Gov. Kristi Noem delivers the annual budget address Tuesday.
The speech is an unofficial kickoff to the upcoming legislative session, which starts next month. In it, Noem will discuss state revenues, which are down from what lawmakers anticipated early in the year.
Noem will balance that decrease in revenue collections with her budget priorities.
One of those is fully funding a proposed men’s prison near Sioux Falls. Lawmakers got the final price tag on that facility during a meeting last month. Over the last few years, the Republican governor and legislature have tucked away hundreds of millions into a fund to avoid bonding for the project. The fund is about $200 million short to pay for the prison outright.
Noem will also outline increases to what’s known as the Big Three — state employee salaries, education, and nursing homes. Those increases are typically funded at the same rate.
The governor’s budget is used as a working document for lawmakers as they craft the state budget during the 10-week legislative session.
The budget address could be Noem’s last, as she’s been nominated by the Trump administration to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
The address is at 1 p.m. CST/ 12 p.m. MST.
Watch the address in English here
You can also watch the full speech live or view it afterwards at SD.net.
