Week Seven included Crossover Day which is the day that all House and Senate Bills must pass or fail in their respective chamber.
The Senate is seeing more House bills in Committee and on the Senate floor now.
Senate Bill 134 would have allowed more flexibility for Physicians Assistants to practice and better serve patients. It would have increased access to care especially in rural areas. SB 134 was supported by Physicians Assistant groups but opposed by medical associations. The bill was defeated, 19 to 16, on the Senate floor. I voted in favor.
A number of spending bills passed on the Senate floor. The bills included funding for housing, water projects, domestic violence services, treatment services, alchohol and drug treatment and the Wagner Readiness Center. I voted in favor of those bills.
Senate Education had HB 1308 which will allow schools to offer signing bonuses to all staff members. Currently school are can offer a signing bonus to teachers; this bill expands it to the other employees. As I wrote in last week’s column, schools need to be able to recruit and retain staff for all positions and this bill is a good step for increased local control. I supported HB 1308 which passed committee, 5 to 2.
HB 1119 provides for a minor increase in State Aid to Education Funding to schools for home school students who participate in activities sponsored by the South Dakota Activities Association. State Law requires schools to allow these students to participate in the activities. It is common sense that they would receive aid to cover the expenses. This is a great bill to support both public and home school education. HB 1119 passed the Education Committee, 6 to 0.
The 2022 Legislative Session has two weeks left.