SD leg ends session by raising teacher pay, egg on their face for anti-transgender bill

Pierre, S.D. (AP) — The state Legislature ended the main run of the 2016 session after passing the state budget and approving a tax hike to raise to teacher pay. But it was lawmakers' deliberations and Gov. Dennis Daugaard's veto of a bill that would have limited the bathrooms that transgender students could use that drew widespread attention. Here's a look at some of the issues lawmakers considered this year:

Teacher pay

Legislators passed a half-cent sales tax hike that puts more than $60 million in new funding toward helping boost South Dakota's lowest-in-the-nation pay for teachers to a target average of $48,500 per year. Daugaard signed a package of education measures, including the tax hike, which will also go to property tax relief and salaries at technical schools.

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Transgender measures

Lawmakers were unsuccessful in passing several measures this session related to transgender people, including the one the Republican governor vetoed, which the House failed to override earlier this month.

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Abortion limitation

Lawmakers approved — and Daugaard signed — a measure banning most abortions beyond 19 weeks of pregnancy. The prohibition is based on the disputed premise that a fetus can feel pain at that stage. Rep. Isaac Latterell, a Republican, has said the measure recognizes "the humanity of these children."

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Seizure treatment

House lawmakers blocked a bill that would have allowed doctors to prescribe preparations of a compound, called cannabidiol, that are low in THC, an intoxicant in marijuana. It was aimed at helping people treat intractable epilepsy.

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School choice

A bill that would give insurance companies tax credits for contributions to help lower-income students attend private schools is on Daugaard's desk. The measure would allow companies to get an 80 percent tax credit for total contributions to a grant organization. The credits could total up to $2 million each budget year.

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The Gayly – March 13, 2016 @ 2 p.m.