Greetings to all the citizens of District 20. After a two-year break from the legislature and two terms in the House of Representatives, it is a distinct privilege to serve as your Senator in Pierre!
After serving on policy committees in the House, I have been appointed to serve on the Joint Appropriations Committee. It is a very big responsibility to be part of the group that deals with our state budget. There are nine Senators and nine House members who serve on this committee.
We are currently working on the budget for the 2025-26 budget year starting July 1, 2025. Governor Noem presented her recommendations for a 7.3-billion-dollar state budget. Currently we are hearing daily presentations from all state agencies on what services they provide, the size of their agencies, their challenges, and their budget requests.
Many people would assume that the growth of state government is the cause of the growth of our state’s budget. In truth, over the last ten years there are only 75 more FTE or 0.54% growth in the number of state workers.
Just as we as citizens have seen in our own budgets, inflation is having a major impact on the cost of providing the services for the state. Several areas that contribute are salaries and benefits, in particular healthcare insurance for the state’s over 14,000 employees. Several other major contributors are vehicle costs, repairs, fuel costs, food services, technology purchases and updates, cybersecurity, and road, bridge and dam repairs. In addition, Medicare Expansion, two new state prisons, and the Sioux Falls One Stop are all very large investments for the future of South Dakota.
In addition to all these challenges, the budget cut recommendations for a 1.25% raise for the big three (teachers, state workers, and CSPs) bring about great concerns in these inflationary times.
There is a great deal of concern about the recommended cuts to the State Library and SDPB. Also, we are hearing from a large number of South Dakotans on the school voucher bill. All of these challenges are occurring at the same time property tax rates are a great concern for many South Dakotans. We certainly have our work cut out for us. We will balance our state’s budget, but some good services will probably suffer in the process.
In other actions SB9 and SB10 would create more transparency in spending by government officials and better control of contributions to campaigns for state office.
This past week a memorial service for thirteen former state legislators was held. Jim Burg, Dennis Pierson, and Senator Tim Johnson were all honored for their outstanding service on behalf of the people of South Dakota.
Thanks again for this opportunity! I will focus on respect for others and creating a better future for all South Dakotans. Feel free to contact me. Keep smiling and remember that none of us are as smart as all of us.