It was a busy week at the South Dakota State Legislature, as crossover day took place on Tuesday, February 25. This was the last day to pass bills or joint resolutions in its House of Origin. A few bills the SDAHO Advocacy Team continues to watch include:
HB 1047 , SDAHO is supporting and was signed by Governor Rhoden on 2/25/25. The measure will make an appropriation to reimburse health care professionals who have complied with the requirements for rural recruitment assistance programs, and to declare an emergency.
SB 37 – This measure will revise, and repeal provisions related to the 911 emergency surcharge and the 911 Coordination Board. This also removes the sunset of 911 surcharge, in addition it updates the reporting from fiscal year to annual year. It passed the House Judiciary committee unanimously on 2/26/25.
SB 99 – This measure will make an appropriation for purchasing, storing, and distributing sexual assault kits. SDAHO is supporting this measure. It will provide $180,000 for sex assault kits, which the SD Department of Health purchases. The DOH will also store and send the kits to the healthcare facilities when requested. It passed the full Senate on 2/24/25 with a 30-5 vote. It was heard in the House of Representatives on 2/26/25 and passed with a 69-1 vote.
As we look at week 8 there are a couple bills we are closely following:
- HJR 5001 –This Joint Resolution is Proposing and submitting to the voters at the next general election an amendment to the Constitution of the State of South Dakota, conditioning the requirement of expanded Medicaid on the level of federal medical assistance. It is important to note that if the federal government makes changes to the FMAP, that will impact the state from participating in Medicaid Expansion. Members of the Senate State Affairs Committee passed the resolution with a 7-1 vote on 2/26/25. Its next stop is the full senate.
- SB 154 – This measure will prohibit pharmaceutical manufacturers from interfering in contracts between 340B entities and pharmacies and to provide a penalty therefor. SDAHO is supporting this measure which passed the full Senate during week 6 of session. It is now referred to House Health and Human Services for further consideration.
Anyone interested in listening to the live or archived audio of committee hearings from this year’s session, can be found at sd.net. To stay connected with healthcare related legislation, follow our Bill Tracker here. You can also visit our State Advocacy Webpage.
