Week five was a productive week in Pierre for the SDAHO Advocacy team. We were successful in moving a handful of bills forward and assisting with stopping a few.
On Thursday, the Appropriations Committee adopted revenues to finish out the current fiscal year and next, both of which are higher than what was included in the Governor’s Budget proposal. The current year’s budget saw an increase of 8.4 million dollars, while the ongoing budget saw an increase of 6.4 million dollars. This is important as it will help to hold the line at 1.25% for Medicaid providers, as well as allowing flexibility in the budget to bring back some of the proposed cuts. Cuts that the SDAHO Advocacy team are fighting for include the Graduate Medical Education program, Subsidized Assisted Living program, and Renal Disease program.
A bill aimed to deter public health efforts, SB 133, would have allowed counties and municipalities the option to stop fluoride from being in water supplies. This bill made it out of Senate Health and Human Services last week without recommendation, on a 6-1 vote. This week attempts to place it on the Senate calendar failed 12-22. This was a good test for how the legislators would handle a broad public health bill and it was good to see it defeated.
Anyone interested in listening to the live or archived audio of committee hearings from this year’s session, can be found at sd.net.
The SDAHO Advocacy team will be in Pierre for the entire run of the 2025 legislative session. To stay connected with healthcare related legislation, follow our Bill Tracker here.
You can also visit our State Advocacy Webpage.
