Forty days of session. Seven and a half billion dollars in the budget. Those are two of the most important numbers to know when it comes to the South Dakota State Legislature. This year’s session is already underway, and there has been a lot to unpack so far.
When it comes to the State Legislature, though, why should you care? Well, as a student at SDSU, the State Legislature plays a huge role in overseeing how your university operates. New buildings, curriculum, and more are shaped, in large part, thanks to the legislature. In conjunction with the South Dakota Board of Regents, they have set in motion projects across our campus and our state. One of their most significant collaborations has been the “tuition freeze.” For the last three years, save for an odd adjustment here or there of no more than a couple hundred dollars, tuition at the state-run schools in South Dakota has not gone up.
Work like that does not come without a significant buy-in, though, and our legislature is keen on making sure that the Board of Regents works hard to make higher education the best it can be in South Dakota, while also making it efficient from their point of view. In 2020, Senate Bill 55 was enacted by the Legislature, tasking the Board of Regents with finding areas in which they could operate more efficiently. Consequently, a few offices on university campuses were eliminated, and several new goals on each campus were envisioned. However, there was no shortage of controversy around that bill and the subsequent task force created to see its’ goals through. In fact, that same task force met here at SDSU during its’ fact-finding mission, and I was lucky enough to be at that meeting and ask questions of Board members and Legislators about why these changes were being enacted. Their answers, though sometimes difficult to understand, were helpful in understanding why those changes were coming. In turn, they were able to understand from those of us students gathered at that meeting why we were curious about their plans.
Since then, I have worked with members of the Board and Legislators who were there at that meeting, and, believe it or not, they remembered me. And, they remembered that my questions (though long and rambling at points) were important because each student’s input is probably a little bit different on issues affecting us as college students. That value on our input carries over when we talk about Legislative Session, too. For the past two years, I have been able to travel to our state capital, Pierre, and lobby Legislators on issues that concern higher education in South Dakota. For example, the last two sessions have included proposals in both the House and Senate to construct an indoor rodeo facility on our campus, for the purpose of housing the Rodeo Team, who are deserving of a facility that matches their prowess. Those efforts have been unsuccessful, but lobbying on them did make a difference. The first year that bill was brought to the Legislature, it failed in its’ first committee. The second year, after more research, more planning, and continued advocacy from students involved in Students’ Association, Rodeo, and more, it made it through the first committee, before going down in the committee on Appropriations. Now, by that math, you would have to try for several years in order to clear each committee and clear every other hurdle in order for a bill to become law. But, sometimes you have to be in it for the long haul, and that will help you earn support for your causes over time.
Of course, I’m not saying dive headfirst into policymaking and join a group or find a position that specifically deals with that, that’s not for everyone. Not everyone wants to get into a minivan at three in the morning and drive to Pierre for five minutes of testimony, and rightfully so; most people enjoy sleeping in! But a little input is always helpful. Bills earn support or opposition from the Students’ Association during session, but we are careful to base our feedback on what the student body wants. By telling us what you think, we can more effectively respond to policies that can positively or negatively affect your experience at SDSU. Whether it’s another year of tuition staying flat, a building renovation, protecting our First Amendment rights to Free Speech and Free Expression, or a commemoration celebrating the back-to-back championship football team that calls our university home, there is always a desire for student input on legislative happenings, through the Student Government or on an individual’s behalf.
I cannot stress enough how important it is that you make your opinions known during Legislative session, especially as bills continue to get filed the next few weeks. If you live in South Dakota, you can look up your representatives and all the bills filed so far on the legislature’s website, which is sdlegislature.gov, and you can even find contact information for your legislators on that website! I promise you; they want to hear from you about what they can do to make your higher education the best it can be in South Dakota. All it takes is a phone call or an email to articulate your stance on a bill or issue that the legislature is examining. I hope that you will find something you are passionate about as legislative session goes on, and I encourage you to share your thoughts with our Legislature.
–Michael Garofalo
SDSU Students’ Association Government Affairs Chair
