FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  April 23, 2008                                       
CONTACT:  Ronette Rumpca, 605-773-6011, Ronette.Rumpca@state.sd.us

Legislative process forum coming to Cultural Heritage Center

PIERRE, S.D. -- Political ads, bumper stickers, lawn posters – the signs of an election year are all around. New laws passed by the state legislature will take effect July 1. Politics is a part of our world. What part do ordinary citizens play – or should they play – in the legislative process?

A public forum “The Role of Citizens in the Legislative Process” will address this issue on Monday, April 28, at 5:30 p.m. at the South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. Refreshments will be served.        

Bob Gray, R-Pierre, State Senator for District 24, will present background information on the state’s legislative process. Forum attendees will discuss the lawmaking process and how citizens can be involved. Guided by a neutral moderator, the forum will consider citizens as learners, citizens as participants, and legislators and officials as collaborators.

“This is a great opportunity for everyone to come and learn what voice ordinary people have in forming the laws we all live with,” said Jay D. Vogt, director of the South Dakota State Historical Society, headquartered in the Cultural Heritage Center. “This forum isn’t about candidates or hot-topic issues, but rather about how the legislative process works and the part we all play in it.”            

The South Dakota Issues Forums, a project of the Chiesman Center for Democracy in Rapid City, is hosting public forums on the legislative process throughout the state in 2008. Results of the Pierre forum, along with the other state forums, will be shared with legislators and the media.            

The forum is sponsored by the South Dakota State Historical Society, the United States Department of Education, Kids Voting South Dakota, South Dakota Issues Forums and the Chiesman Center for Democracy.