Legislative docket includes education, marijuana, & gambling bills

By Michael Pauly
Executive Director S.D. Catholic Conference

The 2024 session of the legislature opened on January 10 and will conclude on March 7. Here are some of the critical issues the South Dakota Catholic Conference will be following.

Educational choice: The Catholic Conference is supporting SB 72, a bill to expand the “partners in education tax credit program.” This program has helped thousands of students afford tuition at non-public schools in South Dakota. The current funding for the program is capped at $3.5 million, but SB 72 would increase that to $5 million.

The Second Vatican Council, in its Declaration on Christian Education, stated, “Parents who have the primary and inalienable right and duty to educate their children must enjoy true liberty in their choice of schools. Consequently, the public power, which has the obligation to protect and defend the rights of citizens, must see to it … that public subsidies are paid out in such a way that parents are truly free to choose, according to their conscience, the schools they want for their children.”

SB 72 will empower more parents to give their children an education best suited to their needs and religious convictions. To learn more about this program, please visit: sdpartnersinedu.org.

Marijuana: Several bills have been proposed to tighten regulations on “medical marijuana.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church (2291) teaches, “The use of drugs inflicts very grave damage on human health and life. Their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave offense.” The question of whether marijuana has any valid therapeutic purpose is disputed, and this issue must be resolved through objective medical science. However, to the extent the law recognizes any valid medical uses, there should be common sense safeguards to prevent abuse.

In a recent pastoral letter on drug use, Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver wrote, “It would be morally illicit to use medical marijuana as a mask for recreational use.” In the last legislative session, the Catholic Conference supported legislation (HB 1129) that sought to prevent abuses in the use of marijuana and will closely follow similar legislation in 2024.

Gambling: In 2023 the Catholic Conference opposed bills that sought to authorize mobile sports betting on a statewide basis (HJR 5006) and double the amount of money that can be spent on a video lottery machine game (SB 117). Both bills failed but may be reintroduced in 2024.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (2413) teaches, “Games of chance … are not in themselves contrary to justice. They become morally unacceptable when they deprive someone of what is necessary to provide for his needs and those of others. The passion for gambling risks becoming an enslavement.”

The Mayo Clinic itemizes some of the consequences of compulsive gambling: “relationship problems; financial problems, including bankruptcy; legal problems or imprisonment; poor work performance or job loss; poor general health; suicide, suicide attempts or suicidal thoughts.”

A central pillar of Catholic social teaching is the promotion of the common good. When we consider proposals to expand gambling, the question must be asked: will this promote the common good, or undermine it? Will our society become stronger or weaker if gambling becomes more prevalent?

If you would like to stay informed on these and other issues, please sign up for legislative updates. Visit our  South Dakota Catholic Conference website.