January 9, 2019

Mills Won't Return Mural To Labor Department Lobby

Gov. Janet Mills has decided that a controversial mural depicting the state’s labor history should stay in the Maine State Museum and not be returned to the Department of Labor building.

Not long after he took office, former Republican Gov. Paul LePage ordered the 11-panel, 7-foot-tall mural removed from the Labor Department lobby. He said it presented a one-sided view of history that bowed to organized labor and overlooked the contributions of entrepreneurs responsible for creating jobs.

Several Mainers filed a lawsuit claiming the removal violated the mural artist’s First Amendment rights. A federal appeals court upheld a lower court ruling that LePage was within his rights to remove the work of art.

The mural was put in storage and, after about two years, made its way to the Maine State Museum.

Read more: http://www.mainepublic.org/post/mills-won-t-return-mural-labor-department-lobby


Four panels of the labor mural removed from the Department of Labor offices by Gov. Paul LePage, seen in Jan. 2012.
SUSAN SHARON / MAINE PUBLIC FILE

January 9, 2019

South Dakota Legislators Enjoy 90% Raise

When the Legislature’s Executive Board drafted its plan to raise legislator pay and peg it to one fifth of median household income, we estimated that would raise their pay from $6,000 to $10,191 a year. 58 legislators who voted for that pay raise (see the final House and Senate roll calls on 2018 HB 1311) got a pleasant surprise last week: James Nord reports that, instead of $4,200, their bump will be just about $5,400:

That’s a great boost for Senate Pro-Tem Brock Greenfield, who says he’s been part=timing other jobs since he got out of college and took up legislating:



Read more: http://dakotafreepress.com/2019/01/07/south-dakota-legislators-enjoy-90-raise/

January 9, 2019

Treasurer's Legislative Liaison Kyle Peters Right Man to Testify on Nepotism in State Government

Senate Bill 39, Senator Stace Nelson’s anti-nepotism bill, is a great idea. Alas, it doesn’t declare an emergency, and it gives Kristi Noem and her cabal until July 1 to hire all the children, stepchildren, siblings, parents, and in-laws they can before SB 39 would kick in.

Of course, before we pass any bill, we should get some solid data on just how pervasive is the problem the bill seeks to solve. Let’s get some testimony on how many paychecks the state writes to kin of other state employees. Get someone from the treasurer’s office, someone new who can offer a fresh look at the data, someone like…

Kyle Peters! He’s Treasurer Josh Haeder’s new finance officer and Legislative liaison, so he’s the guy we’d expect to come talk to Legislative committees about such matters. Fresh from his private-sector job at Plains Commerce Bank in Mitchell, Peters surely has little tolerance for government backroom back-scratching. Peters grew up on a farm and he likes lifting weights, so he’s clearly cut-out for the hard work of exposing nepotism and other corruption in state government.

But let’s keep those committee hearings brief. We don’t want to cut into the time Peters likes spending (according to his cached bio at Plains Commerce Bank) with “his significant other, Kassidy.”

Read more: http://dakotafreepress.com/2019/01/08/treasurers-legislative-liaison-kyle-peters-right-man-to-testify-on-nepotism-in-state-government/

The significant other, Kassidy, is Gov. Kristi Noem's daughter. Meanwhile, Kyle Peters gets a $53,000 per year state job because of his connections.

January 8, 2019

Supreme Court to decide whether retired Rapid City police officer can collect benefits from same-sex

Supreme Court to decide whether retired Rapid City police officer can collect benefits from same-sex spouse

PIERRE | After hearing oral arguments Tuesday, the South Dakota Supreme Court is set to decide whether a former Rapid City police officer is allowed to collect the survivor benefits of her late wife, whom she married soon after same-sex marriage became legal but after her spouse retired from the police force.

The lawyer representing the retired officer argued that the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage is retroactive and the couple would have been married at the time of retirement if the state allowed it. But a lawyer for the South Dakota Retirement System said a court can’t retroactively create a marriage.

Debra Anderson, 64, worked as an officer with Rapid City Police Department for 25 years, according to a brief submitted by James Leach, her lawyer. Anderson met her wife, Deborah Cady, in 1986 and they lived together and considered themselves a married couple from 1988 until Cady’s death in 2017.

Anderson as well as the current and former chiefs of the police department previously testified that they were treated as a married couple by the police force, according to the brief.

Read more: https://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/supreme-court-to-decide-whether-retired-rapid-city-police-officer/article_940d5c14-35a8-5490-8f8d-29acc551516d.html

January 8, 2019

Bismarck lawmaker brings bill to reform North Dakota civil asset forfeiture

Aaron Dorn has a new car.

He recently bought a 1995 Toyota Avalon. But it's not what he previously had as a traveling antique vendor based out of upstate New York.

"Without a truck, I can't really do anything," Dorn said.

Dorn forfeited his 2003 Chevrolet Silverado last summer, when a judge ruled his truck was used to commit a crime during a protest of the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016 in Mandan.

"That really set me back quite a bit," Dorn said.

Read more: https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/bismarck-lawmaker-brings-bill-to-reform-north-dakota-civil-asset/article_13b2678a-dfdf-5b41-97d6-79d5fb926f50.html

Although the bill is introduced by a Republican, it is a bill that should be supported in a bipartisan effort because there is an abuse of power.

January 8, 2019

Central North Dakota wind farm permits denied

BISMARCK — The Burleigh County Commission voted 4-1 Monday, Jan. 7, to deny special use permits in Morton Township for the proposed Burleigh-Emmons Wind Farm, as recommended by the county planning and zoning board.

Prior to the vote, the commission considered sending the matter back to planning and zoning, as requested by Pure New Energy USA, the company proposing to develop the 70-turbine wind farm in southern Burleigh and northern Emmons counties.

“I think this has gone on long enough … I just don’t feel comfortable sending it back and creating more workload for our people,” said Commissioner Kathleen Jones.

Courtney Timmons, PNE's director of business development, said he’s “very disappointed” with the decision.

Read more: https://www.inforum.com/business/energy-and-mining/948345-Central-North-Dakota-wind-farm-permits-denied

January 8, 2019

Chairman of ND tax committee eyes income tax elimination with Legacy Fund as source of lost revenue

BISMARCK — A North Dakota lawmaker plans to introduce legislation to effectively eliminate state income taxes and use earnings from the voter-approved Legacy Fund to replace the lost revenue.

Republican Rep. Craig Headland, who chairs the House Finance and Taxation Committee, said Monday, Jan. 7, his proposal wouldn’t immediately eliminate individual and corporate income taxes but would gradually reduce them as additional Legacy Fund earnings come in. He plans to introduce the bill this week.

Headland said the legislation helps meet the intended purpose of the Legacy Fund by sharing “some of the state’s excess wealth with taxpayers.” He said it could also boost the state’s economy by serving as a workforce recruitment tool.

“The concept is fairly simple: Use those earnings to replace the income tax, reduce everybody’s tax burden,” Headland said. “That way everybody is sharing in the legacy.”

Read more: https://www.inforum.com/news/government-and-politics/947542-Chairman-of-ND-tax-committee-eyes-income-tax-elimination-with-Legacy-Fund-as-source-of-lost-revenue

January 8, 2019

Bill would give universities access to Bank of North Dakota funds

BISMARCK -- Higher education officials are asking the state Legislature to consider allowing higher education institutions to use a loan program through the Bank of North Dakota to help reduce deferred maintenance costs.

Senate Bill 2116 would allow institutions under the control of the State Board of Higher Education to become a part of the Bank of North Dakota’s infrastructure revolving loan fund.

The fund currently allows political subdivisions to apply for low-interest loans of up to $15 million for essential infrastructure projects dealing with water treatment plants, wastewater treatment plants, sewer and water lines, as well as storm water and transportation infrastructure such as curb and gutter construction.

The loans can be given out by the BND for up to 30 years at a 2 percent interest rate.

Read more: https://www.inforum.com/news/government-and-politics/947687-Bill-would-give-universities-access-to-Bank-of-North-Dakota-funds

January 8, 2019

Over 200,000 gallons of water flood grounds of historic Bonanzaville; vandalism blamed

WEST FARGO — An apparent act of vandalism caused more than 200,000 gallons of water to flood the ground and possibly foundations of at least three historic Cass County buildings at Bonanzaville.

"I've been here nearly five years, and we’ve never, ever had any vandalism," Bonanzaville Executive Director Brenda Warren said Monday, Jan. 7. "I just can't imagine who would want to purposely destroy precious artifacts and historic buildings. It’s heartbreaking."

Warren said Special Events Coordinator Melissa Warren discovered massive amounts of frozen water around the South Pleasant Church on Sunday, Jan. 6, after an event held in the Cass County Historical Society’s event center. Melissa Warren heard running water and found water flowing from two outdoor spigots at the church on the east side of Bonanzaville.

“It was definitely deliberate,” Brenda Warren said. “It was clear they were not just accidentally turned on.”

Read more: https://www.inforum.com/news/947704-Over-200000-gallons-of-water-flood-grounds-of-historic-Bonanzaville-vandalism-blamed

January 8, 2019

Anti-nepotism bill introduced in South Dakota after governor appoints daughter to staff

PIERRE, S.D. -- Three South Dakota lawmakers have introduced a bill hoping to prevent state officials from employing family members to the state.

Senate Bill 39 was introduced Sunday, Jan. 6. If passed, it would bar state employees from hiring or appointing their "parent by birth or adoption, spouse, son or daughter by birth or adoption, stepchild, brother or sister by whole or half blood or by adoption, brother-in-law or sister-in-law, or son-in-law or daughter-in-law" to a state employment position that would report to them.

The bill comes after Republican Gov. Kristi Noem in December appointed her daughter Kennedy Noem to her staff to work as a policy analyst. Kennedy Noem graduated in fall 2018 from South Dakota State University with a degree in political science and earns a salary of $50,000 in her role.

If the bill passes and a relative as defined by SB 39 is hired and paid, three times the amount of that relative's compensation would be deducted from the violating state official's pay.

Read more: https://www.inforum.com/news/government-and-politics/947352-Anti-nepotism-bill-introduced-in-South-Dakota-after-governor-appoints-daughter-to-staff