Advocacy

With week nine in the books, we have officially completed the last full week of South Dakota's 2019 legislative session. We spent this week wrapping up our work in the Capitol and looking ahead to the priorities that have been laid out for 2019.

The month of March is officially upon us and AARP South Dakota’s work for you continues in Pierre. We have only one full week of the 2019 SD Legislative Session remaining so we spent much of this week following up on ongoing legislation.

Week seven is a busy and important week each year in the SD legislature. It is the final week for a bill to pass out of the committee in it's chamber of origin. This means a bill has to have been given a favorable recommendation in the first committee so it can be heard on the chamber floor before crossover day. "Crossover Day" is Monday, and marks the last opportunity for a bill originating in the House to move to the Senate, and vice versa. If a bill has not crossed over to the other chamber by the end of the day on Monday, it is considered dead.

We have had a busy week as we prepare for the President's Day holiday - and there is still more work to do!

We have officially reached the half way point of the 2019 South Dakota legislative session.

Despite the cold, South Dakota advocates flocked to the Capitol this week to meet with their elected officials and make the priorities of South Dakota's 50+ known. Clad in their signature red vest, advocates from communities across our state had lunch with many of our State Senators and Representations, as well as Governor Noem, Lt Governor Rhoden and Attorney General Ravnsborg. Photos from the event are attached below.

Many of your state legislators return home after each week in Pierre to reconnect with their communities and to hear from members of their constituency. AARP SD is one of the many groups who help to facilitate these conversations by sponsoring legislative coffees in cities across the state. We encourage you to take an opportunity to get to know your elected officials and to let your lawmakers know you are watching what happens in Pierre!

The bitter cold hit much of SD, but Pierre is heating up! Despite it being a holiday week, AARP SD was busy taking steps to help expand access to human, health and disaster resources across our state.

Though, we have just been in Pierre for 8 days so far, we are already nearly 25% done with the 2019 SD legislative session!

A new year means a new legislative session in South Dakota and the Capitol is busy with newly elected officials. AARP SD advocates are in Pierre making sure your new representatives are up-to-date on the issues that matter most to you.