Noem says South Dakota government will spend less in upcoming lawmaking session

"There are many members of our state legislature that have not experienced a ‘normal budget year," governor writes in weekly op-ed

Gov. Kristi Noem is warning South Dakota lawmakers to prepare for a lean budget year, and that she won’t sign any bills attempting to repeal a sales tax holiday that began this summer.

More than a month ahead of her December budget address, the second-term Republican in an op-ed Friday said years of record-setting revenues for the state of South Dakota — fueled by unprecedented federal stimulus — are over. And for nearly half of the state Legislature, that’ll bring a new reality.

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“There are many members of our state legislature that have not experienced a ‘normal budget year,’ Noem wrote in her weekly column, noting that 51 of the 104 legislature have only been serving since 2020. “That means that 49 percent of South Dakota’s legislative body has not experienced a fiscal year without record-breaking economic growth.”

Nearly $14 billion in federal stimulus has filtered into South Dakota since 2020, much of which was used to free up general fund dollars used to advance large-scale capital projects, the creation of an Incarceration Construction Fund, and yearly surpluses that have grown the state’s reserves to more than $330 million.