South Dakota 2020 Legislative Session: Week Five Update

With Week 5 in the books, we have reached the half way point of the 2020 South Dakota legislative session.

On Monday, AARP South Dakota testified in support of House Bill (HB) 1131, which will prohibit the use of misleading identification for telephone communications. HB 1131 is a consumer protection bill that modifies rules for telemarketers. Here’s what the bill does:

• add texting to the types of solicitation communications that are the subject to the telemarketer statute,
• replaces the word “call” with the more universal term “communication” in several places,
• requires that caller ID technology display the telemarketer’s authentic name/entity and phone number (except under limited circumstances, like court orders),
• authorizes the Attorney General to launch investigations.

HB 1131 passed in committee and on the House floor and now moves over to the Senate for consideration

With AARP South Dakota's support, House Bill (HB) 1034, which provides property and sales tax refunds to low income seniors, has passed through the Appropriations Committee and is headed to the House of Representatives for consideration. Learn more about this legislation in our week four update.

This week, with AARP South Dakota’s support, Senate Bill (SB) 50, which updates the South Dakota Nurse Practice Act, passed through the House Health and Human Services Committee and on the floor of the House of Representatives. Since the bill had minor, friendly, amendments in the House floor it will move back to the Senate for concurrence and then onto Governor Noem’s desk for her signature. Learn more about this legislation in our week two update.

On Wednesday, the House Retirement Laws Committee held a hearing on the three bills being brought by the South Dakota Retirement System (SDRS). Each bill previously passed through the Senate and now passed out of the House Retirement Laws Committee. They now head to the House floor for likely passage before making their way to Governor Noem’s desk for her signature. AARP SD has been monitoring these bills, and provide background on SB 31, SB 32 and SB 34 in our week two update.

Many of your state legislators return home after each week in Pierre to reconnect with their communities and you only have a few more weeks to make sure they take action on the issues that matter most to you! AARP SD is one of the many groups who help to facilitate these conversations by sponsoring legislative coffees in cities across the state. Find an event near you and remember to let your lawmakers know you are watching what happens in Pierre whenever you see them in your community!