25th District Representative Randy Gross
I have received messages from many of you regarding a variety of bills working their way through committees and on to the House or Senate for action. Your input is appreciated, and I apologize in advance if I can’t respond in a timely fashion to everyone. Please know that even though I may not be able to respond, I read constituent communications.
Bills and actions of interest include:
(1) HCR 6001, a resolution supporting the Electoral College passed the House 60-2 and the Senate 26-3. This reaffirms our belief in the value and benefit to South Dakota of the Electoral College system. c
(2) HJR 5001, a resolution proposing and submitting to the voters at the next general election an amendment to the Constitution of the State of South Dakota, requiring all non-judicial offices elected by a statewide vote to be nominated vis a primary election. This would have significantly changed how parties nominate many of their statewide candidates and was defeated in House committee.
(3) HB 1076, a bill to clarify antisemitism as an unfair or discriminatory practice passed in the House 53-14. While all expressed support for the Jewish community, those who voted no were concerned about carving out an individual group for special consideration and setting a precedent as an amendment was discussed which would have created similar language for LGBTQ, blacks, and other groups. In addition, many felt existing language addressing religion, ethnic origin, race, etc. provides sufficient protection.
(4) SJR 501, a resolution proposing and submitting to the voters at the next general election, an amendment to the Constitution of the State of South Dakota, authorizing the state to impose work requirements on certain individuals who are eligible for expanded Medicaid. If approved by South Dakota voters, this change would only apply to able bodied individuals once federal restrictions are modified. SJR 501 has passed through the Senate on a straight party line vote and is headed for the House of Representatives.
(5) HB 1069, a bill to permit the display of campaign signs in municipalities no later than 10 days prior to when absentee voting begins sailed through the House without a single no vote and is headed to the Senate. This bill was needed as some communities have not allowed campaign signs until 30 days before an election – when some people have already voted under early voting guidelines.
(6) HCR 6008, a resolution opposing an initiated measure, being circulated, to place the right to an abortion in the Constitution of South Dakota. If passed the abortion amendment to our Constitution would permit the termination of a human life, at any stage of pregnancy, including when the child is able to survive outside of the womb. The proposed amendment would also negatively impact parental rights. The resolution opposing the abortion amendment has overwhelming support in both the House and Senate.
Please remember, this is your government, and all citizens are welcome to visit your Capital and testify on bills or simply observe the process. Information on the content and status of bills is available on the state web site https://sdlegislature.gov. I can be contacted at .
Week 3 Legislative Report
Senator Tom Pischke
The 3rd week of the 2024 Legislative Session completed on January 25th. We are experiencing a very large amount of bill being introduced this year, especially in the Senate. Due to there being twice as many members in the House of Representatives over the Senate, on most years, there are at least twice as many bills introduced in that chamber. This year, the House has introduced 194 bills, and the Senate has introduced 192 bills. Many of these bills were just introduced this last week, so our committees will be very busy in the month of February.
This last week, we debated many pieces of legislation, but one that I found particular interest in was HCR 6006. This resolution passed the House 66-3 and passed the Senate 33-0. This resolution urges our South Dakota congressional delegation to sponsor and support an amendment to the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Act. If our congressional delegation were to achieve this, then our county government would be able to receive Federal dollars for all the Federal Waterfowl Production areas that are able to produce property taxes currently. This would be especially impactful for Moody County and other small counties across eastern South Dakota that don’t have a large tax base in owner-occupied property taxes and have many acres in Waterfowl Production Areas. Many of our small counties are struggling financially, and this would help with that situation.
As always, if you are interested in following along with any of our committees or chambers this session, there are two great ways to do that. First, visit www.sdlegislature.gov as this is the Legislature's home page where you can find any information about session that you are looking for.
On the front page you will find a schedule of committees and when the House and Senate will be meeting and what's on the agenda for each meeting. You can also find listings of all the bills that we will be working on this session. Additionally, if you want to listen into a committee or chamber you can click on the South Dakota Public Broadcasting icon next to that scheduled meeting to listen live. The Second way to listen and watch is to visit www.SD.Net where you can find all the live audio from the committees and the live audio and video streams from the House and Senate Chambers.
Finally, if you have any questions about how to find information about a bill or committee, or any questions at all about session please contact me.
I can be reached most anytime by phone at 605-999-2948 and by email at . If you do call and I’m unable to answer, try sending me a text and I will call you back later. Additionally, if you email, please include that you are from District 25 and what town you're from.
We get 100s of emails a day and I cannot reply to them all, but if I know that you are from our district, I will get back to you! Lastly, if you are planning a trip up to the Capitol for a visit during session, please let me know so that we can find a time to meet up while you are here! Have a great week and God Bless!
-Sen. Tom Pischke
