South Dakota

President Elect Donald Trump carried the state of South Dakota with 63% of the vote, Vice President kamala Harris ended up with 34% of the vote. Congressman Dusty Johnson (R) won re-election to the US House defeating Cheryl Johnson 72% to 28%.

The South Dakota legislature moved a little farther to the right, becoming even more conservative. There were 18 out of 35 senate seats that were unopposed. The Democrats lost a senate seat and now have 7 in the House and only 3 in the Senate. There is a high possibility of a recount in district 15 between Democrat Erik Muckey who has 4364 votes, and a new Republican challenger Joni Tschetter has 4357 votes. The recount would happen after the election is certified on November 8th. It is unlikely that the Democrats lose another seat. The Senate and the House Republicans are about evenly split between a conservative far-right wing and the traditional conservative wing. Leadership elections for both House and Senate are scheduled for Friday November 8^th. Senator Elect Sue Peterson who ran unopposed, is partnering with us to draft GC liability related to workers compensation. She is seeking a leadership position and may be appointed to chair a committee. Later this month or early December we will see who got appointments to committees.

Below are the 5 out of 7 ballot issues that we followed and were voted on this year.

Amendment F the only amendment of four to pass would change the state constitution to allow the state to require able-bodied adults to work in order to receive Medicaid. That program helps with medical costs for people with limited income and resources. The federal government would still have to sign off on the change. The amendment passed with 56% of the vote.

Amendment H would establish “top-two” primaries for governor, Congress and state legislative and county races rather than having parties hold separate primary contests. All candidates would be on a single primary ballot for all voters. The top two vote-getters would advance to the general election. The voters rejected the amendment with 65% of the vote.

Initiated Measure 28 was brought to eliminate the state's 4.2% sales tax on groceries while allowing municipalities to still collect up to 2%. The wording of the measure using the term “for human consumption” caused the measure to fail. Opponents said the measure could cause a budget crunch by preventing the state from collecting sales tax on “consumable” items such as tobacco, toothpaste and toilet paper. The measure failed with 69% of the voters rejecting the measure.

Initiated Measure 29 was supposed to legalize recreational marijuana. This is the third consecutive election that South Dakota voters were being asked whether to legalize recreational marijuana in the state for people 21 and older. Voters approved medicinal pot in 2020. However, they declined to approve this measure rejecting it with 55% of the vote.

Referred Law 21 was a referral of Senate Bill 201 from the 2024 legislative session. Voters were asked to decide Referred Law 21 and whether to keep or kill a legislative package known as the “Landowner Bill of Rights" intended to protect both the ethanol industry and farmers. Opponents of the measure contend the measure would make it easier to bypass county regulators and take people's land. Those referring this legislation found favor from the voters with this passing saying the law should not go into effect with 59% of the voters voting in favor of the measure. South Dakota voters approving this law has the real potential to kill the Summit carbon sequestration pipeline project. Landowners’ rights ha been a hot button political issue throughout our Council.

South Dakota legislative candidates that NCSRCC endorsed that were elected:

Michael Rohl (R) was elected to SD 01
Steve Kolbeck (R) was re-elected to SD2
Stephanie Sauder(R) was re-elected to SD4
Jamie Smith (D) was re-elected to SD15
David Wheeler (R) was re-elected to SD22
Helen Duhamel (R) was re-elected to SD32
Curt Voight (R) was elected to SD33
Jessica Bahmuller (R)was re-elected to D19

Frequently Asked Questions

Budget

The state budget for 2025 is $7.3 billion dollars, which is $70 million more than last year. The fiscal year will begin July 1, 2024. The budget includes a 4% increase for public school funding, state government employees and Medicaid providers. State tuition was frozen for another year for technical colleges and state universities.

State law makers established a $10 million pot of money for grants to improve and expand airport terminals and infrastructure in South Dakota. The Aeronautics Commission will distribute the money.
Taxes

The state sales tax rate that was reduced last year to 4.2% will remain in place for another year. The 0.3% reduction is set to expire in June of 2027. Although there were several members of the House that wanted the cut to be permanent, it did not make it out of the budget committee.
Summit Carbon Pipeline

The South Dakota Supreme Court is hearing arguments from attorneys for Summit Carbon Solution and South Dakota landowners. This case will determine the future of the carbon dioxide pipeline project in the state. This case could drag on for a while. No indication of when the judges will make their ruling.
South Dakota Legislative Conference

The 2024 South Dakota took place February 22-23. The two-day conference was an opportunity for members to hear from state leaders and to have their voices heard by those elected. Thank you to everyone who participated and to all of the representatives who support union carpenter issues.