Senator Tim Reed and Representative Melissa Heermann joined us on September 21, 2023 to talk about what we can expect in the 2024 South Dakota Legislative Session. Highlights included:
- We should see a lot of bills that will affect Workforce: tuition freeze at technical schools, childcare, long term care funding, elder care
- The “Freedom Works” promo (recruitment campaign by Governor Noem to attract new workers to South Dakota) isn’t funded by the legislature. If gov wants to continue program, she will need to go to legislature for more $$. Tracking this program is problematic.
- Q: what are you seeing for childcare? A: subsidies for those who are above poverty level but can’t afford childcare. Need more licensed childcare.
- Long term care innovative idea: provide housing for college students who also work there. Financial model is tricky.
- Need to add apprenticeships for childcare and LTC.
- It can be hard for legislators to provide regular updates on why they voted how they did. Sometimes while bills look good on the surface, but the details have consequences that aren’t readily available.
- Q anything on marijuana? Last year was around pop up clinics. Likely see more bills around the guardrails for medical marijuana. There is a group trying to repeal medical and a group trying to expand marijuana in the state.