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SDPB Radio Coverage of the South Dakota Legislature. See all coverage and find links to audio and video streams live from the Capitol at www.sdpb.org/statehouse

False Degree Passes SD House

South Dakota lawmakers want to stop individuals who obtain certain professional or trade licenses through a false degree. Senate Bill 97 passed the House Tuesday afternoon and Republican State Representative Scott Ecklund says this is a no brain bill.

"We don’t want physicians, dentists, or mechanics even working on our cars that say that they are something and then they really aren’t. So, we want to make sure that people truly are who they say they are," Representative Ecklund says.

A person caught falsifying a degree to obtain a certain job license could be charged up to a class one misdemeanor. The licenses obtained would then also be revoked. This bill passed the South Dakota House of Representatives on the consent calendar and it goes next to Governor Daugaard’s desk.

Nate Wek is currently the sports content producer and sports and rec beat reporter for South Dakota Public Broadcasting. He is a graduate of South Dakota State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism Broadcasting and a minor in Leadership. From 2010-2013 Nate was the Director of Gameday Media for the Sioux Falls Storm (Indoor Football League) football team. He also spent 2012 and 2013 as the News and Sports Director of KSDJ Radio in Brookings, SD. Nate, his wife Sarah, and two kids Braxan and Jordy, live in Canton, SD.