South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem presented her budget address to the legislature yesterday, telling lawmakers that projections call for a $310-million surplus, then outlining for them how she wants to spend the extra money.
Her top priority for the surplus is repealing the state sales tax on food. Noem opposed legislation to do that last session, but changed her tune in the fall and made it a key part of her reelection campaign.
Ending the food tax will cost South Dakota about $100-million dollars in tax revenue a year, but Noem said the state can afford it – adding a not-so-subtle indication she’s playing to an audience outside the state as well as its residents.
Noem called eliminating the grocery tax “the biggest way in my budget that we can help South Dakotan’s tackle the challenge of Joe Biden’s inflation and protect their hard-earned money.”
A little later, she seemed to directly threaten lawmakers with a national response if they don’t follow her lead, saying “people now know where South Dakota is. They see this state as a beacon of hope—a place of liberty.”
The deeper warning came next when she told the House and Senate “How you decide to govern, how you budget, and how you communicate to our people will be watched. It will be evaluated, and it will be judged.”
Later, Noem proposed investing $22-million dollars in nursing homes – 15 closed in the last 5 years and dozens more say they’re in critical financial need, and she called for a 5% pay raise for state employees, educators, and community health providers.
She also recommended a multi-year approach to funding a new state penitentiary starting with $52 million to buy land and conduct an engineering study, and $25-million in one-time funding to finish several building projects.
Why not just reduce the tax rather an all out elimination. The start will have to either raise taxes somewhere else to replace the 300 million dollars that will be lost. As a recent new resident I certainly hope it’s not a state income tax
Morie