Transcripts For CSPAN3 South Dakota State Of State Address 20170209

Thank you, thank you very much. Thank you. Okay, sit down. Sit down. Sit down. Thank you. Thank you very much. That was very kind of you. Thank you. It is good to have you back in pierre to the legislature, welcome. Im sure youre going to enjoy this experience immensely. Before i begin today, though, i would like to note a historical milestone. Today is the beginning of Lieutenant Governor Matt Michaels seventh session as president of the senate, and prior to that, he presided for four sessions as speaker of the house. Those 11 sessions make Matt Michaels the longest serving officer in the south dakota legislature. Lets recognize him and thank him for that service. [ applause ] thank you very much. Over the past six years, weve undertaken many significant initiatives together, and have made progress in many areas. Today, im going to provide updates on many of our efforts in the areas of education, transportation, criminal justice, workforce and Tribal Affairs among others. I want to update you on our accomplishments and also in some cases talk about adjustments we can make to continue to improve. First, a brief update on our state revenue situation. I have some good news and i have some bad news. Ill start with the bad news. Since we met in december, revenue has not strengthened. Sales tax continues to run below even revised projections. Overall revenue is down another 5. 8 million, so we will need to continue to watch revenues over the next two months to insure we adopt the structurally balanced budget in march. We all know that the farm economy is one reason for weakness in the sales tax, and another reason is the continued growth in online sales. Many online retailers do not collect and remit sales tax, as you know. The state has taken several steps over the years to try and collect more of that tax, and after last session, the department of revenue reached out to many online retailers to encourage them to remit tax. And thats the good news. Today, im pleased to announce that the state has reached an agreement with amazon to collect and remit state and local sales taxes in south dakota. Amazon will begin voluntarily to collect sales tax on february 1st, and will remit beginning in late march. Amazon, as you know, is an online leading online merchant, growing every year by double digits. Their decision to collect sales tax doesnt solve the sales tax issue for online purchases, but its a big step in the right direction. Eileen sullivan is here today, representing amazon, and for their decision as a good Corporate Citizen to join the many south dakota retailers who collect and remit the sale taxes, i would ask her to stand so we can thank her. Eileen. [ applause ] thank you again. In past years, i have talked about a better government initiative, a constant effort to make State Government more efficient, more open and accessible. We made good strides over the past six years, and ill be asking you to help us further improve this year. First, we continue to work on red tail repeal. Red tape repeal efforts. Over the past six years, we have proposed and you have passed a repeal of over 4,000 sections of obsolete or unnecessary rawhal laws and rules accounting for nearly 470,000 words. We will be proposing more of these bills this year. Another important component of better government is to be more open, accountable, and accessible. I have made this a priority, and we have made considerable progress. We recently launched an online pardon application site, making south dakota the first state in the nation with a completely online pardon application process. This year, i will also be supporting the attorney generals proposal to make booking photographs also known as mugshots, open to the public. As in most states. Last year, i asked Lieutenant Governor michaels to lead an effort to improve our states internal controls. You passed legislation creating the board of internal controls and that body has been meeting monthly since may. Internal controls within State Government itself are already strong, in fact, we just completed our comprehensive annual financial record for fiscal year 2016, the earlier completion in 20 years. With an unqualified clean audit from the department of legislative audit. But we must do a better job of monitoring federal funds that pass through the state to nonstate entities. This is a complex area, but the board is working hard to establish these standards. One important aspect of internal controls is avoiding conflict of interest. Most conflicts of interesting are innocent and can be avoided through education. Two years ago, you passed and i signed legislation creating new conflict of interest standards for state employees. And that system is working well. We now have a system that makes state employees more aware of potential conflicts so they can be prevented or publicly disclosed and identified as not against Public Interest. Last year, i signed similar legislation for state, board, and Commission Members and for local school board members. After one years experience, i will support legislation this year to clarify and streamline that law so that boards can achieve our objective of bringing transparency to these situations. Over the past six years, we have taken many steps to make State Government information more accessible. We put Economic Development grants online, we have put restaurant inspections online. Information on oil, gas, and water drilling is now online. Open. Sd. Gov has been completely redesigned and is a central hub for information, including grants and contracts, pay roll information, and checkbook level detail on vendor payments. The state legislature itself has been a leader in this area. It was 20 years ago that the ledgislature launched its excellent website that allows for online tracking of legislation and live and archived internet streaming of all legislative meetings. In the executive branch, rules. Sd. Gov allows citizens to track and comment upon proposed rules. Two years ago, we also launched a portal to centralizing information on state boards and commissions in one place. Membership information, agendas, meeting materials, minutes, financial reports, and audits. This year, i will ask you to support legislation to institutionalize the boards and commissions portal. Today, i can require state agencies to utilize this site, but i want the law to require it after im gone. This site only works if boards are required to post their information online, just as we require them in law to post their Public Notices at the location where a meeting is held. Were also making state board and Commission Meetings accessible with internet streaming. South dakota public broadcasting recently launched sd. Net, which is a one stop website to stream Commission Meetings as well as other public broadcast and coverage such as High School State tournaments. And all these efforts have paid off. In 2011, shortly after i took office, south dakota received a dplus for Online Access to government Financial Data from the Public Interest research group. As of the 2016 record, south dakota has improved that score to an aminus. One reliable advocate for openness over the years has been News Reporter bob mercer. Of course, as a reporter, bob has written about the need for openness. But when he has seen opportunities to improve, hes also shared them with my office, and i have always appreciated that. Several of these improvements were bobs suggestions. Including the rules website, the expansion of the boards and commissions portal, and even the case outside our Capitol Building for posting notices. Bob is confronting some health challenges, as you may know, and he will not be here this year to cover the legislative session, but i hope we will all keep bob and his family in our thoughts as we continue these efforts toward openness. Since i last spoke to you, since i spoke to you last year at this time, im very proud that south dakota has now obtained aaa ratings, the highest possible, from all three major Credit Rating agencies. One reason for our aaa rating is the breadth of Financial Information that we compile and make available online. Transparency is important in its own right, but it also has a positive financial impact. The aaa rating saves money when our schools, universities, and hospitals issue bonds. We get a lower Interest Rate because of our bond rating. Two years ago at the behest of the Lieutenant Governor, you passed legislation that also allows School Districts to benefit. Districts borrowing through the health and ed authority can now leverage our Credit Rating. Since this began, at least eight School Districts have realized saving. Redfield saves 185,000. Mead county saved 150,000. The Lakota School district was able to refnls a 2013 debt and save 3 million. Our aaa rating is the consequence of the many sound Financial Decisions that governors and legislators have made over the years. We have balanced our budget for 128 years, and recently, excuse me, recently, placed an explicit requirement for a balanced budget in the constitution. We have made it the norm to have a structurally balanced budget. Which supports ongoing expenses with ongoing revenues only. We built and maintained a Rainy Day Fund that is 10 of our general fund budget. We have been conservative in estimating revenues and expenses. And when we have one time money to spend, we prudently used it to repay debt early, secure an existing asset and ongoing assets or create a new asset. And we can all be very proud of the management of the south dakota retirement system. The plan is well funded and routinely rates as one of the strongest in the nation. That is no accident. Over the past few years, the Retirement System Trustees have proposed and you have passed several important adjustments to the plan that have strengthened it for the long term. This year, the trustees are bringing another bill that will protect the plan from swings in inflation or investment returns and i hope you will support that also. Now, some management also involved the stewardship of tangible assets. Regular maintenance of state owned facilities prevents larger problems in the future. But we also need to constantly reevaluate our need for the facilities that we have. When i first ran for governor, i talked about the need to scrutinize stateowned land and buildings and to sell assets that were underutilized. This has been an ongoing process now for six years. We first addressed the Human Services center in yankton, and with your support, we sold unneeded land and demolished many vacant and delapidated building wher build. We also negotiated a lease purchase for the historic mead building. If you havent seen it, this building is being beautifully restored. Next, we looked at the campus of the south Dakota Developmental Center in redfield. Like the yankton facility, this large campus was built to house over 1,000 south dakotaens with developmental or Mental Health issues, often for their entire lives. Today, the campus serves only about 120 persons. This year, i will be asking you to authorize the transfer of several vacant buildings and the adjoining lands from that campus to the city of redfield, which has expressed an interest in refurbishing the buildings and returning them to a public use. We are also evaluating the former State Training School campus in plankenten. This property has been leased for over a decade to a private company that operates the Aurora Plains Academy fair. Were considering the potential to sell the campus and i will be asking you to authorize that potential sale as well. Im also asking you to approve the potential sale of the star academy property, outside of custer. Which closed last march. There are too few juveniles in the corrections systems to justify this large camp, and even if an increase in juveniles in corrections, even a future increase of juveniles in corrections will not justify reopening star academy. We would use smaller, more efficient facilities closer to population centers. My hope is that the star academy property, which is at a scenic black hills location, can be sold and developed to create jobs and Economic Activity in the area. The construction of the new state Veterans Home in hot springs has also led us to evaluate the adjoining lands and buildings, and ill be asking you to approve legislation that allows us to explore repurposing portions of that campus. Likewise, a building formerly used by western dakota tech in rapid city will be reverting to state ownership, and the state has no use for this building. Ill be asking you to authorize its sale as well. And i also hope to continue to discuss with the board of reej nlts the former school for the deaf buildings and property located on east 10th street in sioux falls. We owe it to the taxpayers to keep the states footprint to a minimum, to avoid spending tax dollars on maintenance of unneeded facilities and to return these properties to the tax rolls when possible. Of course, state infrastructure is not confined to buildings. We also have transportation infrastructure, and over the past six years, we have made great progress in this area as well. We have refurbished two significant stretches of stateowned rail line. In 2014, you appropriated 7. 2 million in general funds to upgrade the state owned line from chamberland. We also provided grants from the future fund and the state rail fund and received a tiger grant. Because of this upgrade, wheat growers constructed a 50 million grain handling facility which was completed this fall. In addition, we upgraded the britain line, aided by a future fund grant and a loan from the state rail fund. This line runs from aberdeen into north dakota and connects shippers to both the Canadian Pacific rail line and the burlington rail line. As a result of this upgrade, the Wheaton Dumont elevator and the united grain omeration built a 40 million state of the art facility. That facility opened this fall and is shipping grain today. Both of these upgrades have created more shipping and selling options for farmers, created jobs in rural areas and added significant grain handling facilities to the praurpoperty rolls. Well also make Major Investments in our highways. A major phase of this multiyear project will let bids this summer to connect this new urban corridor to i90 west of brandon. That phase of the project should be completed by 2019. We have also provided aid to local government infrastructure. Two years ago, we created the bridge improvement grant fund, which is now granting millions each year to reduce the backlog of necessary repairs to local bridges. Still another piece of state infrastructure i spoke last month about the need to replace the state Animal Disease Research and diagnostic laboratory at sdsu. Even in a lean budget year, im hopeful we can secure for the long term our Animal Health laboratory, which protects our citizens and livestock industry. Beyond our tangible infrastructure, a critical duty of our state is to provide a system of k12 education. To be effective, we need to recruit and retain good teachers, and we compete with our neighboring states to do that. Last year, we passed major legislation to increase teacher pay and rewrite the School Funding formula. Were already seeing success from those changes. First, on teacher pay, as you know, when the Blue Ribbon Task force met, our average teacher salary was just over 40,000. Our new formula was designed and funded to afford an average of 48,500. We knew we wouldnt reach that average in one year because schools need time to become more efficient and repurpose their own funds into salaries. Still, according to the preliminary school reports, our average salary this fall is 46,937. Just short of 47,000. The states average salary increased by 11. 9 . Our smaller rural districts are especially challenged to attract teachers. So i was particularly pleased that preliminary data shows very sizable salary increases in many small districts. In jones county, the average teachers salary increased by 22 . In easton, it increased by 20 . In mobridge, salaries are up 25 . In faith, up 18 . Iroquoi, up 23 . Florence, about 20 . Burke, up 19 . And the highest increase in south dakota as a percentage was in wabe, whose average salary is up 26. 3 . Larger School Districts also enjoyed sizable increases, although they had higher salaries to begin with. And therefore, their percentage increases are generally lower. I have already heard from many superintendents that these changes are having an impact. Fewer teachers are departing, fewer vacancies are left unfilled. Positions are getting more applications and more teachers are staying in south dakota rather than leaving the state. I know some have expressed concern about the new formulas impact on Small Schools. Because the new formula calculates state aid based on actual number of enrolled students. In other words, it no longer allows a school with declining enrollment to receive funding based on the higher enrollments of past years. Even with that change, however, the new formula was actually more favorable to Small Schools than it was to larger ones. Statewide, schools received an average increase of 526 per student. Large schools of over 600 received only 507 more per student. Schools between 2 and 16 received 579, and schools with under 200 did best of all, they rsked 653 more per student. Those numbers are after the change to actual fall enrollments for calculating state aid. Now, the state aid formula is not the only way the state directly supports k12 education. Our successful dual Credit Program for High School Students is now in its third year. As i have said before, this dual Credit Program is a winwinwin. Students win because these are the cheapest College Credits they will ever buy, and they get a head start on college or tech school. High schools win because they can expand their course offer g offerings at no cost to the school district. Universities and Technical Institutes win because they attract students who are better prepares when they come to campus. In the past school year, 2,139 High School Students took at least one dual credit course from a university, and another 899 took a Technical Institute course. The passage rate is excellent. 94 for University Courses and 88 for Technical Institute courses. And the cost savings are substantial. Last year, High School Students and their families saved a total of 4. 4 million compared to the tuition rate they would have otherwise paid. As you can tell, im very enthusiastic about the success of the dual Credit Program. Unfortunately, the state offers another program to high school that has not been so successful. And i would like to touch on that. One persistent problem in south dakota is the number of High School Graduates who go on to college but need remedial courses. Last year, 30 of firstyear fulltime freshmen at state universities needed to take at least one remedial course in math or english. Unlike dual credit, remedial courses are a loselose. Students lose because remedial courses are expensive and they dont count for credit. So they set a student back in their college career. Universities also lose because students who need excuse me students who need remediation are less likely to stay in school and graduate on time. So to address this problem four years ago i proposed and the legislature funded the accuplacer assessment for high schools. This is a free Service Provided by the state to high schools. Heres how it works. A High School Junior with a poor a. C. T. Score takes the test in math and english. The test identifies any area in which the Student Needs remediation. It might not be all math. It might just be a specific concept. The student is then offered remedial course work on just that concept. While the student is still in high school. If the student is able to pass the test after taking the course work, the state universities will not require the student to take a remedial course. Its a great deal for the students. It saves them the cost of a college remedial course and avoids that delay when they get to college. And the state pays for it. We pay for the entire cost of every completed accu placer course. Given that, im very frustrated that our high schools have been extremely slow to adopt this free program. Last school year, only 154 accuplacer assistments were taken, and only 100 final tests were taken statewide. Most students who needed this accuplacer assessment didnt take it. How do we know this . Because this past fall, just months ago at our state university, 599 remedial courses were required for new freshmen from south dakota high schools. Thats 599 remedial courses at about 1,000 each, totaling over 500,000 in expense. Money our students paid when the state has a free program not being used. We have 150 School Districts in south dakota. 108 of them didnt offer this to a single student. Now, in august, i spoke at the School Administrator convention and asked them to take advantage of this program. And im hoping well see much greater use this school year. I have heard it suggested in the past that if a high School Graduate needs remediation in college, it should be the high school, not the student, who paid the remediation bill. Im not proposing that today. But i would certainly hope high schools will take advantage of the free courses we offer to help their students avoid remediation. On another front, the state is strengthening career and tech ed programs. In 2016, the Building South Dakota Fund awarded the first workforce education grants to help transform high school cte pra programs. Examples of initial grants include a new auto mechanic program, a precision ed program, and a Nursing Program in mitchell. At the Technical Institutes, the build dakota scholarship is in its second year, and im excited about the results were seeing. As you know, the scholarship was launched with 25 million from denny sanford, and another 25 million in state future funds. Approximately 300 students each year receive full ride scholarships to attend a Technical Institute in a highneed program, promising to work in that field in south dakota after they graduate. Nationally, over the past two ye years, enrollment in twoyear institutions is down nearly 17 . In south dakota, we bucked that trend. Our statewide enrollment is down only 1 . But in build dakota programs, though, enrollment is up nearly 10 . Im excited about the impact these build dakota scholarships will have on our workforce when the first recipients receive their twoyear degrees in may. Voters showed their support for our Technical Institutes in the general election in the general election by passing amendment r. This amendment solved a longstanding constitutional problem by giving the Legislature Authority to provide for the oversight of the Technical Institutes and ill support legislation this year that implements amendment r. Of course, were also very proud of our six state universities who do so much to prepare our young people to enter the work force. Im particularly pleased that the board of reej nlts has taken a leadership role in adopting a goal thats 65 of south dakota High School Graduates go on to graduate from a university or technical school. Most jobs of the future will require a posthigh school credential, and we need to encourage students to obtain one. We the Recruitment Assistance Program helps communities recruit primary care doctor, dentists, physician assistants and nurse practitioners. 58 of doctors and dentists and 88 of nurse prak tigs ners remain at their site after a their commitment. We place 60 other physician, nurses, pharmacists and physical therapists. We launched the program the to give third year medical students nine months of training. The first such students graduated last may and five moved into a Family Practice program. Id like to talk about criminal justice. In 2012, we began to confront south dakotas incarceration rate, which was much hire than our neighbors states. I joined with the chief justice to propose the Public Safety improvement act, which you passed in 2013. The goals of this legislation are to improve Public Safety, hold the offenders more accountable and trekt state doll lors to the most dangerous offenders. This act dif wrennuated our drug laws so major offenses would be treated more harshly than minor offenses. It created and expand ed all terrontive sentences option, such as drug and dui courts and made the largest investment in the history of our state in Behavioral Health services. We knew these were major changes and thats why the act created an Oversight Council to monitor progress, identify problems and recommend changes. Reforps need time to work, but we shouldnt be afraid to adjust as we learn more and as circumstances change. Four years later now, were seeing many positive developm t developments from the Public Safety improvement act. Among the successes is probation. Under the old system, we were supervising for multiple year, many probationers o who never reoffendeded. We did this in spite of data, which showed if if a probationer was to reoffend, its likely to be in the first year of probation. We now allow them to rebus their term by 30 days each time they complete 30 days of perfect behavior. This allows our officers to focus their attention on supervising those who need it. Those who are not compliant. The act created a presungs of probation for many low level nonviolent crimes. Last year, less than 1 of those were sent to prison. 540 individuals have completed Substance Abuse treatment and a rate of successful come pleex is 11 higher than the national average. Because of these reform, more offenders are receive iing the p they need through Community Based treatment. The act initiated a partnership with we placed a state funded parole agent at which allows tribal members to return home for parole and engages local Service Providers in providing support to change t. Compelling. In the first two years, the number has fallen from 57 to 28 . Nonviolent offenders city in their communities where they can work and help their families. These are important, but theres still work to be done. The total prison population today is lower than it would have been without any why is that . Well, we believe its due to the increase in methamphetamine tracking, which in south dakota and our neighboring states have experienced over the last eight years. Like our neighbors, south dakota is seeing a big increase in meth related arrests and convictions. For the most part, it is no longer being manufactured in home grown laboratories. It is being produced on an industrial scale and being trafficked in from outside our state. Last year, i invited prosecutors, officials and legislators to look into the meth problem and make recommendations. That group issued recommendations to our three important goals. First, we need to stop meth from coming into south dakota. Second, we need to educate people to prevent use of meth. Based on this, im joining with the attorney general to propose a joint Drug Task Force comprised of four new Highway Patrol officers joined by designated agents of the criminal of investigation, we will be b asking you to update the states outdated wiretapping statute to include cellular phones. There is a close correlation between the increase in Drug Trafficking and the increase in meth arrests and convictions in south dakota. We need to stop meth from coming into south dakota. Starting this year, the managers of state anti meth programs will meet regularly to coordinate these efforts and maximize their impact. We need to convince our citizens again, especially our youth, to stay away from meth. Finally, im proposing changes to the Public Safety improvement act to encourage treatment and more directly confront the meth problem. We will establish a short mandatory required jail time for anyone on probation or pau role who fails a drug test. This will guarantee swift and certain sanctions for offenders who choose to use drugs. We will allow supervision to be terminated early for those who stay clean, complete treatment and dont violate the term of their supervision for at least one year. For those already addicted, offenders who complete all Court Ordered treatment within a year will be given one opportunity to reduce a possession from a felony to a class one disdee mean nor. This would only be available once for each offender. Im also recommending grants to expand hope 24 7 pprobation to counties. Its similar to the program for alcohol offenders. Hope 24 7 has been implemented in ten counties. And provides intensive probation and treatment for serious drug offenders who are required to take random drug tests to ensure they stay clean. These steps i believe will strent b strenten the states response to the meth epidemic while helping meth users beat their addiction. Meth is an extremely addictive drug that ruins homes and destroys lives. Trying meth just once can lead to death and it changes brain functions. Meth users experience paranoia, delusions. Severe tooth decay and skin sores. The reforms i described have the potential to help end that use and end the vicious cycle of drug abuse within families. Two years ago, we recognized that south dakota was locking up juveniles. At the second highest rate. The purpose is rehabilitation. And locking up youth has been shown to make them more likely to commit crimes as dultss. We need to avoid locking up young people unless they are a danger to others. Functional Family Therapy focusing on the family. As well as the young person. To address underlying family issues that often cause delean quincy. Officials travel to the home and provide treatment in rural areas. Last year, nearly 700 young people were served through this treatment including 250 who were referred from outside the criminal justice system. Fewer young o offenders led to the closure last year of star academy. Instead, were making greater use of our Community Based facilities and providers and focusing more on rehaation. One aspect is is the issue of tr turnsy. The reform legislation changed the statute to allow schools to intervene with a citation earlier in the process, but some schools and counties felt the new law made it difficult for them to deal with these issues. The Oversight Council input from schools and will be b proposing legislature this year to give states attorneys greater flexible ility in handling true especiallisy cases. I support that change and we need to adjust as we learn more. Had tripled in recent years contributing to the backlog of evaluations and causing higher costs. In some cases. Mentally ill individuals had the wait in jail several months for their evalweighs to be completed. Thats not fair to the individual and creates an unnecessary jail expense for the county. They releaseded the report in novr. Among finding, it recognized our system lacks procedures to identify Mental Illness quickly after an arrest and in many cases, jails are not equipped to deal with Mental Health needs. In some cases, diversion opgs authorized are not available in all areas of the state. I will be supporting the tax rem dayses which take a multifacilitated approach to these problems. The legislation will provide tools to better respond to Mental Health crises and prevent unnecessary jail admissions and to assist communities to offer crisis intervention services. The bill will expand the pool of providers who can provide evaluations. And shift funding from the center to counties to perform counties to perform these evaluations. Much like our patterns and Oversight Council will monitor implementation and recommend changes to future legislatures. I thank the chiefs justice and Task Force Members for study in this difficult issue and for offering common sense proposals to improve our system and i thank the helmsly chart bable trust for h chartable trust for its financial support. Last year, chairman gave the first ever state of the tribes address in this chamber. It gave this body and state of south dakota the chance to hear about the challenges facinging independeian country from the perspective of an elected tribal leader. I look forward to thursdays 2017 state of the tribes address. From chairman robert of the yankton sioux tribe and i hope this continues as an annual tra dig. Relations between the tribes and the state made continued progress in 2016, thanks in large part to the efforts of steve emory and his staff. I mentioned a few moments ago, the success fful parole agreeme we have undertaken with the let me give you a few more examples. Last yee, the state reached new tax collection agreements with the creek tribes and we are in discussions with the lower brul sioux. These agreements generate tax revenue for the tribes and promote uniformity and fairness in taxation. If discussions are successful, we will have agreements with all nine tribes for the first time in south dakota history. We also extended our signed Tribal Gaming contracts last year with the in some, tribes have committed Financial Assistance to local governments. This, too, is something new. Fish and parks has partnered with the parks to improve management of shared natural resources. Game fish and park has hosted training sessions for tribal. Donny vegas staff. And provided equipment and staff for outdoor events. This year, gfp signed a memorandum of understanding to come rise. The department of education is working with to allow the commission to acrede it nontribal schools. On september 17th, we celebrated a new landmark, dignity. It is a 45foot tall stainless steel sculpture of a native American Woman receiving a star quilt. It was created by south dakota artist of rapid city donated the sculpture as a gift to honor the heritage of our nate people. National headlines often emphasize divisions, but see in dignity and recounting the progress made in tribal state rells this year reminds us that in south dakota, we have more in common than we sometimes realize and the important thing even where we may differ is to treat each other with dignity. This week, i will sign an executive order for your consideration to reorganize longterm Care Services within State Government. By creating a division of Longterm Services and supports within the department of Human Services. The purpose of the reorganize is to create a more integrated approach to the delivery of longterm care in south dakota. And to ensure that people get t services they need if their communities. Our state will experience changes in the coming years, which will require more Longterm Services and supports. In 2035, in 2035, its estimated the number of elders will increase in south dakota by 84 . Compared to 2010. Hopefully, i will still be around and among them. The member number of erlds with disabilities is expected to be 71 higher. Today, the department of Human Services assists those with developmental disabilities, who require longterm care and the department of social services provides that same distance to those who are ageing. We have two different departments providing a similar service. Combining these one department will insure people can access longterm care regardless of why they need it. The agency will redevelop efforts to provide care in homes or other environments less restrictive and expensive than nursing home placements. Last night in the budget address, i spoke about measure 22. Since then, that law has been enjoined due to institutional problems. Given that, i will support efforts this session to repeal measure 22 and replace it with provisions well crafted, institutional and respontive to the voters. They respect our Campaign Finance system to be transparent and honest and they expect lobbyists to only use their arguments to win our votes. The proliferation of complex measures crowding our ballots through the effort of people who dont live in south dakota is a concern to many. We need to find way to stop organizations from experiments with south dakotas laws. These groups have no ties to our states and often dont disclose the source of our funds. They are using our states low signature requirement and chief media markets to attempt to pass constitutional amendments that advance their national agendas, but dont address problems seen in south dakota. Ironic, south dakota was the first state in the nation to create the initiative and referendum. In 1898, voters adopted these features of our institution because of a fear that big money out of state special interests would take over the state legislature. Now, 120 years later, we find big out of state money is taking over our ballot. They use the initiative process, the very process we created to protect ourselves from them. This session, we need to Work Together to find a way to protect our state from interference by out of state groups. While preserving our citizens access to direct democracy, so issues that do concern our grass roots can be raised burke not by people who dont even live here. Im introducing a bill this year to provide property tax incentives on agricultural property. Last year, you overwhelmingly passed a similar bill and i believe the new bill overcomes these concerns and the legislation i am proposing has received positive support from groups, governments, sports men and the agland associate task force. I hope you will as well. Another important way is through our excellent state park system. In 2016, more people camped in south dakota state parks than ever before. Our parks hosted over 329,000 nights of camping. Up 4 from 2015 when the 75th Sturgis Rally and 50th buffalo round up were held. Camping numbers have been increase r every year for more than a decade. Progress continues at good earth state park, construction at the Visitors Center is progressing. The new roadways into the park and marking area are complete. The Visitors Center films are also underway. Outside native grasses have been sewn. A grand opening is scheduled for may. We also continue to pursue efforts to create a state park in spear fitch canyon. Currently held by school and public lands and 43 acres within spear fish canyon. The exchange is a good deal for south dakota. It gives the state control of a beautiful area. It also will increase annual earnings for the school and Public Lands Fund to benefit our k 12 schools. I know there is some concern in the spear fish area about the lopg term plans for the site, so game fish and plans have been meeting with local groups to discuss next steps and will be Holding Public information meet the press ings to gather feedback. We want public input before final decisions are made about management of the land, including potential fee areas or infrastructure improvements. Just down the road from the canyon is another significant state investment, the Sanford Underground Research facility at the former home state gold mine. Progress continues at the lab on the deep underground dune. This will fire a through the earth through heenlg underground detectors at the lab. 30 county tris and 161 institutions are now involved. It is 85 complete and on track to be finished this september. Last year, the project received early approval. In 2017, the lab will begin building a conveyor testimony to remove rock as massive detector chambers are created underground in 2019. Although funding is always contingent on the federal budget, our States Investment in the facility, as well as the continued support of our congressional delegation, have put us in an unprecedented position to succeed. Thats easy for you to say. Before i close today, i want to give tribute to something of which we can all be proud. The role the National Guard plays in defending our nation and responding to emergencies here at home. You know, sometimes, theyre recognized at the National Level and we dont fully appreciate it back here at home. Since 9 11, the south dakota National Guard has deployed more than 7,800 soldiers and airmen. In 2016, more than 370 soldiers from five south dakota units supported overseas contingency operations. The 155th engineer company, the 196th maneuver enhancement brigade. The 114th fighter wing and detachment 48. All served abroad last year in afghanistan, kuwait and poland. The soldiers and airmen of the south dakota National Guard have been recognized time and again for their excellence. Our National Guard ranks number one in the nation for attrition loss rate, two in security compliance, three for timelyness in soldier evaluations and number five for personal readness and soldier management. They were presented with a first place gold finish in the 2016 Army Community of excellence apards and for the third yecone consecutive year, the bah tall onwas awarded the top overall sized unit in the nation and winner of the record trophy. In 2016, the 114 fighter wing likewise was designated a distinguished flying unit as one of the five best in the nation. We have good reason to be proud of our soldiers and airmen. Please join me in a round of applause to thank them for their efforts. [ applause ] next week, donald trump will be sworn in as the 45th president of the united states. Many of us were brace r for four more years of the status quo in washington, d. C. And i look forward to an administration that respects limited government, is committed to reigning in the federal bureaucracy and understands the role of the states in a federal system. Both the Trump Administration and lead eers in congress have been reaching out to the states asking for ways to roll back regulation and return flexibility to the states. Last year, i explained how it works for native americans who are also eligible for services from the Indian Health service. When a person is on medicaid gets their health care from Indian Health services, the federal government covers 100 of the cost, but when the same person who is medicaid eligible and Indian Health services eligible, cant get here, maybe they dont live close to an Indian Health Service Facility or perhaps, ihs cant provide the type of Specialty Care the person needs. In that case, the federal government covers only about half of the bill. Not 100 . The federal government needs to live up to its obligation and pay for it no matter where services are provided. We saw federal policy change last year that moves in that direction, but it didnt go far enough. It requires nonihs and other Health Care Provider to jump through several hoops and without medicaid expansion, theres no way to get them to do that. The good new ss that the Trump Administration and Republican Congress are both interested in reforming medicaid to correct issues with the program. Ive met with our congressional delegation to discuss this. And ill be in washington to discus medicas medicaid reform e Senate Committee next week again. Theres also a strong possibility that medicaid Reform Efforts could change medicaid to a per capita or block grantal kai and i will advocate for an al kags to our state and for the funding issue to be resolved. If states are going to be asked to assume the risk, control costs and improve care. In closing today, i want to say a few words to the ag community. Its been a tough couple of years. The state is seeing that, but our farmers and raranchers feel impact every day. I remember in high school when our family farm went upside down. We had to auction our livestock and equipment and it was hard day for our parents who took jobs as janitors to make ends meet. Farmers and rampbl nchers are repeatedly faced with difficulty. But our sector has for more than 100 years despite the risks and despite bad circumstances and we have reason for continued hope. South dakotas farm and ranch families are resilient. They work hard and are dedica dedicated. When times are tough, they get tougher. They persist and get up every day to put food on their tables and ours. We saw that last summer, that same persistence, following the cottonwood fire. After the loss of 285 head of cattle and 250 miles of fence line, we saw neighbor helping neighbor. When disaster hit, the community truly rallied around the families affected. Neighbors pitched in to ensure those who lost pasture and hay had feed for their livestock. 125,000 was raised to help families impacted by the fire. Whether its flood, blizzard, fire, or wind storm, south dakotans always pull together when disaster strikes. Over labor day weekend, springfield was hit by a severe storm with strait line wins of 100 miles per hour. Destroyed six homes, damaged others. According to early news reports, 70 people were displaced by the storm and the county emergency manager called the state department of Public Safety to say the town might need state crews to assist with the response. What followed wasnt surprising. Of the 70 people without a place to stay, only 2 used the red cross shelter. The rest found refuge with relatives and friends and then the emergency manager called us back. They didnt need the state crews after all, because more than 500 volunteers appeared to assist the community in cleanup efforts. [ applause ] on Christmas Day when our state was hit with a severe winter storm and many lost power, south dakotaens came together once again. He kept the generator fueled and checked on his neighbor the entire week. Another man when electricians learned of an elderly woman using a wood burning stove, gave her wood and then made hot meals for line crews. A man was snowed in by a 15 foot drift in front of his door. He climbed out of his bedroom window to get to work, restoring power. These stories demonstrate why south dakota is a great place to live. When disaster strikes, we dont wait for the government to arrive. We get to work, help ourselves and help our neighbors too. We have so much to be proud of in south dakota. Our outstanding business climate, low taxes, clean air, beautiful scenery, safe communities. They all set us apart and more people are discovering our high quality of life. Just last week, in fact, a report by united ban lines, highest rate of inbound moves in the country. We have much to be proud of in south dakota. But you know, as much as im proud of south dakota, im most proud of south dakotans. Your care and confidence give me great confidence in our future. I do believe our best days are yet ahead. Thank you so much. [ applause ] the nebraska governor called for property and income tax reform during his state of the state address in lincoln. Governor ricketts outlined his priorities for the state including investments in k12 education. Thank you. President foley, speaker