RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – With the South Dakota legislative session coming to a close at the end of the month, citizens still have concerns and questions about various bills and funding.

Funding for the state library and South Dakota Public Broadcasting has been discussed since the beginning of the session, and was among the topics discussed at Saturday’s legislative crackerbarrel in Deadwood.

Senator Randy Deibert and Representatives Scott Odenbach and Mary J. Fitzgerald all discussed their support of SDPB.

“I wouldn’t bet a lot of money that those cuts are going to be sustained,” Odenbach said. “What I do think is, we need to take a look at cuts to government, whether it’s the rate of growth or an outright cut. I think it needs to be, and this was a discussion I had with the governor, they should be more across the board and not necessarily just targeting for destruction or elimination of one agency like PBS.”

Fitzgerald agreed.

“I do think that public TV and the state library will be fine,” Fitzgerald said. “I think that they are doing everything they can to make sure that we can keep those available to the residents of South Dakota.”

Deibert said without public broadcasting, whether it be in the form of radio or television, the citizens of South Dakota would have much less information available to them.

He added he had more concern for the state library.

“It’s come out of appropriations with an $800,000 cut,” Deibert said of House Bill 1041. “We haven’t discussed that in our caucus yet, but it will be interesting if that stays on. But, I don’t support that cut. I think we need to make cuts and watch spending, but we need to do that as a group. We need to review that in our caucuses and with members of our body.”

House Bill 1041 passed committee with 16 yeas and two nays. It will now head to the House floor.

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