some questions.
It is very odd, Mr. H. Outfits that big probably buy equipment every year. Why a law bill just for this, now? Why 4 years to buy it, and why for so much when a cheaper model that would be just as good would work. grudznick smells a rat. Could this money be repurposed for something else, years down the road?
well…you are right grudz…it is very odd….since this cash for a skid steer is not in the budget bill it will require a two-thirds vote…it is very awkward for the Department …will there be testimony about the need for the skid steer?? There is no other way to meet this emergency??Is the request caused by some oversight when constructing the department budget??What’s Up here….if it gets two thirds of the votes to pass, with no hearing or testimony, you will know something’s up.
Odder and odder, you will read the law bill numbered 1278 from the blue link Mr. H put above, and see that it is introduced by the legislatures themselves, not the department or a named fellow in the legislatures. It is almost like the committee is trying to jam this skid steer down the maw of the departments. It could be that the deep state inside the legislatures be up to something here.
What’s the emergency. The purchase from a relative? China cutting off export of skid steers to the U.S? Needed for the keystone or dapl pipelines? A dumbo bill to display the legislative abilities of the 1 party leadership and followers. There is background and purpose for the introduction of the bill or not. Skid steer vs teachers? Skid steer vs law enforcement? Skid steer purchase is an emergency until June 30, 2025. November 2022 cannot come soon enough to flush out this silliness.
Maybe that money is going to cover noem’s campaign security, lol.
This has gotten me curious now. Rep Linda Duba from Sioux Falls, is the only Democrat on the appropriations committee. She might know more about it.