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VETO. I am sure you have heard of the veto of HB 1109 by the governor. I agree with the governor. I did not support this tax increase and my reason being is we do not have a qualifying hotel district in our district.

We have one week left and I am excited to wrap up session and go home to my family. I feel like the last part of the session, every year, reveals the most important issues. The Senate, House, and Executive branch always find a way to come together but we all must give a little to get to that point.

The eighth week of SD Legislature was very busy. On Monday we heard 5 bills in State Affairs and then we worked through 24 bills on the House floor.

Thank you to the Alexandria Development Corporation for host in gacracker barrel. It was great to see so many people involved in the process and to hear their feedback. The 22nd was crossover day; the last day for abill to be heard in the body of origin and have action taken.

Two weeks of the 2023 legislative session remain with the completion of Week 7. This week had several bills important to South Dakota’s number one industry which is Agriculture.

Week 7 Rocky Blare Legislative Report The biggest item this year was passing HB1137 which will reduce the state sales tax rates in South Dakota from 4.5% to 4.2%. This will reduce the tax burden for citizens by $100 million, the largest tax decrease in SD history.

We passed three more election bills off the Senate floor this week. HB 1112 is an act to modify provisions for a statewide runoff election. This will require a runoff election to occur 8 weeks from the date of the first primary election.