Gov. Noem: It's legislators' prerogative to cut proposed funding increases if they don't like her budget

Governor says she won't oppose reductions to inflationary adjustments, but will fight for prison funding

Gov. Kristi Noem delivers the 2023 budget address. (Austin Goss/The Dakota Scout)

Funding for airports, economic development projects, and other items on the wish list of South Dakota state lawmakers could be tough to come by in the state’s next budget.

That’s in part because of a higher-than-anticipated funding increase to state operations and a quarter-billion in new prison proposed in Gov. Kristi Noem’s fiscal year 2025 budget, leaving few dollars for other big-ticket initiatives and special projects like there has been in years passed.

And while it's up to lawmakers to determine what will end up in the spending bill they send to her in March, the second-term Republican governor told The Dakota Scout ahead of her annual budget address Tuesday that any line items added to the final budget will mean more debt for South Dakota taxpayers or fewer dollars for educators, state employees, and care providers.

NEWS: Noem will propose 4 percent increases for educators, state employees, care providers

“It’ll be their prerogative if they don’t want to do 4 percent for all providers; they can have that debate all legislative session,” Noem said. “Part of this is me respecting them and their ability to make adjustments.”

That’s not uncommon. Last year, the governor initially proposed an across-the-board inflationary adjustment to what’s known as “the big three” areas of state operations of 5 percent. But legislators ended up adopting a budget authorizing 7 percent increases for educators and state employees while giving its care providers like nursing homes and community support providers a 5 percent.

But with state revenues no longer coming in at a record-setting pace due to federal Covid-era stimulus drying up, any tweaks to the proposed inflationary adjustments will likely be to lower the percentage this time around—particularly if legislators want more than the $1.4 million for county funding assistance Noem has offered, more funding for nursing homes, or any ambitions they might have.

READ: Gov. Noem delivers annual budget address to state lawmakers