Week 2 – Session 2026

As legislators moved into week 2 of this year’s session, there have been a few “dust-ups,” but in general, we know each other better than last year, so there is some camaraderie in the sense that we need to get the people’s work attended to and don’t let philosophy issues get in the way of getting something positive done for our citizens and the institutions that serve them. There have been some reassignments of legislators to different committees because of some unfortunate words and actions of disgruntled legislators, but everyone seems to be over it and we are moving forward.

As of this writing, 268 pieces of legislation have been introduced, and I thought I would go over some of the bills I have introduced to give you an idea of what I’m up to. Remember, the inspiration for legislation comes from conversations with constituents (addressing their ideas or problems), from lobbyists representing South Dakota institutions (counties, cities, associations, etc.), and ideas I have that would address issues I see that would be helpful for citizens of our district and state.

Here are a few I’m working on: HB 1034, which allows County Treasurers to charge a larger amount of money to send license plates out to customers who want their plates or decals mailed to them. This has become a popular service and since the USPS raised postage, counties are not charging enough to cover the increase in postage charges. Although fee increases are never popular, this legislation just passed out of the House today by a 42-22 margin, and so on to the Senate for that one.

HB 1035 is an act to modify the requirements for a person with an accounting degree to be able to sit for the universal CPA test. This legislation takes into account real-world experience and lessens the amount of formal education needed to be able to sit for the test. It’s a needed new pathway for this licensure as the state needs more CPAs, as demand for their professional services has increased and more retirements are occurring.

HB 1058 asks for out-of-state online providers of pari-mutuel providers who encourage and accept wagers from South Dakota residents for horse races to be licensed and pay the same tax as in-state providers would. Current funding sources for live horse racing in South Dakota are antiquated and practically all wagering occurs now on devices that are on internet sites from out-of-state or offshore businesses. This legislation asks the SD Gaming Commission to license these businesses and subject them to the same tax and fees in-state brick-and-mortar businesses must remit. If passed, we can save live horse racing, which is important to horsemen and central South Dakota.

HB 1072 is legislation that would fund a “bonus/raise” for state employees. Ever since the Governor’s budget address, which did not suggest a raise for our state employee professionals, I have been thinking about what we could do for our employees even if we do not have enough ongoing revenue to pay for an increase. This isn’t a perfect solution, but as a former employer, it is difficult to keep a staff of professionals if there are no monetary rewards, even if it is a modest one. This bill will go to the Joint Appropriations Committee where they will consider it with all the other requests for funding. There’s a long way to go on that one.

HB 1113 is an idea I have had since my first session as I was on a summer housing study committee looking at affordable housing solutions. Basically, it is a loan program to help buyers of manufactured homes with down-payment assistance to get them into the most affordable housing that exists. With newer building standards, these homes do not depreciate like they used to and this program is likely sustainable as the recipients of these loans must pay them back when they sell the home. I have thought and worked on this for a long time; we will see if it “gets legs”. I’m working on a few more bills, but they are not fully mature enough to introduce.

As I mentioned last week, there will be many bills introduced that affect owner-occupied property taxes and sales tax rates, and I’m in a workgroup that will hopefully have a version as well. It’s way too early to talk about, but there are good, honest discussions trying to figure out a path to address that issue.

Lastly, other top-of-mind issues for me are Tax Increment Financing reforms, incentives to attract Data Centers, and public education funding.

Thank you for reading my legislative updates and please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any thoughts or questions.

mw