The official ballot description of Initiated Measure 10 authored by the Secretary of State reads as follows: “An initiative to prohibit tax revenues from being used for lobbying or campaigning, to prohibit governmental bodies from lobbying, to prohibit government contractors from making campaign contributions, to prohibit government contracts when the contractor employs a legislator or legislative staff member, and to require contracts with government contractors to be published.”
https://apps.sd.gov/applications/st25cers/virtual/01004.pdf
Dena Espenscheid, Sioux Falls, southeastern regional coordinator for the YES on 10 campaign, speaking before the annual meeting of the South Dakota Municipal League at the Ramkota Hotel in Pierre, told city officials that "during a time when you're complaining about tightening budgets, the dirty little secret none of you want the people back home to know is that every one of you, every year, uses your constituents' tax dollars to support lobbying groups in Pierre and Washington that between them have a history of using our tax dollars to lobby against tax cuts, against our 2nd Amendment rights, and against our private property rights."
She noted that over 300 of South Dakota's cities are members of the Municipal League, using tax dollars annually to pay those dues. In turn, the Municipal League, plus the individual cities of Brookings, Ft. Pierre, Rapid City, and Watertown, are dues-paying members of the National League of Cities, all using tax dollars to pay their dues.
The tax-funded Municipal League campaigned against a ballot measure that would have removed the sales tax on food, a burden to many low-income families and senior citizens.
The NLC is on record lobbying in favor of gun control legislation and lobbied against a bill cosponsored by Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D. to prevent county officials from condemning farm and ranch and other private property to make way for private development projects that would generate higher property tax revenues for counties.
Tax-funded Municipal League campaigned
against ballot vote to repeal sales tax on food
- In 2004, the tax-funded South Dakota Municipal League campaigned against a ballot measure to repeal the sales tax on food. "A ballot initiative is currently being circulated to completely repeal the sales tax on food. This would cost the state’s municipalities $18 million, and the state $42 million in revenue each year. The South Dakota Municipal League (SDML) opposes the measure to eliminate the sales tax on food and has gone on record to take any steps possible to defeat it."
Tax-funded National League of Cities
lobbies Congress in favor of gun control
Last November, NLC adopted its Congressional lobbying agenda in Resolution 2008-49, which stated: "The National League of Cities calls upon the United States Congress and Administration to assist municipalities across the nation in combating crime by taking the following actions: ...reinstate the ban on semi-automatic assault type weapon sales to civilians." http://www.nlc.org/ASSETS/141A038B920A40FF8D56D35E01AB4271/PSCP%20Resolutions.pdf
The National Rifle Association opposes such a ban, stating: "In America, the burden of proof is not upon those who wish to exercise rights, it is upon those who wish to restrict rights, and there is no evidence that an 'assault weapon' ban reduces crime. An irrational bias against guns, mixed with an assumed sense of intellectual, social or cultural superiority to gun owners, may seem to gun control supporters like sufficient grounds to ban firearms, but such notions are insufficient in a democracy." http://www.clintongunban.com/FactSheets.aspx?i=238
Tax-funded National League of Cities lobbied
against Herseth Sandlin bill to protect property rights
* Rep. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin, D-S.D., cosponsored House Resolution 4128, the Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2005, a bill to prevent city and county officials from condemning private property to make way for more property tax-lucrative private and commercial development projects. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h109-4128
But the National League of Cities -- funded by the local property tax dollars paid by South Dakotans --lobbied against Rep. Herseth Sandlin’s legislation.
YES on 10: it's wrong to use tax
dollars to lobby either side of issues
Espenscheid said, "As a matter of principle, it's wrong to spend tax dollars for lobbying either side of such issues, but all the more so that city officials spend our tax dollars to fund groups who lobby against legislation cosponsored by South Dakota's Congresswoman to protect South Dakota values and our private property rights."
Espenscheid and corporate lobbyist Steve Willard debated Measure 10 Thursday during city officials' annual meeting.
Espenscheid said worried opponents of the measure are financially threatened by the proposal and between them will spend at least $1 million to fight it, with at least some of that money being spent by tax-funded groups such as the Municipal League.
She challenged Willard to immediately disclose the source of nearly $800,000 in television ads the opposition has already purchased, according to TV stations in the state.
"We challenge the tax-funded Municipal League and the other politicians, lobbyists, and government contractors who oppose Measure 10 out of financial self-interest to join YES on 10 in reporting campaign contributions on a weekly basis, starting immediately, so voters can see just how much of our tax dollars the opponents of Measure 10 are laundering to fund their big lie campaign to deceive South Dakota voters," Espenscheid said.
"The YES on 10 campaign also promises the taxpayers of our state that we will not spend one penny of their tax dollars on our campaign," she said. "We challenge the tax-funded opponents of Measure 10 to make the same public pledge, including refunding any money they've already received from individuals or organizations who are funded by tax dollars or who hold taxpayer-financed government contracts."
She said the NO on 10 campaign is comprised entirely of organizations that are either tax-funded or represent tax-financed government contractors.
* Taxpayer-funded lobbying organizations such as the Municipal League that are funded by local government officials who use tax dollars to pay their membership dues, a practice Measure 10 would prohibit.
* Lobbying organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce which represent holders of taxpayer-financed government contracts, who would be prohibited by Measure 10 from making campaign contributions or job offers to state and local politicians responsible for awarding their contracts, a practice already prohibited by federal law for federal government contractors.
* Lobbying organizations such as AFL-CIO and NEA affiliate public employee labor unions whose collective bargaining contracts require government employers to spend tax dollars to collect union dues and transfer those dues to union officials, a practice that would be prohibited by Measure 10.
* Lobbying and political organizations which represent politicians who can currently accept campaign contributions and job offers from government contractors, a practice already prohibited by federal law for federal elected officials, which Measure 10 would also prohibit for state and local candidates.
Espenscheid said each and every organization opposing Measure 10 "has a vested financial interest that's threatened by the proposal. They all want to keep their tax dollars gravy train rolling, all at taxpayers' expense."
"South Dakotans will vote YES on Measure 10 because they overwhelmingly agree it's wrong for politicians to use tax dollars for lobbying or political campaigns, and wrong that government contractors are allowed to financially reward state and local politicians who award their contracts," she said.
Espenscheid said Measure 10 supporters are simply asking state and local officials to abide by the same rules that already apply to federal elected officials and federal government contractors.
They're also following the example of Gov. Sarah Palin, she said, who took on the political establishment in Alaska -- including her own party -- to end no-bid government contracting by oil companies and require state government contracts to be published on the Internet.
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