South Dakota lawmakers prioritize water, education, and missing persons alerts

Representatives Nicole Uhre-Balk and Mike Derby will retain their seats in the South Dakota Legislature following Tuesday's election. They will join several new members when the chamber convenes in mid-January. The session follows Governor Rhoden's budget address, which is scheduled for next month.

Uhre-Balk plans to focus her bill efforts on education and affordability. She also intends to revamp the state's endangered missing persons alert system. She noted that the alert has been used only a handful of times since its creation. "Indigenous people are the largest people group on the murdered and missing persons list," she said. "And so we want to make sure that they can have access to those alerts, and just what are what are some things that we could try to do to help bring those numbers down."

Uhre-Balk also seeks a seat on the appropriations committee. That committee is currently co-chaired by Derby, who represents District 34. Once the governor releases the budget framework, Derby expects the body to address funding for healthcare providers, K-12 education, and state employees. Agricultural concerns will also feature prominently in the discussions.

Derby identified water infrastructure in Western South Dakota as a key financial priority. "One of the issues that we do want to bring to the forefront is water, specifically water in Western South Dakota," he said. "So some of the issues regarding that will take some funding, so we're going to take a hard look at what we can do to provide that." He added that policy debates regarding data centers will continue during the session.

The legislative calendar begins with the governor's budget presentation. The full session kicks off in mid-January. Both representatives say they will work to balance new member orientation with the introduction of their priority bills.