South Dakota Legislative Update - Jan. 11, 2022

Small Towns
Farm and Food
Policy

Welcome to the Pierre Review

Today marks the first day of the 2022 South Dakota legislative session. The Center for Rural Affairs will be tracking policies that affect the rural quality of life and intersect with our goal of building vibrant rural communities. This includes monitoring these issues:

Energy and environment: With wind and solar projects on the rise in South Dakota, we support renewable energy siting standards that encourage development but also take into account the needs or concerns of communities.

Food and agriculture: Family farming plays a critical role in rural life. We support policies that benefit family farms, increase local markets, and demonstrate responsible use of the land.

Economic and community development: We are committed to seeing that rural communities have every opportunity to thrive. We support policies that help ensure small businesses and rural families have the tools and services they require for success.

We value your input as we engage with the legislative process, so please reach out if you would like to discuss bills we are watching. 

Additionally, it’s critical that legislators hear from the people they represent. We encourage you to get involved in the legislative process by communicating with elected officials about the issues you care about. If you don’t know who your legislators are, you can find them at this link.

We look forward to communicating with you during the legislative session and welcome your input. Feel free to be in touch about issues you feel are important to rural communities. I can be reached at heidiku@cfra.org, or 605.240.0039.

Resources to help empower you to advocate for the issues you care about

Upcoming legislative forums

Pierre Area Legislative Coffees, Jan. 29 and Feb. 12, hosted by the Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce
Districts 1, 2, 3, and 23 Legislative Cracker Barrels, Jan. 29, Feb. 12, and March 5, hosted by the Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce
District 18 Cracker Barrels, Jan. 29, Feb. 12, and March 15, hosted by Yankton Thrive
Districts 30, 32, 33, 34, and 35 Legislative Cracker Barrels, Jan. 29, Feb. 12, Feb. 26, March 5, hosted by Elevate Rapid City
Districts 6, 11, and 15 Legislative Coffee, Feb. 5, hosted by the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce
Districts 9, 13, and 14 Legislative Coffee, Feb. 12, hosted by the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce
Districts 10, 12, and 25 Legislative Coffee, Feb. 26, hosted by the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce