93rd Legislative Session
Jill Stephenson
Member, Government Relations Committee
The 93rd Legislative Session opens on January 8th. The SDCA Government Relations Committee encourages you to be involved and informed. I want to give you two avenues to do so.
First, mark the following web page as a favorite: http://legis.state.sd.us/index. This is your best source for direct information regarding your legislators, proposed legislation, and committee or session schedules. It also provides you an easy way to communicate with your legislators by email. Remember that they work for you and want to hear from you.
Secondly, Day on the Hill (February 11) is a great chance to help SDCA be noticed in Pierre. Last year we made a big impact while working on the practice law. This year we need to lay the ground work and build the knowledge and relationships that will help us during the '09 session when we address several school counseling issues. Plus, there is always legislation that arises during the session that affects us. We owe it to our clients and students to advocate for them and for our profession.
More information will be coming regarding Day on the Hill. However, generally there is a SDCA business meeting the night before. This is followed by an orientation to Day on the Hill during which time we hear from our lobbyist. He will share the status of any bills that should be of concern to us so we can coordinate our action. For those who can't attend this orientation, we will meet briefly in the morning. Then we do a meet and greet over coffee in the Senate and House lobbies. We also attend committee meetings, write notes to our legislators and press the flesh whenever possible. Basically, we are visible to our legislators as a reminder of our organization and our concerns.
Meanwhile, if you have any questions or input, please feel free to contact any of the Government Relations Committee members.