President’s Report

 AMYLEON |SDMLPRESIDENT 

2023 Legislative Session: Stay Informed, Get Involved

By the time you read this, the 2023 South Dakota Legislative Session will be in full swing. Our legislators want and need our counsel, advice, and input on the bills that come before them. Many of the issues they will consider this year will impact our day-todayoperationsandcouldimpactfunding.

Whilesomeofourlegislatorshaveservedon acitycouncilorcountycommission,thereare manywhohavenot.Theymaynotunderstand how their vote could impact municipalities. I encourage you to get and stay well informed of what goes on in Pierre each week during thesessionandtocontactyourdelegatesand thecommitteemembersworkingonparticular bills so that they can make the best decision fortheirdistrictandforcitiesacrossthestate.

Fortunately, the Municipal League makes this easy for our membership. Each week of the session the executive director sends an updateofthebillsthathavebeenintroduced, their status, and their potential ramifications. Often,theseupdatesprovideuswithspecific action to take and the contact information associated with the committee or sponsors ofthebills.Ifyoudonotalreadyreceivethese updates, please contact League staff and providethemwithyouremailsothatyoucan start getting the information weekly in your inbox.

IoftensharetheseupdateswithothersinCity Hallandwithbusinessleaderstorequestthey also contact their legislators. In addition, I urgeyoutocommunicatewithyourlegislators regarding any matter that you believe is importantforyourcityandourstate.Contact informationforeachofyourlegislatorsiseasy to find on the website www.sdlegislature. gov. Here you can find information about the legislators, and an email address and phone number where you can contact them. We've alsoprintedtheircontactinformationonpages 12-14ofthispublication.

Pro tip: In my emails, I typically include either HB or SB and the bill number in the subject line. I also repeat this to open the email and a give brief description of the bill. Legislators have a ton of bills thrown at them, so I want to help jog their memory on what the bill I am commenting on relates to. Then I provide just two or three sentences where I describe what impact this bill has, why it matters to Yankton and municipalities acrossthestate,andhowIurgethemtovote on the issue. Often, the SDML provides a framework for this and sometimes provides somecuesonwhatpointstodrivehome.

Remember, if you are an elected official or staff person, you are speaking for yourself on behalf of what you think is best for your community. You are not speaking for the body unless specific action has been taken authorizingyoutodoso.

We send these people to Pierre with a commongoaltomakeourstateabetterplace, and cities will continue to be major players in shaping the future of South Dakota. We knowit’snoteasytobeleadersingovernment today,butIbelieveourlegislatorswillconsider and appreciate what we have to say when we say it on behalf of the majority of South Dakotansthatliveinourcitiesandtowns.■