PIERRE, S.D. – Gov. Kristi Noem will deliver her fiscal year 2025 budget address Tuesday at 1 p.m. CT/noon MT from the Capitol in Pierre.
The governor delivers the budget address every year in early December to lay out spending priorities for the upcoming legislative session, which starts in January.
According to a KELO News report, the largest source of revenue for the general fund is the state sales and use tax. Revenues from the tax through October totaled $522,510,860. That was $3,276,837 or 0.6% above the Legislature’s estimate of $519,234,023.
The Legislature in 2023 reduced the state sales and use tax rate to 4.2% from the previous 4.5%. That has meant less revenue this fiscal year. Through the first four months of the 2023 fiscal year, the sales and use tax generated $542,010,063; through the first four months of the current 2024 fiscal year, the tax has brought in $522,510,860, which is 3.6% less.
The second-largest source of general fund revenue currently is the contractor’s excise tax. Revenues through October were $83,805,012. That was $6,915,102 or 9.0% above the $76,889,910 estimate.
Third-largest this fiscal year is the lottery. It’s brought in $59,438,794 through October, which was $27,420 below the $59,466,214 estimate.
Fourth-largest is insurance tax, which brought in $47,278,570 through October. That was $1,378,807 or 3.0% above the $45,899,763 estimate.
The 18 senators and representatives on the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee oversee state government’s budget. They will meet on Tuesday at 9 a.m. CT, ahead of the governor’s speech. The revenue estimates that the panel set in February have largely held true since the 2024 spending year began July 1. An Appropriations subcommittee looked at the numbers, and, in most cases, split the differences between the two. The full panel of 18 lawmakers voted the next day to accept the subcommittee’s recommendation of $2,388,765,706 for fiscal 2024.
