South Dakota lawmakers grapple with legislation involving property rights, ballot measures and government spending as they meet today (March 3, 2025) in Pierre.
The Senate State Affairs Committee hears HB 1052, which prevents the use of eminent domain for carbon dioxide pipelines. The House State Affairs Committee hears SB 198, which sets new conditions that have to be met before condemnation proceedings can begin.
Several election-related measures are pending before various committees. Two measures, Senate Bills 91 and 92, that modify the statutes pertaining to citizen-initiated ballot measures, are set for morning review in the House State Affairs Committee.
Senate Bill 106 mandates that petition sponsors must be registered voters of the state of South Dakota. Senate Bill 201 prohibits the contribution of federal campaign committees to state campaign committees. They are on the agenda of the House State Affairs Committee for its afternoon meeting. The committee also has Senate Bill 68 before it, which provides that to vote in South Dakota elections, one must be a citizen of the United States.
Two large spending bills are before the Senate. Senate Bill 6 appropriates funds for infrastructure projects that are in connection with the growth of Ellsworth Air Force Base. Senate Bill 16 sets aside the contractor’s excise tax collections for the development of the base.
The Senate considers two joint resolutions that are referendums to the constitution. HJR 5001 asks whether to only allow Medicaid expansion if the federal government pays for it. HJR 5002 would have voters approve an application to Congress to propose a convention to propose term limits on Congress.
The House Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on Senate Bill 57, which proposes to change the state’s presumptive probation law. Presumptive probation applies to certain nonviolent offenders to keep them out of prison.
The Joint Committee on Appropriations convenes to set the budgets of several departments, including the Attorney General’s Office, the Department of Military Affairs, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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