Action Alert! SB 211 Weasel Clause
The "weasel clause" protects employers and the Governor's special interests.
This week, the Governor Noem’s bill, SB 211, was filed and the Mandate Free SD team has given it a thorough analysis. As indicated in last week’s post, there are several issues that we will write about later, but the most glaring problem is Section 2, subsection (5)—the “weasel clause.”
Here is what it says: “This act does not… require an employer to make an accommodation that would impose an undue hardship on the employer.”
What exactly, a freedom loving South Dakotan might ask, is an "undue hardship"? Great question. No doubt plenty of mandate-happy employers have their weasel excuses already written, explaining why their so-called hardship is more important than their employees' religion or their freedom to make their own medical decisions. And that, my friends, is a mandate-happy weasel clause you can drive a bus through.
There you have it. The bill sounds good on the first page and then those two lines crush it all. Clearly, this was vetted by the SD Chamber of Commerce, the medical community (likely negotiated by one of the Governor’s closest advisors and lobbyists for Sanford, Matt McCaulley) and everyone else with a special interest except for the people who need it the most. It is a stark contrast to governors around the country like DeSantis, Abbot, Stitt, and Reynolds among many others who are out fighting for their citizens first and foremost and state legislators that are passing solid laws to protect freedom. Governor Noem can and should do better for SD citizens. This amendment is one step closer to a bill Mandate Free SD can support.
ACTION ALERT!
This bill will be heard in the Senate Commerce and Energy Committee next Tuesday, Feb. 12. Email the senators individually on the committee this weekend. Ask them to amend the bill and strike this clause from the bill.
Sen. Casey Crabtree Casey.Crabtree@sdlegislature.gov
Sen. Red Dawn Foster RedDawn.Foster@sdlegislature.gov
Sen. Al Novstrup Al.Novstrup@sdlegislature.gov
Sen. Lee Schoenbeck Lee.Schoenbeck@sdlegislature.gov
Sen. Jim Stalzer Jim.Stalzer@sdlegislature.gov
Sen. Wayne Steinhauer Wayne.Steinhauer@sdlegislature.gov
Sen. Erin Tobin Erin.Tobin@sdlegislature.gov
Sen. David Wheeler David.Wheeler@sdlegislature.gov
Sen. Larry Zikmund Larry.Zikmund@sdlegislature.gov
Email the Governor this weekend and ask that the bill be amended to strike the clause immediately in the Senate Commerce and Energy Committee hearing on Tuesday.
Attend a Cracker Barrel or Legislative Coffee in your district. Point this out to your legislators. Ask them to amend the bill.
Inform others. Share this post and write a letter to the editor of your local paper.