The rising tide of commemorations
Yesterday, the South Dakota House agenda included its first legislative commemoration of the year, “honoring Bethold (Bert) Friend on his 90th birthday.”
What’s a legislative commemoration? It’s “an expression of the Legislature recognizing service or achievements of national or statewide importance or sorrow over a death or loss. Commemorations are done in the form of a resolution and are entered in the journals, but not voted upon.”
It’s different from a concurrent resolution — which doesn’t have the force of law but nonetheless expresses the opinion of the Legislature on an issue — and a joint resolution, typically used to propose constitutional amendments.
And, if you’re on the House side, there’s a lot more of them lately.
The following chart is from data compiled by the Legislative Research Council, showing the number of legislative commemorations in each house dating back to 1989:
Here’s the data:
