2008 Legislative Agenda
By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2008-01-16 11:38:35.335217-05:00
The South Dakota State Legislature 2008 Session is under way. Already AARP has begun the process of evaluating individual legislative proposals that we can support and, if necessary, oppose in order to ensure that our voice is clearly heard by our elected officials during the 2008 legislative session.
We've already seen significant interest in consumer protection legislation this year, which will be led by several proposals from both the Attorney General and the Division of Insurance.
From the Attorney General
Deceptive Trade Practices Act
This legislation will provide greater protections to consumers who are exploited through deceptive or unfair practice engaged in by a seller before, during, or after a transaction. This would include the purchase of merchandise, hotel reservations, rebates, and other transactions that may be advertised or marketed directly to consumers. It would also lower the threshold of the purchase price of the item from $1500 to $100 so that a greater number of transactions would be covered under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
Two additional bills would lift the cap on FTE's allowed in the Attorney General's consumer protection department and extend the statute of limitations on filing complaints under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act from two years to four years.
From the Division of Insurance
Unfair Claims Act
This legislation would address shortcomings in statute that currently leave South Dakota as one of the weakest states in country with regard to consumer rights when filing automobile insurance claims. The legislation would put into law several provisions that require insurance companies to respond promptly and appropriately to insurance claims, that they do not require unreasonable travel in order for repairs during a claim to be completed, that fair market value is used to replace a vehicle that is a total loss, that quality replacement parts are used during the repair, and several other protections dealing with fair treatment of the claim.
This legislation has been presented the last several legislative sessions without being passed but AARP will continue to work with the Division of Insurance to pass this important legislation despite the opposition by some to provide these consumer protections.
In addition to these legislative items, we will also be following a package of bills by the South Dakota Retirement System that will increase the benefit offered to current participants in the South Dakota Retirement System as well as other initiatives to increase personal savings through SDRS participation.
Lastly, while we have not seen any legislative language regarding health care reform or long-term care reform, we are hopeful that proposals will be brought forth during the legislative session to address these issues, which have a critical impact on all generations of South Dakotans.
Stay tuned to weekly legislative updates as we progress through the legislative session and if you have any questions about specific legislative items or about legislative procedure, please email Sam Wilson during the legislative session.
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