House Votes for Planning Committee

     PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - The South Dakota House has approved a
proposal to set up a long-term planning committee that would study
education, and other key issues.
     House Republican Leader David Lust of Rapid City says the new
panel would strengthen the Legislature's ability to set long-term
policies and goals. He says the part-time Legislature now is at a
disadvantage to the full-time executive branch.
     But opponents say the new committee is not needed because the
Legislature already appoints special committees every year that
study issues during the summer. They say the new planning committee
would make legislative leaders even more powerful than they are
now.
     The planning committee would include House and Senate leaders
and other lawmakers. It would study demographics, education, labor,
revenue, natural resources, state revenue, trends and challenges.