The Rural Lobbyist: Non-Meandered Water and New Bill Introductions

Highlights from this week in Pierre included action on non-meandered water and the introduction of many new bills.Governor Duagaard’s Senate bill 24 which extends the sunset date of the summer special session legislation, passed committee and is now waiting for action on the floor of the Senate. The House passed an identical bill out of committee and onto the Senate with a vote of 51-12. The Senate now has control of both non-meandered water bills, with a couple of additional bills coming before the final day for bill introduction, February 2. There are currently 236 House and 173 Senate bills. We expect to see over 500 bills at the February 2 deadline.Most of the bills that are of interest to those involved in South Dakota agriculture have been agency bills from the departments of Agriculture, Game Fish and Parks, Public Utilities Commission, and Environment and Natural Resources. These bills are generally non-controversial and clean up legislation. Individual legislator bills will now start to see committee action in the coming weeks. These bills tend to be more thoroughly discussed and vetted before passage.W-WatchingS-SupportO-Opposed