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We have completed our 1st week of the 101st legislative session. There are almost 200 bills introduced already. I serve on the Commerce and Energy committee and the State Affairs committee again this year. State Affairs typically covers the hot topic state issues and Commerce and Energy covers a wide variety of issues related to all business happenings, licensing, insurance, utilities, alcohol, tobacco, gaming and much more. I believe the bigger issues we will be facing this session will be tax incentives for data centers, property tax relief and navigating the Rural Health Transformation program. The session kicked off with Governor Rhoden addressing the legislature with his State of the State. Governor Rhoden and his staff secured 189 million in federal funding for Rural Health care. I am excited to see the impact this will have on healthcare in District 19 and other rural districts across South Dakota. This past weekend my father, Senator Beal who serves District 12 suffered a stroke while at our family ranch in central SD. While I am grateful for the quick response and care received, we all know the importance of time and access during these critical moments. Surgery went well; he understands the job we have to do and asked I go to Pierre. It was not an easy week considering the family issues going on back home but having our son, Brayden serving as a page helped ease some of the load. This is a wonderful opportunity for youth to be a part of the legislative process and develop a better understanding of government. He is one of 7 pages I sponsored this session. The 1st week of session is starting the legislative process, introducing bills, assigning them to committees and educational briefings. Next week we will get into committee hearings and debating bills. I’d like to thank the many constituents who traveled to Pierre this week with your organizations including : SD Rural Water, SD Veterans Council, FairSD, Dakota Resources, SDREA, and A.B.A.T.E. Like always visiting with you and hearing your concerns is the best part of my week. When reaching out please include our District or your hometown because we receive many emails and I am working for you. It is an absolute honor to serve you. God Bless, Jessica Bahmuller (605)359-9459 Jessica.Bahmuller@sdlegislature.gov