Assuming he goes forward, state Sen. Gordon Howie would be the seventh man to enter the 2010 campaign for election as South Dakota’s next governor. Howie, R-Rapid City, is midway of his third term in the Legislature. He served four years in the House of Representatives and won election to the Senate in 2008 by defeating Rep. Gordon Pederson, R-Wall, in a primary to succeed Sen. Jim Lintz, R-Hermosa. A key to Howie’s win over Pederson was Howie’s emphasis of Pederson’s vote against state regulation of hours and location of adult-oriented (aka sex) businesses; Pederson thought it should remain a local decision. The legislation, HB 1151, became law.
As for his own legislative efforts, Howie, 60, has found limited success. He was prime sponsor of four bills in the 2009 session. None passed. One would have allowed dogs to be used for hunting mountain lions. Another would have repealed the state law requiring students to remain in high school until age 18. A third would have required the physician to be present on the day before performing an abortion. The fourth would have increased the state sales tax to 6 percent from the current 4 percent and used the revenue to reduce general-education and special-education property taxes. The mountain-lion legislation was the only one of the four bills to survive past its first committee hearing; the Senate crushed the lion bill, voting against it 27-6, as opponents explained it would be chaos to allow dogs to chase lions through rural homesteads and subdivisions, and dogs catching young lions likely wouldn’t observe the state regulation against hunters killing them.
His sales-tax increase/property-tax reduction legislation also failed when he was in the House. It was one of two bills he introduced in 2008. The other changed state regulations for people who bow hunt and are disabled or physically incapacitated. The bow-hunting bill became law. Game, Fish and Parks Department matters have been a focus for Howie, who isn’t reluctant about talking about or showing his hunting trophies. In 2007, the only two pieces of legislation for which he was prime sponsor both passed: One changed regulations for transportation of fur-bearing animals; the other allowed disabled bow-hunters to use special equipment.
In 2006, he was prime sponsor of three bills. All passed in the House but lost in the Senate. One attempted to add more regulations on the practice of abortion. Another would have changed how big-game hunting licenses are allocated to non-resident hunters. The third dealt with restitution for filing false claims about pesticide use.
His first piece of legislation, and only piece he offered in 2005, would have repealed the state law that requires a person to show her or his Game, Fish and Parks license to a state conservation officer upon the officer’s request. The bill was defeated.
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