Associated School Boards of South Dakota

February26: SB 159: Private school scholarship bill sent through Senate

Two weeks after it came out of committee, a bill providing funding for private school scholarships found its way out of the Senate. Senate Bill 159, which uses tax credits from the insurance company premium and annuity tax to fund private school scholarships, passed the Senate on a vote of 24-11. SB 159 would

February25: HB 1182: Senate comm. supports sales tax increase

A recurring theme of legislative committee hearings of the bill calling for the increase to the state’s sales tax is the lack of opponent testimony. Similar to its House committee hearing, House Bill 1182, which increases the state’s sales tax by a half cent and reduces property taxes, had a line of proponents testifying

February25: SB 5: MBC bill bound for House floor

Members of a House committee favored fixing the minor boundary change process. House Education committee members voted 13-0 to pass Senate Bill 5, which revises the process of school district boundary change. ASBSD Policy and Legal Services Director Gerry Kaufman testified in favor of SB 5, noting the change would provide “stable school

February25: SB 73: Open meeting expansion bill moves on in House

A proposed expansion to open meeting laws took another step in the legislative process. House State Affairs committee members passed Senate Bill 73, which clarifies what constitutes an open meeting and includes electronic medium meetings under open meeting’s law, on a vote of 11-1. The legislation was a reply to concern about government

February24: 2016 Legislative Cracker Barrels

Legislative Cracker Barrels in your area offer access to your local legislators, as well as the chance to hear their answers on a variety of legislative topics. Below you will find a list of dates and locations of legislative cracker barrels being held throughout South Dakota. A big thanks to Nancy Hilding of the

February24: SB 131: Funding formula proposal approved by Senate

The final piece in a proposal to increase funding for public education and teacher pay passed its legislative chamber of origin on Tuesday (2/23). Senators voted 29-6 to pass Senate Bill 131, which establishes a target teacher salary and a target teacher ratio and revises certain provisions regarding education funding. SB 131 was

February23: HB 1102: Bid timeline extension reaches Gov.

Gov. Daugaard will have final say on a bill expanding the bid process timeline. Senators unanimously approved 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. The bill now awaits Gov. Daugaard’s signature to become law. Supporters

February23: HB 1182: Sales Tax Increase bill passes House on second try

After years of need, months of discussion, weeks of review, days of votes and delays, and few changed minds, a bill providing the much needed revenue source for school districts to improve teacher pay took its first step towards becoming law on Monday (2/22). Members of the House of Representatives voted 47-21 to pass

February23: SB 131 & 133: Bills from Gov’s ed. funding incresae proposal advance

Two-thirds of Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s teacher pay increase proposal advanced in the legislative process. Senate State Affairs committee members unanimously approved Senate Bill 131, which establishes a target teacher salary and a target teacher ratio and to revise certain provisions regarding education funding, and Senate Bill 133, which appropriates funds for districts to use

February22: HB 1090: Insurance pooling audit bill reaches Gov

A bill related to insurance pooling reached Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s desk recently. House Bill 1090, which requires certain statements and audits concerning insurance pooling arrangements to be filed with the Department of Legislative Audit, passed the Senate Commerce and Energy Committee and full Senate on unanimous votes. ASBSD supports the bill, which will