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This week we passed the deadline for the introduction of bills. 325 House bills and 245 Senate bills were introduced. We have our work cut out. All bills will have a hearing with action taken. This isn’t the case on the federal level. Last week I wrote about HB 1095 an act to modify provisions pertaining to the submission of a nominating petition. We opted to remove the emergency clause. I was hesitant to change the process during the process. If the bill does pass it will not go into effect until July 1st. Petitions deadlines will not change, however, I would still encourage those running for offices to get your petition in quickly to allow our election officials time to prepare. There have been instances when petitions are challenged. I was surprised by the defeat of SB 24 an act to create a solid background license plate for South Dakota. This was an optional all black or white plate. South Dakota has around 144 license plate options. In Commerce and Energy, we passed HB 1038 an act to allow the Public Utilities Commission to assess actual costs to data centers. This means if a data center is going to ask the Public Utilities Commission for a permit that they will be paying for the costs incurred. This bill provides cost saving protection to the taxpayers of SD. Property tax relief, data centers and funding continue to be daily conversations and will throughout the next 5 weeks. It was my absolute pleasure to welcome the Czech Days Royalty to Pierre this week for Czech Days at the capitol. Capitol Czech Days is a great tradition for our district which creates awareness while inviting those around the state to join us for Czech Days. This years Czech Days will take place on June 19 and 20th in Tabor. I hope you can all attend. Also, visiting the people’s house were students from Freeman, Avon and Menno High Schools. Thank you for seeing the importance of engagement in the political process. I was honored to join several military members from District 19 at Governor Rhoden’s Military Ball. We do not know them all, but we owe them all. There is nothing more important than honoring those who protect our freedoms. Thank you for your service. Good luck to the Parkston-Ethan-Hanson Gymnastics team as you compete at state next week! Go Royals!!! I can’t wait to cheer you on! As always, keep the communication coming. God Bless,