PIERRE, S.D. (SDBA) — With little dissent, the South Dakota Legislature passed a $7.3 billion Fiscal Year 2025 budget today.
HB1259 passed the Senate 32 to 2 and the House 69 to 1.
As is tradition, it was the last bill the legislature passed before going home from the 37-day main run of the session. Legislators return Monday, March 25th for veto day, the 38th and last day of the session.
The bill allocates $2.4 billion in state general funds, $3.2 billion in federal funds, and $1.7 billion in other funds.
While the last bill for the last day, the 17 members of the Joint Appropriations Committee work long hours before and during the session on the general appropriations bill, sitting through budget projections, agency requests, and special appropriations requests. The committee works closely with the governor’s office’s Bureau of Finance and Management. In December, Republican Gov. Kristi Noem gave the annual budget address to legislators.
According to the House co-chair, Republican Rep. Mike Derby from Rapid City, this year’s bill was significant for giving “The Big Three”–education, health care, and state employees each a 4% increase. Derby also said other major accomplishments in the spending bill are a tuition freeze for state universities and technical colleges, the start of state funding for indigent legal services, and 98% funding of Medicaid costs to providers.
Derby also said the state is again sending 10% of the budget to the reserve fund.
He also noted that the FY 2025 budget is the 135th consecutive balanced budget in state history.
Also today, the legislature passed SB51, the state school aid formula. It provides a 4% increase to education. According to Republican Rep. Tony Venhuizen from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the so-called Cutler-Gabriel amendment provides 57.95% of educational funding to school districts based on need through a complex formula.
