Halfway through session, public ed. bills moving quickly

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Halfway through session, public ed. bills moving quickly

Legislation is crossing chambers and headed to the governor’s desk quickly as the 91st legislative session crosses its halfway point. Here’s a brief rundown on the action taken on a few of the bills ASBSD is tracking.

 

House Bill 1056, which clarifies language from legislation passed last year, ensuring a veteran would receive an interview for a position they are applying for if they hold the minimum qualifications for a job, reached Governor Dennis Daugaard’s desk with a near flawless record.

 

Sen. Brock Greenfield, HB 1056’s sponsor, said the intent of the bill is to show gratitude for veterans who have served our country. ASBSD is monitoring the bill.

 

HB 1056 passed the Senate on a 32-1 vote. It received no nay votes in the House.

 

Members of the Senate also unanimously passed two bills related to open government laws.

 

Senate Bill 90, which ensures that members of the public can record a public meeting via audio or video so long as it is not disruptive, and Senate Bill 73, which clarifies what constitutes an open meeting and includes electronic medium meetings under open meeting’s law, both passed on votes of 32-0.

 

SB 90 sponsor Sen. Ried Holien said although there were “not very many” instances where the public recording a meeting was a problem, clarification was needed for the open meetings laws. The bill requires the recording to be made “obvious” to members of the governing body.

 

Sen. Corey Brown, SB 73’s sponsor, said the legislation was a reply to concern about government bodies discussing the public’s business via email or other electronic means. Should there be a suspected violation of the proposed law, members of the governing body could send consent for their email or electronic records to be reviewed or a search warrant or subpoena obtained for the investigation.

 

ASBSD is monitoring both bills.

 

Another bill being monitored by ASBSD that made its way across the Capitol hall is House Bill 1102, which expands the period from 30 to 45 days for the opening of bids to the time the contract must be awarded.

 

Rep. Thomas Brunner, the bill’s sponsor, said it “simply allows more time” for government bodies to make decisions on complex projects. He noted some government subdivisions meet only once a month, which unnecessarily expedites the bid process.

 

For updates on the bills, check out the ASBSD Blog, Twitter feed and Bill Tracker page.

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