PIERRE, SD (KELO AM) – Five South Dakota lawmakers and two staff members of the South Dakota Legislative Research Council (LRC) have been appointed to leadership roles with the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).
Senator Justin Cronin (R-Gettysburg) was named co-chair of the Task Force on Agriculture and vice-chair of the Natural Resources and Infrastructure Committee; Senator Terri Haverly (R-Rapid City) will serve as co-chair of the Labor and Economic Development Committee; Senator Deb Soholt (R-Sioux Falls) has been appointed co-chair of the Task Force on Innovations in State Health Systems; Representative Kristin Conzet (R-Rapid City) was named co-chair of the Legislative Effectiveness Committee; and Representative Craig Tieszen (R-Rapid City) will serve as co-chair of the Law, Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee.
Legislative Research Council Director Jason Hancock was appointed staff co-chair of the Legislative Effectiveness Committee, and Jason Simmons, Principal Fiscal Analyst with LRC, will serve on the Executive Committee.
All seven appointments were made during the 2017 NCSL Legislative Summit held August 6-9, 2017, in Boston, Massachusetts.
South Dakota Senator Deb Peters (R-Hartford), who became NCSL's 45th president during the Summit, said the appointments will benefit South Dakota both on the national stage and at home.
"NCSL brings you a lot of fantastic topics and best practices that we can really bring back and improve our states. South Dakota folks are active and effective in maintaining balance in a bi-partisan approach and working with NCSL to drive South Dakota issues to the top of the issues being discussed on the national platform," Peters said.
NCSL is a bipartisan organization.