By Kelly Hertz, Yankton Daily Press and Dakotan
Economic vitality in South Dakota can take many forms — and, as we are learning, speaks more than one language. That reality is recognized in Senate Bill 70, which would permit the state to offer driver’s license written exams in Spanish.
This isn’t a new issue, having appeared in at least one previous legislative session. It’s back again and is making headway, having passed the South Dakota Senate last week by a 24-11 margin. The bill now heads to the House.
There are a lot of supporters of this bill — especially from the business development background. They see it as more than a convenience for Spanish-speaking laborers. They also view it as a necessity to attract and keep new workers so South Dakota businesses can actually do business, thrive and expand.
To put it another way, this state — like so many other states — really needs workers to fill jobs and create opportunities. The fact is that some of that help will have to come from outside the country. These people usually speak Spanish — and they are in demand. Offering driver’s license written exams in Spanish would be one way of easing that transition for living in this state.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. V.J. Smith, R-Brookings, said there are an estimated 35,000 people in South Dakota who hail from a Hispanic background, according to the Argus Leader. The numbers are growing, and they are becoming an increasingly important and sought-after component of the state’s labor force.
Opponents of the measure argue that laborers who don’t learn English will have a hard time fitting in or making headway in this state, and there is some validity to that as far as it goes. But being able to drive a vehicle to get to a job, or to perform a job, is also important. A Spanish-language driver’s license exam could help ease that transition.
The concept of offering such documentation in more than one language isn’t new. Sen. Arthur Rusch, R-Vermillion, noted in the Senate floor debate that South Dakota’s 1889 constitution was printed in multiple languages so a broad swath of this new state’s multi-ethnic population could read it.
Nor is the idea of offering a Spanish-language test a radical concept. In fact, South Dakota is one of just three states, along with Utah and Wyoming, which does not provide such testing. (This matter of South Dakota being one of the few states left that does things a certain way seems to be a recurring theme coursing throughout some legislation this session.)
This bill is a sensible step in addressing the state’s labor shortage and its inevitable need to reach out to Spanish-language workers that businesses in South Dakota are going to need. It deserves passage.
Kelly Hertz is editor of the Yankton Daily Press and Dakotan. This editorial was originally published in the Feb. 18 edition of the Press and Dakotan.
