• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- A few years ago, it was a surprise to see successful legislation come out of a South Dakota legislative summer study, according to one state lawmaker.
• The Legislature's executive board chooses a few topics every year to study in the summer between sessions. Appointed committees meet about four times in the summer and early fall, gathering public and expert testimony on the topic.
• "The summer studies there for a while were noted for not passing anything," Sen. Ryan Maher, the chair of the executive board, said.
• But two 2013 summer studies resulted in new state laws and impacted the budget the Legislature passed last week, as the main run of this year's legislative session came to an end.
• Last year's studies covered domestic violence and school funding.
• Maher, R-Isabel, says the annual studies serve an important role, helping lawmakers delve deep into issues between sessions.
• The study on domestic violence resulted in six bills -- five are now laws. The chair of that committee, Sen. Deb Soholt, is thrilled at the outcome.
• "I think part of the success is that we've been tinkering around with domestic abuse bills for quite a few years. So sometimes the legislative outcome is based on years that build upon years," the Sioux Falls Republican said. "But the most important thing that we did this year with our summer study was to stay very, very focused."
• One new policy clarifies who is protected under domestic abuse laws: Couples who don't live together are protected, but platonic roommates are not.
• Soholt says that even the bill that failed provoked an important discussion. That measure would have made it an additional crime to commit domestic abuse in front of a child.

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