Full agendas ahead this week for South Dakota lawmakers

Today (Feb. 27, 2023) starts the beginning of the end of another four-day work week.

At 7:45 a.m. (CT), the Senate Health and Human Services Committee hears a bill to tighten how medical marijuana can be prescribed and sold. (HB 1154)

Also, at 7:45 a.m., the House State Affairs Committee considers two election bills. One would establish post-election audits, and the other would prohibit ranked-choice voting. (SB 160, SB 55)

At 10 a.m., the Senate Taxation Committee considers the $104 million tax cut to lower the state sales tax from 4.5 to 4.2 percent. (HB 1137)

At the same time, the House Judiciary Committee could hear an amendment to a bill requiring law enforcement to notify school officials if a student is suspected of drug or alcohol offenses or threatening violence. (SB 3)

The Joint Appropriations Committee meets at 10:30 a.m. and will hold budget hearings on several other statewide offices.

The Senate State Affairs Committee meets at 11 a.m. It may consider a bill requiring at least 1/35th of petition signatures for an initiated constitutional amendment to come from each of the 35 legislative districts. (HB 1200)

The House and Senate go into session at 2 p.m.

The Senate has a lengthy calendar of House and Senate bills. They may debate two funding bills, one using federal infrastructure funds for water projects and the other to spend $13 million to start an expansion of the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Deadwood. (SB 156, SB 35)

The House also has a lengthy calendar. The lower chamber is scheduled to debate a resolution of support for the Dobbs U.S. Supreme Court decision that leaves abortion regulation to the states (SCR 602). They are also scheduled to hear several funding bills, including money for a new state public health laboratory and nearly half a billion dollars in funding for new men’s and women’s prisons (HB 1022, HB 1016, HB 1017).

Today is the 30th Legislative Day of 38.