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OTHER NEWS
How they voted: A look at the 2009 and 2010 legislative sessions
By Robert O'Connell
Public Affairs & Communications Director
Each year the Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce reports on how Sioux Falls area legislators voted on bills that were approved by the Chamber’s Board as its platform. The Chamber strives to be impartial and accurate in presenting this information. The publication of “How They Voted” is designed to facilitate an ongoing dialogue on business concerns between voters and elected officials.
The compilation shown here should not be viewed as a rating of overall effectiveness of individual legislators; rather, this information is a way to inform Chamber members how area legislators responded to issues strongly advocated by Sioux Falls businesses and Forward Sioux Falls investors.
When legislators are called away from the floor and are not present during a vote, an “excused” vote is recorded if the legislator gave proper notification regarding the need to be away from the floor. However, whenever a legislator was excused or absent on a particular bill, the Chamber scored the non-vote as a “No” vote. The votes for Districts 9 through 15 are shown on the attached chart. A (+) indicates a vote aligned with the Chamber’s position on each issue, and a (-) indicates a vote that did not support the Chamber’s position. The number in parentheses indicates the legislative district in which each legislator serves. All votes in this listing are on final passage of the bill unless otherwise indicated. Every two years the Chamber averages the legislators’ votes to get an average.
For more information about the 2009 and 2010 sessions, contact the Chamber’s lobbyist and Public Affairs & Communications Director Bob O’Connell at (605) 336-1620 or roconnell@siouxfalls.com.
The Chamber’s 2009 and 2010 Legislative Platform each contained a plank supporting the state’s continued funding of the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System. This year marked the last of three years of funding amounts of approximately $6.3 million from “water fees” and not from the general fund. HB 1238 (2009) and SB 64 (2010) contained the funding for the Lewis and Clark project.
Another platform plank would establish standards for pre-school education. The bills that reflected this concept passed the Senate both years. In 2009, the bill did not get out of House Education Committee so there was no vote reported. In 2010, the House smoked the bill out onto the floor. The vote reported here is the attempt to remove the word “not” from the Education Committee’s vote of “do not pass.” In both 2009 and 2010, the bills were numbered SB 191.
In 2010, the Chamber again promoted a bill to enhance K-12 education funding. SB 124 passed the Senate and the vote is shown in the chart. In 2010, as in 2009 (SB 106), the House Education Committee changed the bill completely so no House vote is reflected on the chart. The Chamber thanks Representatives Schlekeway and Thompson for their support in the House Education Committee in both 2009 and 2010 for the bill as originally promoted by the Chamber.
Transportation issues continue to be a growing problem. In 2009, the Chamber supported a number of bills to enhance transportation infrastructure. HB 1007 would have raised these funds. The 2010 bill (SB 1) that the Chamber supported did not make it to the Senate floor so no vote is reported here. It was apparent again this year that the legislature was unwilling to tackle a tax increase during difficult economic times. Unfortunately roads and bridges around the state continue to deteriorate and the cost of waiting to deal with these issues both in terms of future additional cost and loss of economic development may exceed the short term budget savings. The Chamber expresses appreciation to both Rep. Shantel Krebs (District 10, Chair of the House Transportation Committee) and Sen. Mike Vehle (District 20, Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee) for their untiring efforts to move this issue ahead. Also the Chamber thanks South Dakota Secretary of Transportation Darin Bergquist for his efforts to keep roads and bridges safe despite both state and federal funding difficulties.
The Chamber supported HB 1198, which would have allowed local communities to choose to impose a temporary one cent sales tax to build a specific capital project — in Sioux Falls, the events center was the target. Across the state, 97 cities signed on formally to ask the legislature for approval for the local option. The bill had a n option for municipalities to elect to pay back the third penny to income-sensitive residents. The bill received a lot of conversation but was killed soundly in committee. Thanks to area legislators Representatives Dan Lederman, Darrell Solberg and Blake Curd, who voted in favor of the bill.
In 2010, The Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce supported the University Center and Sioux Falls School District project to provide additional space to the school district and use already set aside funds for two new University Center buildings (SB 106). The project, which was approved will provide the specific space necessary to enhance the quality of education at each institution.
2010 was a difficult year for all concerned. The Chamber thanks legislators who helped the Sioux Falls area business agenda move ahead and who listened to the Chamber’s concerns and ideas during the session.
| 2009 & 2010 Two-Year Average |
| Legislators |
2009 |
2010 |
2-Year % |
| Sen. Tom Dempster (9) |
3/4 |
4/4 |
88% |
| Sen. Gene Abdallah (10) |
3/4 |
3/4 |
75% |
| Sen. Jason Gant (11) |
3/4 |
3/4 |
75% |
| Sen. Sandy Jerstad (12) |
3/4 |
4/4 |
88% |
| Sen. Scott Heidepriem (13) |
4/4 |
4/4 |
100% |
| Sen. David Knudson (14) |
3/4 |
4/4 |
88% |
| Sen. Kathy Miles (15) |
4/4 |
3/4 |
88% |
| Rep. Rich Engels (9) |
1/2 |
3/3 |
80% |
| Rep. Deb Peters (9) |
1/2 |
2/3 |
60% |
| Rep. Roger Hunt (10) |
2/2 |
2/3 |
80% |
| Rep. Shantel Krebs (10) |
2/2 |
3/3 |
100% |
| Rep. Todd Schlekeway (11) |
2/2 |
2/3 |
80% |
| Rep. Darrell Solberg (11) |
2/2 |
3/3 |
100% |
| Rep. R. Blake Curd (12) |
2/2 |
2/3 |
80% |
| Rep. Manny Steele (12) |
2/2 |
2/3 |
80% |
| Rep. Bill Thompson (13) |
2/2 |
3/3 |
100% |
| Rep. Susy Blake (13) |
2/2 |
3/3 |
100& |
| Rep. Joni Cutler (14) |
2/2 |
3/3 |
100% |
| Rep. Marc Feinstein (14) |
1/2 |
3/3 |
80% |
| Rep. Patrick Kirschman (15) |
1/2 |
3/3 |
80% |
| Rep. Martha Vanderlinde (15) |
1/2 |
3/3 |
80% |
| 2010 How They Voted |
| Legislators |
SB 124 |
SB 64 |
SB 191 |
SB 106 |
Total |
| Sen. Tom Dempster (9) |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
4/4 |
| Sen. Gene Abdallah (10) |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
3/4 |
| Sen. Jason Gant (11) |
+ |
+ |
- |
+ |
3/4 |
| Sen. Sandy Jerstad (12) |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
4/4 |
| Sen. Scott Heidepriem (13) |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
4/4 |
| Sen. David Knudson (14) |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
4/4 |
| Sen. Kathy Miles (15) |
+ |
+ |
- |
+ |
3/4 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| Rep. Rich Engels (9) |
|
+ |
+ |
+ |
3/3 |
| Rep. Deb Peters (9) |
|
+ |
- |
+ |
2/3 |
| Rep. Roger Hunt (10) |
|
+ |
- |
+ |
2/3 |
| Rep. Shantel Krebs (10) |
|
+ |
+ |
+ |
3/3 |
| Rep. Todd Schlekeway (11) |
|
+ |
- |
+ |
2/3 |
| Rep. Darrell Solberg (11) |
|
+ |
+ |
+ |
3/3 |
| Rep. R. Blake Curd (12) |
|
+ |
Excused |
+ |
2/3 |
| Rep. Manny Steele (12) |
|
+ |
- |
+ |
3/3 |
| Rep. Bill Thompson (13) |
|
+ |
+ |
+ |
3/3 |
| Rep. Susy Blake (13) |
|
+ |
+ |
+ |
3/3 |
| Rep. Joni Cutler (14) |
|
+ |
+ |
+ |
3/3 |
| Rep. Marc Feinstein (14) |
|
+ |
+ |
+ |
3/3 |
| Rep. Patrick Kirschman (15) |
|
+ |
+ |
+ |
3/3 |
| Rep. Martha Vanderlinde (15) |
|
+ |
+ |
+ |
3/3 |
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