Government Relations Committee
By Mary Pat Mueller
Some years we have nothing that comes before the legislature that affects us as counselors, but this year, that was not the case. We kept track of several bills. Our lobbyist, Mitch Richter, made his money and our executive director, Kelly Duncan, did a great job of keeping everything organized and all parties informed. I was especially impressed with how all the members of SDCA responded to the requests to contact your legislators and come to day on the hill. We had a great turnout. Several of you developed brochures to distribute to the legislatures about the bills and these were invaluable to educate representatives about our profession. Here is a brief synopsis of the bills we watched and how they turned out.
As you all know by now, HB 1137, better know as the Counselor Practice Law, never got out of the Senate Commerce Committee hearings, and died on a vote of 4-2. We were disappointed with this outcome, especially since the bill passed unanimously on the House Floor. Senator Schoenbeck, from Watertown was a strong opposor of the bill, however, we were unable to find out his exact concerns. His questions at the Commerce Committee hearings were directed at the exemptions for clergy. Although we were ready to answer those questions, no further testimony was allowed, leaving questions in the committee member's minds. As an association we will discuss visiting this again next year.
HB 1194, a bill, which made it illegal for a school employee to give a referral to family planning, etc., never made it out of the Senate Education Committee.
HB 1217, "the abstinence bill", was voted a do not pass by the Senate Education Committee and then deferred to the 26th Legislative Day. This is a move that essentially kills the bill.
HB 1225, the bill that increased the compulsory age of school attendance to eighteen was deferred to the thirty sixth day.
In closing, I want to again thank all of you who volunteered your time to support and lobby for this important legislation. Our voice is much louder when we are united.