The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1923-01-25
Fail to Repeal Expense Bill
Before Recess; Few New
Bills Introduced; Con-
vene Again Friday.
BY 5. Travis, Special Correspondent

BY :. Travis, Special Correspondent
to the Register.
While the legislature is in official
recess until Friday evening of the 26th,
unofficially members left for home with
an understanding that they would not
miss anything of Importance if they
did not get back before the Monday
sessions. In fact all measures which
went over were to Monday, and The
work will start hen to grind through
to the second Of March, as the closing
day, but this is another fiction, and it
is generally the gray morning OF the
3rd that the last adjournment is taken.
The report of the budget board GER
tainly Toes not show any decrease in
expenditures for the next W years.
A t the session of two years ago., all
pleas Of the various state educational
and penal institutions that they must
of necessity have extensions went by
the board on economy pleas, and now
with a four year period with no build
ings, and very few for six years, the
natural growth of the state has been
SuCll lllOl tECls III VI llltli 10 lLioioG
emily demanding relief, and the budget
board after an Investigation OF each
of the institutions to learn their actual
conditions, has made recommendations
which will carry the biennial appropri
ations practically two million dollars
beyond those of two years age. II
there had been a start two years ago,
the appropriations would have had a
-four yedr spread instead of two, but
that is water which has gone over the
dam, and the needs Of today are being
asked by the institutions and the bud
get board. Just what the Legislature
will do with the recommendations is
an open question, and one which will
have to be developed by the a%ppropria-
tion bills which will : ne III after the
recess, and which have been held back
pending the report.
Up to the recess date, the number
of new bills which had been presented
to the two houses was less than half
Of the number for the same compare
tive date two years ago and while the
appropriation bills will run up the num-
Der the general intent appears to be to
hold down the bills and new laws at
this session. The general plan under
the old system was to rush in approprl-
alton bills early in the session and at
tempt TO get action on them, but this
has been reversed by thee reatlon OF
the budget board, and the only ap-
preparation bill which has gone through
to the present date was the one which
carried the appropriation for the leg
islative expenses.
The hail insurance law will no doubt
get consideration soon after the re-
cess. on one of the several bills which
have been introduced to change the
provisions of this law, most of which
attempt to make the law elective in
stead of compulsory. In relation 20
this Insurance, Commissioner Van
Camp takes the position that if Such a
change is contemplated or likely to be
carried out, the law had better be re-
pealed, as all elective laws along that
line have proven failures. Oklahoma
tried it and failed, and is now asking
for the South Dakota law, which Mr..
Van Camp a y is the only one which
has ever worked successfully in this
country. His position is that the half
million dollar reserve now in the fund
would soon peter out" under an elect
i've system, and the only way left to
pay the claims in case of loss would be
by general appropriation. That the
farmers of the state have been paid
three and a half million dollars on
losses since the law went into effect
many Of these payments being the only
thing which stood for success or fail
ure where the farmer lost his crop by
hail. That this money not only helped
the farmer by the community in which
he lived. His view is that the law
should remain as it is so far as the
compulsory provision is concerned, or
should be repealed entirely and allow
the hail business to be carried as be
fore the law was enacted, by private
companies on a truly elective basis sc
far as the farmer is concerned and the
rate double the present II by the
state.
About the only sensation" which
has been spring in either house as yet
was the discussion Of Senate Bill No
l, the bill to repeal the law allowin
legislative members expense accounts
This was discussed more or less dur
ing the campaign, and many members
came to the session announcing tna'
they would vote for the repeal OF this
act. But that vas before they had
checked up on expense accounts, ant
when the bill came out for action IN
the senate, it was first amended to In
clude expense accounts OF all state
officers as we'll as legislative, and wa:
made an emergency bill, on the ground
that if there Is to be any wiping ou'