KOTA Territory NewsSouth Dakota lawmakers opt not to weigh in on flag design

South Dakota lawmakers opt not to weigh in on flag design

After some debate in legislative committee and on social media sites, a South Dakota Legislature committee opted not to weigh in on the issue of redesigning the state flag.

The House State Affairs committee waved the white flag but didn't kill House Bill 1218 outright.  Instead, the committee opted to take a safer approve and defer the bill to the 41st legislative day.  Since the legislature ends after 40 days, the bill is in effect ... dead.

Several other noteworthy pieces of legislation were also moved to the 41st day.  These include:

House Bill 1218, rescinding the statute of limitations for lawsuits on some childhood sexual abuse claims.  Deferred by the House Judiciary Committee.  That committee also tabled House Bill 1053 which would establish a restraining order card that can be carried and shown to police when needed.

Two key tax bills were also deferred by the Senate Taxation Committee.

First was Senate Bill 167, authored by northern hills Senator Tom Nelson.  The bill would have increased the hotel occupancy tax in business improvement districts.  It was one of several Nelson bills designed to ease the economic hardship of Deadwood in the wake of the recession and smoking ban.

The other tax bill was Rapid City Senator Stan Adelestien's temporary summer sales tax hike. While the bill is deferred, voters will still get to make the final decision Nov. 6 at the ballot box.

Senate Bill 167, increasing the amount allowed to be played on video lottery machines was sent to the 41st day by the Senate State Affairs Committee.

And House Bill 1221, increasing the state minimum wage was killed by the House Commerce and Energy committee.

Tuesday, lawmakers tackle issues such as drug testing for people getting state aid for food and medical care, school bullying policies, agricultural land values and billboards.