The last week of session was a huge success! We passed a balanced budget, found a compromise and passed a combined $120 million in tax relief for the session, fully funded Medicaid providers, paid our teachers and workers at the rate of inflation, passed a tuition freeze at our universities and technical colleges, and invested a large chunk into public systems infrastructure and prisons funds that need to be replaced. I’m pretty darn proud of the job we did and the effort we put into it.

During the 2023 session I did not miss a vote on the floor or in committee. I haven’t taken a vote that I didn’t prepare for.

While I can’t speak for my fellow legislators, I can speak of them and I hold them all to a very high regard and know they take their job as a citizen legislator as seriously as I do. We show up every day to vote, we go home on the weekends to take care of our lives, businesses, and families, and we drive back two days later to continue working in and for the state of SD.

The regular part of the 2023 session is complete. In two weeks we will reconvene to consider overriding any vetos the Governor has cast, which takes 2/3 majority of both Houses.

Next week I will lay out the specifics of the general sales and use tax cut, why it’s something we can afford now, and why the 4-year sunset provision is prudent. I’ll also talk about the major spending priorities we fulfi lled.

Have a great week. As always, feel free to reach out anytime at drew. peterson@sdlegislature.gov or 605-530-6248. I appreciate your advice and feedback.