Cross-over day pushes bills forward

Hi, District 2!

This past week was another busy one as we prepare for cross-over day this coming Wednesday, the 22nd.  Cross-over day is the day all bills must be out of the house of origin. For example, if a bill was a Senate bill it must be out of committee and passed off the Senate floor by Wednesday at midnight. The same applies to a House bill. In years past, legislative bodies have stayed past midnight and covered the floor clock to avoid conflicts. This year, however, neither the House nor the Senate foresee any issues. Both Chambers have been keeping up with the workload and anticipate some long days, but not timing issues.

This past week saw two controversial bills in Senate Bill 40 and House Bill 1133. SB 40 is a bill that passed committee and the Senate floor by a close margin. The bill will put all statewide candidates on the primary ballot like county and legislative races. This would give voters a chance to vote for Attorney General, Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, School of Public Lands, and Public Utility Commissioners if there is a primary. The Lieutenant Governor would be picked by the Governor. This is a pivot from recent history and would disrupt conventions as they are currently held in South Dakota. The bill heads over to the House and will be debated again in committee and on the House floor if it makes it that far.

HB 1133 was an eminent domain bill that had made it out of the House but failed in the Senate Energy and Commerce committee. The bill would have defined CO2 to not be a commodity and exempted pipelines that receive certain tax credits from common carrier status. Common carrier status is one of two ways an interstate pipeline can qualify for eminent domain. There may be a smoke out this week, which is a way to revive a bill killed in committee. There would need to be 12 senators stand up on the floor and then the bill would be heard on the floor for possible passage or killed again. I’m sure whomever writes next week will have more on that.  On a personal note, I want to mention that I’ve had some great conversations with District 2 constituents and hope it continues. Representatives Kull, Sjaarda and I obviously don’t agree on everything and that’s the tough part of being out here. We want to please everyone, but it’s impossible. Hopefully between the three of us we are listening, learning, and working hard for each of you in some way. Thank you for your time.