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The 25th Legislative day is in the books and Cross-Over day is Tuesday of this week. The Committees in the House of Representatives are doing well, and most have completed their Bill Log. State Affairs is the one committee that is behind and we will have to hold morning and evening hearings all this week just to get done, which means yours truly will be busy. We’re running long days on the House floor trying to cover our calendar every day, I’ve seen years when leadership has let the House get behind and its not good, so I’ll do what I can to get our work done. We had a lot of bills on the House floor this week but let’s talk about a few of the ones I felt were interesting and important to District 21. We stopped HB 1287 which had to do with mining in the Black Hills, but the bill also would affect how gravel pits did business all over South Dakota. I’m cautious of passing legislation for one part of the state that makes it harder to do business in other parts, especially when it’s not an issue statewide. HB 1171 was an interesting bill, if passed it would allow you in a non-emergency situation to be able to choose blood from someone that has never received a Covid vaccine that included mRNA. I understood what the Legislator was trying to do but also how this would affect our small community hospitals and our blood supply in South Dakota, so I couldn’t support it for those reasons. One of the bills I brought forward this session HB 1286 was heard on Wednesday and passed with 63 yes votes. What this bill does is put guardrails on the Future Fund and calls for more and precise reporting to the Legislative branch, it will now be under consideration by the Senate. We also heard HB 1275, a bill that would give parents more control over their children’s cell phones by requiring parental consent when downloading aps. On Friday we had two bills HB 1163 and HB 1210, both bills were about vaccines and whether you can be forced to take them, as you can imagine this subject had some good debate. Bills like this are hard because both sides have good arguments, but I believe in freedom of choice, so I supported them but both bills died. The budget continues to be the topic of choice as well as it should be, I believe we’re close to coming up with a plan that most Legislators can vote for, but I also know how fast the wheels can come off. Some of the discussions is funding the big 3 and if and how much we can give them, remember this is ongoing which means funding the raise year after year. The 4.2 sales tax and whether to make it permanent or let it go back to 4.5 was taken up by the Senate and it looks like it will go back to 4.5 in 2027, giving the budget another 100 plus million in revenue. Some want the extra money to go for property tax relief with others wanting it to go for education, I’m not a fan of either plan. I hope everyone has a great week and if you need to reach me my number is 605-680-0304 or email me at Marty.overweg@sdlegislature.gov. I appreciate serving you and your feedback, ideas and support.
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Week 6 is in the books, and it was the busiest week we’ve had in Pierre so far. We had several long floor sessions, and committees met in the late afternoon and eveninghoursaswellonmultiple days, which is rare. That’s all in preparation for Tuesday’s crossover day,whenbillsmustclearthe chamber the legislation started in order to move or “crossover” to the other chamber. Nothing corrals a legislature’s pace like a deadline looming over the chamber.
Read moreTheAnnualMeetingoftheBonHommeCountyWeedand Pest Board will be held Thursday, March 5th at 8:00 a.m., at the Courthouse Annex, Tyndall. Board members and any area residents are encouraged to attend. Spray policies and guidelines for 2026 will be set.
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Mental health is often described in emotional or behavioral terms, but at its core, it is deeply rooted in the brain. Every thought, mood, memory, and reaction begins with complex biological processes inside this remarkable organ. The brain is responsible for regulating mood, decision-making, memory, sleep, appetite, and stress responses. It communicates through billions of nerve cells called neurons, which send signals using chemicals known as neurotransmitters. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, mental illnesses are associated with changes in brain structure, chemistry, and function. These changes can affect how a person thinks, feels, and behaves.
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meeting 2 times a day to get through our bill log. Several bills have related to the Future Fund and the Governors Office of Economic Development (GOED). Many communities and students in district 19 have benefitedfromtheFutureFund and the Governors Office of EconomicDevelopment.Icompletely understand that some poor choices and investments have been made in the past but so many good decisions have been made too. I don’t think we need to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but oversight would really help. HB 1286 an act to amend the process by which moneys are distributed from the employer’s investment in South Dakota’s Future fund. This would require GOED to report tothelegislature.AnotherbillI supportedwasHB1222anactto prohibit members of the Board ofEconomicDevelopmentfrom having any interest in moneys from or approved by the Board of Economic Development. It is unfortunate that we have been put in a position where this bill was brought. This bill did not garner enough support on the floor to pass. I am hopeful the other restrictions and safe guards that have passed will remedy the issues going forward. Property tax relief has been at the forefront of the session. There are over 26 bills regarding property tax relief. It is not possible for all these bills to pass and work together. Collectively we are trying to sort through the best options for the majority and move forward with those options. In my opinion, owner occupied relief is the front runner among the membersoftheHouse,buthow will we replace those funds for our schools, counties and cities? That is the question we are trying to answer. I would love to know your thoughts so please reach out. This week 4Hers from across the state and many from Bon Homme county visited the capitol, even having one shadow me for the day. I would like to thank Bon Homme senior Tarynn T. for her service to the legislature and congratulate her on her recent military enlistment. It was my honor to nominate you for the page program.
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Take a moment to breathe. Close your eyes. Slowly inhale through your nose, pause, and gently exhale through your mouth. After a few steady breaths, you likely feel more relaxed and ready for the day.
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The Legislative Session is two thirds done with the completion of Week Six.
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This week in appropriations we held bill hearings, but most had action deferred until a later date. Last year this process didn’t quite make sense to me, but now I see what it really takes to make everything come together at the end of the day with all the different spending bills that are introduced. We hear them, so each bill gets a fair hearing, and then defer action until we can get a good grasp of how much money (in one time and on-going) is available for going towards all of these different bills, and how much support for different bills there is in both chambers. This makes for a very “crunch time” feeling week ahead, with all these bills needing to be moved out of our committee very quickly. Another thing that comes up very quickly is the deadline to submit motion sheets. Motion sheets are what we as appropriators use to insert or remove a specific budget item into the appropriations bill. In my first session I was extremely thrown off by the sudden shift from “budget hearings” with agencies to budget setting. I am looking forward to this coming up now with my understanding of the process and what lies ahead these next few weeks in appropriations. A work group that was formed as a result of the 5% cut work group that I was on met this week. We gave agencies a chance to explain changes that have taken place within their agency that account for some of the excess reverted Full Time Employee (FTE) hours. We will be tightening the belt on those numbers and right sizing those budgets this year, as well as federal and other fund spending authority. According to the data it seems these areas have not been right sized across the board for roughly 6-7 years. It is a huge topic to dig into, and I’d love to share more detail with anyone interested since it will be hard to explain in a short newsletter.
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