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Week Four was the only fiveday week of Legislative session. The deadline to introduce bills was Feb. 5. One of the most talked about bills this week was HB 1077. HB 1077 would consider a cultivated-protein food product be adulterated which would have the effect of banning the sale of this product in South Dakota. In the previous Legislative session we passed bills to address the concerns with cultivated protein by requiring labeling of lab-grown meat and prohibited state resources from researching and developing these products. The problem with actually banning this is that it will lead to lawsuits which will cost the state millions of dollars leaving fewer resources for education, nursing homes and all of the state’s other obligations. It puts our farmers at risk by weakening food safety laws and interfering in the free market. Because of the risk to farmers, HB 1077 was opposed by farm groups including South Dakota Farm Bureau, South Dakota Cattleman’s Association, and the South Dakota Department of Agriculture. The South Dakota Retailers also opposed HB 1077 because all businesses in South Dakota are at risk when government starts making decisions for the consumer. HB 1077 passed, 18 to 16; I voted against it. Senate Bill 106 increases the extraordinary cost fund for Special Education from four million to five million dollars. This fund covers Special Education costs for school districts meeting certain criteria. If the bill passes, the fund would increase by the index factor in future years providing more stable funding to Special Education needs. This bill was heard in Senate Education and passed, 6 to 1, to refer to appropriations to become part of overall budget discussions.