2021 is here and that means a new legislative session is upon us! I am Representative Caleb Finck, I live and farm near Tripp, SD and I will be again writing a weekly column to to date on important legislative items. Our first week of the new session will be filled with information gathering and speeches. On Tuesday, January 12th we will hear the State of the State address from Governor Noem. Wednesday, January 13th, we will listen in on the State of the Judiciary delivered by the Chief Justice. Finally, Thursday, January 14th we will hear the State of the Tribes Address from one of our Tribal Chairmen.

For this next session I will be taking on an additional responsibility of Chairing the House Transportation committee. The Transportation committee will be meeting at 10:00AM Central Time each Tuesday and Thursday of Session. Aside from just hearing bills, at the beginning of session each year, we get updates from different departments that fall under the scope of each committee. Our first meeting this year will be on January 14th and we are scheduled to have the Department of Transportation with us that day. Next, on Tuesday, January Motor Vehicles from the Department of Revenue will be with us.

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, www.sdlegislature. gov 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 the whole session please contact me. I can be reached most anytime by phone at 605-933-2042 and by email at Caleb. Finck@sdlegislature.gov. I ask that if you call and I don’t answer please leave me a message so that I can call you back. Additionally, if you email please include that you are from District 21 and what town you’re from. We get 100’s of emails a day and I cannot reply back 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 may God Bless!