AARP Eye Center
The main run of the 2018 South Dakota Legislative Session has ended and AARP SD is proud to have worked on many important issues that impact the 50+ population in South Dakota.
Data Breach Notification
With AARP South Dakota’s support, Senate Bill (SB) 62 has been signed into law. This bill was brought by South Dakota Attorney General, Marty Jackley. Under this new legislation, information holders must disclose a data breach to any resident of South Dakota whose personal or protected information was acquired by an unauthorized person within 60 days of discovery. Furthermore, if that breach impacts 250 South Dakota residents or more, the Attorney General must also be informed within 60 days.
South Dakota is one of the last states in the country to adopt a data breach notification bill. AARP South Dakota’s position on this issue is simple: Consumers should be notified of all security breaches involving their sensitive personal information as soon as reasonably possible.
Uniform Power of Attorney Act
During the 2018 South Dakota legislative session, AARP South Dakota championed House Bill (HB) 1204 which would adopt the Uniform Power of Attorney Act (UPOAA).
Powers of attorney are essential estate and life planning tools that allow individuals (the principal) to delegate authority of their financial matters to another (the agent) in case of decision-making incapacity. While the UPOAA couldn't prevent bad actors from committing theft and other forms of abuse, it did set forth clear agent duties and prohibitions that would make civil actions and criminal prosecutions more effective. It also provided important protections to third parties to encourage their acceptance of powers of attorney in appropriate circumstances.
Though HB 1204 passed through the South Dakota House of Representatives, it unfortunately did not pass in the Senate.
Low-Income Elderly Tax Credit
Senate Bill (SB) 56 was signed into law, thanks in part to AARP South Dakota's active support. SB 56 provides property and sales tax refunds to low income seniors.
Property taxes are the single most burdensome tax for low-income and older homeowners. Many of our state's elderly citizens have lived in their homes for generations. As their property values have appreciated, so have their property taxes. Furthermore, seniors often live on fixed incomes and cannot afford the yearly increases in their property taxes while also meeting their basic needs for food, medicine and utilities.
AARP South Dakota was pleased to see the income eligibility parameters for this program raised to $12,060 for a single member household and $16,240 for a multi-member household.
Payday Lending
Again, this year AARP South Dakota had to work to protect 2016’s Initiated Measure 21 which capped payday lending rates at 36%. House Bill (HB) 1082 and House Bill (HB) 1094 both dealt with lending issues and didn't intended to allow payday lenders back into South Dakota but as written, the bills would have created loop holes for payday lenders to potentially operate business as usual. AARP South Dakota successfully worked to amend both bills to remove any unintended consequences and close the loopholes that payday lenders were looking for.
The amended versions of HB 1082 and HB 1094 passed through the legislature.
South Dakota Retirement System
The South Dakota legislature passed four bills being proposed by the South Dakota Retirement System (SDRS).
The most significant of these bills is Senate Bill (SB) 37.Under this new legislation, state employees who are not currently deferring their compensation plan will be automatically enrolled starting July 1, 2019. Additionally, the bill will allow other participating employers to offer auto enrollment for their employees who are not currently deferring. The bill also allows employees to elect not to participate.
Budget
For Fiscal Year 2019 (FY 19), South Dakota lawmakers approved a $4.69 billion spending plan which includes pay raises for community support providers, teachers and state employees.
Community support providers will receive a 2% funding increase, a 1% increase will go to K-12 education aimed at boosting teacher pay and state employees will receive a 1.2% pay raise.
From week to week, AARP South Dakota advocates passionately worked on and followed these and many other issues to ensure the voice for the 50+ was being heard in Pierre. Thank you for sharing your feedback and following our weekly updates throughout the session. Your willingness to engage with your legislators on AARP's priorities helps contribute to our presence and success in Pierre.
If you would like to join our team of advocates or just learn more about AARP's legislative work at both the state and federal level, send your name and email address to sdaarp@aarp.org to begin receiving our Advocacy Newsletter in your inbox.