PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — South Dakota’s governor has put her signature on five more pieces of workforce legislation including prohibiting the use of non-compete agreements for many more occupations in health care.
In addition to the non-compete ban, Governor Kristi Noem also signed into law on Friday bills that the Legislature passed:
Providing $5 million for K-12 career and technical education grants.
Establish a community paramedic endorsement.
Update travel, moving and meal reimbursements for state government employees.
Allow South Dakota to participate in the interstate compact on occupational therapist licensing.
She also signed into law a $1.5 million appropriation for design, architectural and engineering services on construction of a new Lincoln Hall at Northern State University in Aberdeen.
Her decision on the broader non-compete ban comes after the Senate decided that HB-1185 should cover more healthcare professions than Republican Rep. Fred Deutsch had originally sought.
The existing ban already covered physicians, physician assistants, certified nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, certified registered nurse anesthetists, registered nurses and licensed practical nurses.
Deutsch, a retired chiropractor, proposed adding respiratory care practitioners, physical therapists, social workers, psychologists, athletic trainers, occupational therapists, professional counselors, professional mental-health counselors, marriage and family therapists, addiction and prevention professionals, and speech language pathologists.
The Senate added chiropractors, dentists and podiatrists. The House wouldn’t go along, so the legislation went to a House-Senate conference committee.
The committee, which included Deutsch, voted 6-0 to further expand the list to also include paramedics and EMTs, nutritionists and dieticians, audiologists and hearing aid dispensers, massage therapists, genetic counselors, and behavior analysts.
“That compromise was we should include all healthcare providers,” Deutsch said as he called for the House to support the final version. No one else spoke.
It won acceptance from the House 61-9 and the Senate 32-2.
