• We've now completed the seventh week of work in Pierre.   We passed "cross-over" on Feb. 25th, and now will focus on House Bills, just as the House will take up the bills which have passed the Senate. When bills are passed out of one body, but with changes that may not be accepted by the other legislative body, they must end up in a conference committee to iron out the differences.
• The last couple weeks of each Session have a lot of moving parts as the Appropriations Committee gets the final revenue numbers, adjusts the budget accordingly, and figures in the cost of any new legislation which passes and on how it impacts the General Fund.
• Health care has been at the forefront this Session.  Several

bills were primarily sponsored by Democrats which would have a tremendous impact on the lives and health of South Dakotans.
• One important piece of legislation which has passed through the House and will now be heard by Senate Commerce is HB 1257. If passed, this law would establish insurance coverage for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. A wide variety of medical professionals, specialists, educators and parents testified on the bill. This legislation is modeled after laws established in other states drafted by Autism Speaks. Since it was founded in 2005, Autism Speaks has grown into the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization. Often insurance companies are able to deny coverage for these individuals in need. The testimony revealed that even if the cost is shifted to the consumers, this type of coverage adds about $4 dollars a year per policy.  It seems like a small price to pay to do the right thing.
• Prenatal care is vital for all children in our state.  If you value healthy infants, you value prenatal care.   HB 1158 will provide for prenatal care to the unborn children of illegal immigrants. This legislation sponsored by Democrats with bipartisan support would help an estimated 200 expectant mothers per year and would cost the state about $118,000. State officials and doctors testifying in support of the bill, predicted passage would lead to savings for the state.  That's because prenatal care is the single best preventive measure to avoid the ICU, which ends up costing hundreds of thousands of dollars per child.  Remember, that since 1789 with the ratification of the Constitution, children born in the US become US citizens.  The House passed this legislation 46-22. It next cleared the Senate Health and Human Services

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