PIERRE, S.D. (SDBA) — The South Dakota Legislature is not in session today (Monday), observing the federal Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
When legislators return to the Capitol, they’ll find the pace of legislation has picked up dramatically from last week, which was mainly filled with formal addresses and committee briefings.
The Legislature hits its first major deadline of the 38-day session Tuesday — day five of the 2025 session. All executive orders must be filed by today for legislative consideration.
Also, Tuesday, the House and Senate have meaningful work to do, considering the few bills that passed from committees last week.
The Joint Appropriations Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s budget on Wednesday. Gov. Kristi Noem has proposed reducing the public broadcaster’s state allocation from nearly $5.6 million to $1.9 million, a 65% reduction.
Also, Wednesday, the House Education Committee is set to hear one of two introduced bills that would establish educational savings accounts. House Bill 1009 would allocate state funds for some private education uses. Noem has made educational savings accounts one of her major initiatives for the session.
Thursday, following the House and Senate sessions, legislators will gather for the annual Joint Memorial Service to honor deceased legislators.
We’ll also find out if Democratic and Republican leaders will hold their weekly news conferences, which they did not hold last week.
