PIERRE, S.D.(KYNT)- A bill that would have done away with the bar exam for USD Law school graduates in South Dakota was killed in committee Wednesday morning.
Representative Mary Fitzgerald of Spearfish introduced the bill so that University of South Dakota law school graduates wouldn’t have to take the South Dakota bar exam to become licensed as South Dakota lawyers. She is married to Lawrence County state’s attorney John Fitzgerald. He says something needs to be done if it’s not a diploma privilege law.
Representative Jon Hansen of Dell Rapids is a lawyer and voted to kill the bill. He says he was one of the lucky ones to pass the bar exam, but this bill is not the solution to the problem.
The House State Affairs Committee of the South Dakota legislature Wednesday morning voted 8 to 4 to send the bill to the 41st day, effectively killing the bill.