This past week wrapped up the 8th week of the 2022 legislative session. With one week to go, we are still monitoring or actively following 9 out of the 131 bills from this year’s session.
There are two bills that did not make it out of the Senate Health and Services Committee, that we feel members may be interested in knowing about. House Bill 1211 prohibited the enforcement of contracts limiting competition on certain matters of conscience. Members of the committee moved to send it to the 41st legislative day which kills the measure, the vote was 7 to 0. The other bill that failed to make it out of committee on a vote of 7-0 was House Bill 1258. It would have protected an individual’s conscience from entities requiring the COVID-19 vaccine. Senate Bill 211, which is Governor Noem’s bill will provide statutory COVID-19 vaccine exemptions. So far, it passed the Senate Commerce and Energy Committee, the full Senate, and the House State Affairs Committee. Its next stop will be the full House of Representatives, which will be taken up early next week.
There were a handful of bills that are one step closer to becoming law, that may positively impact the healthcare industry. The following bills have all passed both the House of Representatives and Full Senate, with their next stop the Governor’s desk for final consideration.
- Senate Bill 43 – will authorize the Board of Regents to contract for the design, renovation, and construction of an addition for a health sciences center at Black Hills State University–Rapid City.
- Senate Bill 53 – make an appropriation to increase workforce housing.
- Senate Bill 55 – appropriate funds for the expansion of broadband infrastructure.
- Senate Bill 61 – make an appropriation to the Board of Technical Education to support the purchase of simulation equipment for a health sciences clinical simulation center on the campus of Southeast Technical College.
As we look to the final week of the 2022 legislative session, the 6% Medicaid provider increase still looks to be in place, as does the several medical marijuana bills and the suggested changes made to those bills thus far. This year’s general bill is House Bill 1338.
To learn more about any of the bills SDAHO has followed this session or what is left to be discussed, the latest and most up-to-date information can be found on the SDAHO Bill Tracker
