Details from District 2: SD Legislators dive into 200-plus bills

I’m happy to tell you that week two of our nine-week legislative session is completed and can report that things are beginning to pick up. Of course, the big news is that, as of Saturday, the State of South Dakota has a new Governor and, though I don’t know who it is as I write this, I am assuming the Lt. Governor has also been appointed by Governor Larry Rhoden by the time you read this in the Journal. I believe I can speak for all the legislators in the House that we are looking forward to working with Gov. Rhoden for the good of all South Dakotans. We also wish the best for Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem as she settles into her new job and tackles the many challenges that position is tasked to handle.

On to my report from the Capital. 

So far, there have been 102 bills introduced in the House while the total in the Senate stands at 99 bills. Additionally, there have been four Joint Resolutions introduced in each of the chambers. It’s too early to tell what the final tally will be, but it’s speculated that this year will outpace 2024, which saw a total of 479 bills and 14 Joint Resolutions.

Among the hot topics this year, I would put the top four as; 1.) the question of eminent domain as it applies to CO2 pipelines; 2.) the school voucher proposals; 3.) the final tranche of funding for the proposed new men’s prison in Lincoln County and; 4.) property tax relief. These top four may change in the future weeks as other bills are introduced and become the focus of attention, but for right now, these seem to be the ones filling up legislative emails as people on both sides of the issues share their thoughts. I can’t speculate where any of these four will end up, be it the dreaded 41st day, getting voted down on the floor of either chamber, or on the Governor’s desk for Gov. Larry Rhoden’s signature or veto. Stand by for the results. (If you’re not aware, the legislature can only meet each year for a maximum of 40 days, so moving a bill to the 41st day in committee is essentially killing the bill!) 

Week three is where the legislature tends to hit its full stride, so stand by for Senator Steve Kolbeck’s installment next week.