Legislators discuss Lincoln Hall, recreational marijuana at Saturday's cracker barrel

Legislators discussed a variety of topics, including a bill that will result in the demolition of Lincoln Hall at Northern State University during Saturday’s legislative cracker barrel at the Barnett Center on Northern’s campus.

Senate Bill 44 was passed by both houses, meaning it is now only awaiting the governor’s signature. During the cracker barrel, District 3 Rep. Drew Dennert, R-Aberdeen, thanked Northern President Neal Schnoor for his work in helping to get the bill passed.

“He really did an awesome job of coming out and telling our story — of telling Aberdeen’s story, of telling Northern’s story, why this is needed and why everyone should vote for it,” said Dennert.

Dennert also commended District 2 Rep. Kaleb Weis, R-Aberdeen, and District 3 Rep. Carl Perry, R-Aberdeen, who both have seatmates that typically vote against such measures, said Dennert. Weis and Dennert added that District 3 Sen. Al Novstrup, R-Aberdeen, and District 2 Rep. Lana Greenfield, R-Doland, helped to talk to people who were on the fence about the project.

District 23 Rep. Spencer Gosch, R-Glenham, said that some people voted no because of the history associated with Lincoln Hall. But the project will help the community, he said. For example, because the new building will house Northern’s nursing program, the project will to keep nurses in the region.

Legislators disagree on critical race theory

Some of the legislators disagreed during a discussion about critical race theory.

Duane Alm, who is a member of the Aberdeen School Board, asked legislatures to comment on House Bill 1337, which is commonly associated with critical race theory. It would prevent the “promotion of divisive topics” within elementary and secondary schools. The School Board Association and the Aberdeen School Board oppose the bill, said Alm.

The bill was killed in the Senate Education Committee. But it could be smoked out on Monday, said Alm, referring to a process when dead bills are brought back for another vote.

“In general, critical race theory is a cancer as far as I’m concerned,” said District 2 Sen. Brock Greenfield, R-Clark, saying that the curriculum is damaging to youth and future generations. Greenfield added that he does not want to “tread on” local control but that a line needs to be drawn.

“I believe it’s damaging to teach this kind of — what I consider to be — hate and contempt for our people,” said Sen. Greenfield.

But critical race theory can mean different things to different people, said Perry. The bill indicates eight things that schools should not teach, said Perry, who proceeded to go over several of the bill’s points. One of those includes teaching that one race is superior to another. A second point says that schools cannot teach to students that individuals can be discriminated against, said Perry, and encouraged people to ensure that they understand the bill.

But K-12 schools are not teaching that in the first place, said District 1 Rep. Jennifer Keitz, D-Eden, who added that although she is not in the senate, she has voted against similar bills several times.

“It’s pure political theater to bring this up,” said Keitz. The bill is only dividing people further and should not exist in the first place, she said.

Why wasn't recreational marijuana legalized?

At the end of the cracker barrel, Aberdeen resident Colin Campbell asked a question about marijuana. Campbell formerly was a resident of Washington state and Colorado, where medical marijuana has been legalized. Recreational marijuana was recently voted against, and Campbell asked the legislators to talk about why they voted the way they did.

“I’m asking you: how can you vote against the people of the state of South Dakota that vote for something? This is unbelievable to me,” he said.

Weis said that he believes many people were not aware that they were voting to legalize recreational marijuana in addition to medical marijuana when they voted “yes” on Constitutional Amendment A. That amendment legalized recreational marijuana and required the South Dakota Legislature to pass laws providing for medical marijuana by April.

Weis said that he believes that another bill concerning recreational marijuana will be created within the next year. And if that passes, he will work on creating good legislation for recreational marijuana, he said.

More: Marijuana reform in South Dakota crawls ahead as legalization efforts come up short

Rep. Greenfield added that people have a right to know how their representatives and senators voted. She said she represents Clark, Hamlin, Spink and Brown County and that, in each of those counties, a majority of residents voted “no” for recreational marijuana. The only exception is the city of Aberdeen, where 55% of people voted in favor.

Legislators are working on easement language

A question was texted in about the carbon capture pipeline, with the person asking what the legislators are doing after Summit Carbon Solutions filed an application for a permit with the Public Utilities Commission.

Gosch said he had a bill that would define what a commodity pipeline is, as South Dakota is currently one of the only states without a definition. It refers to it as a pipeline containing oil or other agricultural products. In some states, a carbon dioxide pipeline would be defined as a waste pipeline, which would prevent the company from being able to gain eminent domain rights. That bill initially failed in the House, he said.

District 23 Sen. Bryan Breitling, R-Miller, said he’s worked on legislation concerning easement language. The legislation tries to provide flexibility for landowners when it comes to easement restrictions, he said. Breitling said his focus for this year is bringing attention to the topic and ensuring that people understand exactly what a carbon dioxide pipeline is.

“I think we’ve done a pretty good job on both the House side as well as on the Senate side, to bring attention to the pipeline, to bring attention to this new industry in South Dakota, and how that worked for us,” said Breitling.

Sen. Greenfield announced that he will be running for the South Dakota School and Public Lands, ending his 22 years in the legislature.

This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Legislators discuss Lincoln Hall, marijuana at Aberdeen cracker barrel