The 2023 legislative session began on Tuesday, January 10th and the 98th legislative session features many important days during which many pieces of K-12 related legislation will be debated and voted on.
This year’s session contains 38 legislative days and kicked off with Gov. Kristi Noem’s State of the State address on Tuesday. Read about the address here.
Thursday, February 2nd marks the final day for bills and joint resolutions while an important day for public schools comes on Wednesday, February 15th when the Joint Appropriations committee adopts revenue projections for Fiscal Year 2024, which could have an effect on proposed 5 percent increase in state aid.
All bills have to be passed through the original chamber they were introduced in order to continue on in the legislative process on Wednesday, February 22nd, which is known as “Crossover Day.”
Special appropriations bills have to be passed by the chamber of origin by Monday, February 27th followed by Thursday, March 2nd marking the last day legislative committees have to pass pieces of legislation still alive in the process to the chamber floor.
All bills and resolutions – except for the general fund bill – must get approval from the legislature before the end of “Second Crossover Day”, which is Monday, March 6th.
Session’s remaining three days will accommodate any conference committees needed for the House and Senate to attempt to reach an agreement on a disputed bill and for the passage of the general fund bill, with the final full day of session set for Thursday, March 9th.
Finally, legislative session comes to an official end on Monday, March 27th with “Veto Day”, which is used in the instance Gov. Noem vetoes a piece of legislation passed by the legislature, and in that case would require a 2/3 vote of each chamber to override the veto.
Stay up-to-date on everything from legislative session, by checking the ASBSD Blog and Billtracker page.