By Rep. Leslie Heinemann
With two weeks of the session behind us, it has been an enjoyable and learning experience!
Agency bills were introduced, many of which dealt with word changes and updating state code. I am on the Health and Human Services Committee, and we have heard from the Department of Social Services and the Board of Hearing Aid Dispensers and Audiologists, to name a few.
Some of you may have heard about the Sentinel Bill, HB 1087 of which I am a co-sponsor. This bill would allow school boards, at their discretion, to create, establish and supervise individual school sentinel programs to promote school safety. We have a similar program in place at the Flandreau Public Schools, and I like the idea of local control. Some school boards may see a need for it, and others may not. I believe it is important to work with local law enforcement, so that everyone is aware of the personnel involved. If you have any thoughts, let me know. I appreciate your input.
This past week, the Tourism Bill, HB 1066, recieved a lot of support in both the House and Senate and was passed by a large majority. As you may have heard, the sunset provision would have ended that extra half cent tax. I supported removing the sunset provision so that the extra revenue would allow the Department of Tourism to promote South Dakota to a larger regional market.
It will be difficult to come to a final state budget if, like Senator Thune alluded to recently, we fail to deal with entitlements at the national level. We need a safety net in place for those citizens in our society, but we need to deal with our deficit as well.
If you are interested in testifying on a bill, or just coming out to Pierre to see how the process works, let me know and I’ll do what I can to facilitate your time here. We enjoy seeing familiar faces and if you want to get involved in the process, there’s plenty of opportunity!
When you send me an e-mail, please sign it as the address does not always show me who the person is, and you can imagine the mass e-mails that are sent to each representative.
This next week will be a busy one. I’ll have more on the different bills then.
As always, I am grateful for and humbled by the responsibility to serve the people of District 8. Please contact me at Rep.Heinemann@state.sd.us or the House phone at 605-773-3851.
-
Weather
WoonsocketMarch 23, 2023, 11:46 am28°Freal feel: 37°Fhumidity: 81%wind speed: 2 mph NNEwind gusts: 4 mphUpcoming Events
March 2023 SSunday MMonday TTuesday WWednesday TThursday FFriday SSaturday 26February 26, 2023 27February 27, 2023 28February 28, 2023 1March 1, 2023 2March 2, 2023 3March 3, 2023 4March 4, 2023 5March 5, 2023 6March 6, 2023 7March 7, 2023 8March 8, 2023 9March 9, 2023 10March 10, 2023 11March 11, 2023 12March 12, 2023 13March 13, 2023 14March 14, 2023 15March 15, 2023 16March 16, 2023 17March 17, 2023 18March 18, 2023 19March 19, 2023 20March 20, 2023 21March 21, 2023 22March 22, 2023 23March 23, 2023 24March 24, 2023 25March 25, 2023 26March 26, 2023 27March 27, 2023 28March 28, 2023 29March 29, 2023 30March 30, 2023 31March 31, 2023 1April 1, 2023 -
Recent Posts
Contact Us
Archives
Tweet