skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Coalition Launches Campaign to Defeat Initiated Measure 10

play audio
Play

Friday, September 19, 2008   

Pierre, SD – A state ballot issue that would prohibit government workers at all levels from donating money for lobbying purposes is being met with stiff resistance from a broad coalition of more than 50 organizations and individuals, including the South Dakota State Employees Organization. Executive Director Corey Landeen says Initiated Measure 10 is a gag law that would strip thousands of South Dakotans of their right to free speech.

"State employees are concerned with Initiated Measure 10 because it prevents their employer from deducting voluntary payroll deductions from their paychecks. These aren't taxpayer dollars, they are the employees' earned wages. The state gives the employees the opportunity to have voluntary deductions withheld from their paycheck. Initiated Measure 10 is attempting to dictate what those contributions can be."

Proponents say Initiated Measure 10 brings transparency to government, but Landeen disagrees, saying it may sound good in principle, but the real impact is to suppress political free speech.

"The 'No on Initiated Measure 10' committee came about out of necessity. Here you have a group of people going around asking people if they're for open and clean government. I think most people are going to agree that's a good thing and it's what we all want. But when you read the fine print of Initiated Measure 10 you find out that this measure will have far-reaching unintended consequences that will hurt all of South Dakota."

Landeen is hopeful South Dakota voters will take time to educate themselves about the ballot issue. The coalition opposed to Initiated Measure 10 represents a broad array of groups, including the South Dakota State Chamber of Commerce, AFL-CIO, State Bar Association, South Dakota Municipal League and both the Republican and Democratic parties.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …


Organizations fighting wage theft said it harms affected workers and surrounding communities because the money withheld is not being circulated through the local economy. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Environment

play sound

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops. Excess nitrates can wind up …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021