The sixth week of the South Dakota Legislative session is in the books. Only two weeks remain in the main run of the 2012 session.

One of the things that makes the South Dakota Legislature unique is the fact that we have one of the shortest sessions in the nation. In 2008, voters approved a change to the state Constitution which allows the Legislature to meet for a maximum of 40 days annually. Before this, the constitution mandated that the legislature meet for a maximum of 40 days in odd numbered years and a maximum of 35 days in even numbered years. The brevity of the session can catch some observers off guard as bills and hearings tend to move fairly quickly as compared to other states or the U.S. Congress.

The main reason the process works well is that legislators adhere to a fairly strict calendar with various deadlines that can only be changed with a two-thirds vote of the House or Senate. One of those major deadlines was reached this week when the Legislature reached “cross over day”.

ShoreTel has signed a definitive agreement to acquire M5 Networks ("M5"), a recognized leader in hosted Unified Communications.  As a result of this acquisition, ShoreTel will be uniquely positioned to provide customers a choice between on-premise and hosted UC solutions. 

For the past two weeks, SDN Communications has been busy visiting schools like Mitchell Technical Institute and Dakota State University, promoting the open internships and full-time positions in our technical departments.

In some ways, the best analogy to describe a South Dakota legislative session is that it is much like a bobsled going down a long winding run. It starts off slow, goes through several twists and turns, picks up speed the further it gets into the run and finally ends up at the finish line. As we finish the fourth weeks of the 2012 session, the legislative bobsled has had a few twists and turns (ie. internal investigations, breakaway caucuses, etc.), but it is now picking up steam as we move to the midpoint of the legislative calendar.

This past week, a couple of bills that have various effects on the communications industry were heard in legislative committees. SB 103, sponsored by Sen. Shantel Krebs (R-Renner), would reduce the advertising standard for unclaimed cooperative capital credits. The current statute has not been updated since 1965 and the language is somewhat convoluted. The bill would clarify that before a cooperative attempts to forfeit any unclaimed capital credits, it must advertise in the weekly newspaper of the last known address of the patron in question. The bill passed the Senate Commerce committee on a vote of 6-0 and the full Senate by a vote of 33-1. It now heads to the House for further hearings and debate.

Read the full story here, in Prairie Business Magazine. Mark Shlanta was interviewed about the Broadband Stimulus progress so far and is quoted saying, "SDN’s new fiber will provide connectivity to more than 300 anchor institutions – schools, rural hospitals and clinics, government office buildings, and local, county, state and federal office buildings – across the state. The communications company is approximately three-quarters complete and has built 250-350 miles of fiber and touched more than 200 anchor institutes. The remainder of the $25.7 million project is expected to be completed by the end of the year."

Sioux Falls continues to get great national attention for being the best spot for data centers. American Banker is the latest to take note in its publication and website.