The 2021 South Dakota Legislative session wrapped up week 8, the last full week of this year’s session. It was a busy week in the state capitol, as Thursday was the last day to move bills and joint resolutions from a committee to the second house. The South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations advocacy team was able to move some positive legislation forward this week including a measure aimed at the legalization and implementation of medical marijuana.
House Bill 1100 delays the implementation of medical marijuana until January 1, 2022, appointing a task force to consider the best way to move forward with legalization and implementation. It successfully passed out of a Senate committee. It will receive further consideration next week by the full Senate.
House Bill 1139 has received a lot of attention this session and it is an issue SDAHO has actively voiced our position on. The measure originally impacted visitation policies at all healthcare facilities. Our team worked with the prime sponsor of the bill to successfully amend it to its current form which will require assisted living facilities to create and post visitation policies. It passed out of Senate Health and Human Services; members of the senate are expected to consider the measure next week.
House Bill 1154 will prohibit employment contracts restricting competitive health care practices. SDAHO is opposing the measure. The measure advanced out of the Senate Health and Human Services committee on a 5 to 2 vote. It will be taken up by the full Senate next week.
Next week if the final week of this year’s legislative session. Several high-profile bills will be up for debate in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Joint Appropriations will finalize the general appropriations bill, including provider reimbursement rates and one-time distributions.
To stay on top of the bills that may impact the healthcare community or SDAHO’s efforts this session, visit our Bill Tracker.
