PIERRE - The Joint Appropriations Committee meets at 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27, where lawmakers hope to put the finishing touches on a number of spending bills.

The main run of the 35-day legislative session ends Friday, Feb. 29. (Lawmakers return March 17 for the 35th so-called "veto day.")

The Senate convenes at 11 a.m. Bills on the schedule include:

* SB188 to establish high-performance energy standards for newly constructed or renovated state-owned buildings. The first version of the measure was opposed by Black Hills timber industry representatives, who argued that it put locally produced lumber at a competitive disadvantage.

* HB1076 to revise the funding for K-12 education

* HB1226 and HB1227 to provide funds for post-secondary technical institutes, such as Western Dakota Technical Institute in Rapid City

* HB1085 to authorize the South Dakota Building Authority to finance construction, reconstruction, renovation and modernization of science facilities and laboratories at public universities

* SC22 to congratulate Rapid City Stevens High School Volleyball Team for winning the 2007 Class AA State Volleyball Championship

The House convenes at 2 p.m. Bills scheduled for votes include:

* HB1016 to establish a new system of funding for the post-secondary technical institutes

* HB1100 to create a "rebuttable presumption" against the award of custody to anyone with a history of domestic abuse

* HB1293 to provide for the removal of dead deer from certain highways

Contact Bill Harlan at 394-8424 or bill.harlan@rapidcityjournal.com