Legislature Notes: Lange & Kloucek Advocate Income Tax Repeal...

Yes, you read that right. That and more excitement from the South Dakota State Legislature:

• South Dakota has an income tax... but maybe not for long! My neighbor Rep. Gerry Lange wants to repeal South Dakota's income tax on banks and financial corporations. To that end, he and Senator Kloucek have floated HB 1123. They also want to repeal insurance taxes with HB 1124. I think Gerry's messing with us....
  
• Thank you, Reps. Bernie Hunhoff, Marc Feinstein, and Larry Lucas for voting against HB 1095, Senator Russell Olson's silly bill to allow economic development corporations to play bingo. Unfortunately, 10 reps voted yesterday to move this bill forward to the full House.
• Bigger thanks to the House Judiciary Committee, which gave a 41st-day thumping to HB 1068, Rep. Verchio's ill-conceived bill to cap medical malpractice awards at $100,000.
• HB 1133 would ban kids with learners' permits from using cell phones while driving. Funny: we don't apply DUI penalties only to teenagers... but it's o.k. to let adults choose to drive while texting and sextuple their risk of a wreck? I move to amend!
• HB 1135: Some of our legislators don't want a Constitutional Convention. Call off the Tea Party....
• HB 1140 bans red-light cameras and photo radar for law enforcement! Back to the beat, copper!