A South Dakota legislative panel has decided to let more lawmakers travel to out-of-state meetings beginning in July.
Because of state government's budget problems last year, hardly any legislators got to travel out of state.
But the Legislature's Executive Board decided Monday that the state's improved financial condition will allow the travel policy to be loosened a bit.
Any lawmaker who is a member of a committee of the National Conference of State Legislatures or the Council of State Governments will be allowed one state-financed trip a year to attend meetings of those organizations.
Lawmakers who are retiring at the end of this year or lose a primary election will not be reimbursed for any travel.
