Lawmakers are digging in for what is likely to be some long sessions in Pierre.
‘Cross Over Day’ is next Monday, the legislative deadline by which all bills and joint resolutions must leave the house of origin and ‘cross over’ to the opposite chamber. Bills will need to clear committees in the house of origin by this Friday.
Dozens upon dozens of bills are still in committee, primarily on the House side. Those bills are everything from major initiatives to honorary commemorations with an unusually high number of ‘placeholder’ bills tossed in. ‘Placeholders’ are bills with little more than a title holding a place in line should a lawmaker need to insert a bill after the deadline for new legislation has passed.
Privately, some lawmakers are predicting extended days with some committees having to meet more than once a day to clear their docket.
Several committee’s have begun convening for evening sessions and Senators know it’s only a matter of days before the log jam of bills arrive in their Chamber.
Twenty five bills are up for consideration in the State House today in Pierre. The Senate will consider thirteen when it convenes this afternoon.
(Patrick Callahan, South Dakota Broadcasters Association)