South Dakota Technical Institutes Could Be Renamed as Technical Colleges
We finished week 4 and boy can I feel it! 12-hour days in suit and tie, combined with limited sleep take their toll. The mood on the House floor this week reflected the stress. It was quite a rollercoaster. Here are a few bills that made it through: HB1083... Read more
The House  Passes the Vulnerable Child Protection Act
In the House this week we debated and passed: HB1006 – This bill is the result of an Ag land assessment work group. It would allow additional Ag land data (beyond the current soil mapping) to be used to improve the accuracy of assessments. This will give assessors more... Read more
SD Legislature Goes 100% Digital
The saying goes “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”, but that is exactly what is happening in Pierre. You see in 2020 we are making the leap to 100% digital. Going digital means that many traditions and processes are gone. As you can imagine, there is some... Read more
John Mills Recaps the First Week of the SD Legislature
Ready or not, the 95th session of the South Dakota Legislature is under way. The first week includes a lot of organizational items, along with important addresses by key government leaders. On Tuesday, Governor Noem gave her State of the State Address. She noted how the $5 million allocated... Read more
Working Late Into The Night to End The 2019 Legislative Session…..
In South Dakota we often adjust plans because of weather. The last week of the 2019 legislature was scheduled to run through Wednesday, March 13, but with a record-breaking storm forecast, we worked to shorten it. On Tuesday, we started early and were told to expect a long day.... Read more
Getting Ready for The Keystone Pipeline
Thursday, March 7 was the last day for a bill to be acted on by both chambers of the legislature. Debate went well into the evening as the House gave every remaining Senate bill a final hearing. Here are some highlights. SB176 is the Governor’s request for seed money... Read more
Cross Over Day…….
The busiest week of the 2019 session is now history. Monday was “cross over day”, the day when every bill has to have been acted on and either sent on to the other chamber or defeated. It was a long day, taking until 9:30 to get through all the... Read more
Important Bills in The House
The legislative session is starting to feel a lot like the snow and this winter – a little deep and long. Fortunately, the end of both, are not that far off! Important bills in the House this past week: HJR1003 – is a resolution to let the voters decide... Read more
Hot Topics-Growing Hemp, Civics Tests  and Gender Dysphoria
We have reached that part of the legislative session where the floor debates are often intense. This past week, the hot topics in the House were hemp, civics and gender dysphoria. HB1191 would allow South Dakota farmers to grow industrial hemp. This possibility has been discussed for some time,... Read more
House Floor Bills…….
Highlights from this week in the House included HB1088, a renewed attempt to curb distracted driving. The bill would make using some capabilities of a cell phone or other device (like texting, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube . . .) while driving, a primary offense and a Class 2 misdemeanor. A... Read more