Well this is the last of my session updates as we have brought the 2020 Legislative Session to a close this past week. We have fulfilled our duty to pass a balanced budget for South Dakota and we will return to Pierre for the very last legislative day later this month to consider any final Vetos from the Governor. The Governor did veto two bills before we left Pierre so we will need to evaluate those and any other bills that might be vetoed on the last day.

Now I would like to just highlight a few things about the budget that I thought were very important. The first thing I want to highlight is the need for the legislature to wait until closer to the end of session to put the final numbers together. If you remember back to my first article this session I had this paragraph in there.

Many people ask me, why does the legislature always wait until the last few days to pass the State Budget? The most important reason we wait, is the fact that if we wait untillater in February we will have revenue collection numbers for December and January. This will allow us to better forecast what revenue will do in the future and allow us to build a much more accurate budget. This is also why the Governor gives us a budget proposal in December, knowing that by the end of the legislative session the proposal will change. Governor Noem stated that her #1 budget priority is funding for K-12 Schools, Providers, and State Employees and I share that goal with her. - Week 1

This session was no different from the rest in the fact that when more revenue numbers came in from February in Early March we were able to change the situation just a bit. Due to the strong February numbers we were able to be more confident in putting together a 2% proposal for State Employees, Medical Providers, and Education for the FY 2021 budget. Additionally, because of those stronger numbers we had a few more one time dollars to spend and as you may have heard I put a proposal together with the help of House Leadership to divert some of those one time funds to our County Roads. While the end result is different than the original proposal we actually ended up with something better.

The original proposal for county roads was $10 million in one time funds distributed out to the counties. Then as we moved through there were other one time priorities that also needed to be addressed. Through the work of many individuals on the appropriations team and the cooperation of the Governor office we were able to utilize $4.1 million dollars of State one time funds to leverage a Federal Grant for County Bridge Rehabilitation and Replacement. These one time dollars in combination with the Federal grant will allow us to leverage approximately $20 million for County Bridges. Additionally, through local matches of an additional $1.8 million we will be able to leverage a total of $33 million in funds for rehabilitating and replacing county bridges. This may not be the original proposal but I think this is a better one.

One finalnote about the Covid-19 issue that we are all dealing with. When looking for the best information to help keep yourself healthy and your family please visit the Covid.SD.GOV website. This website is constantly being updated with all the latest information and it also contains information on Precautions, What to Do’s, and Community Guidance. This is your one stop shop for all the information you need on Covid-19 in South Dakota.

If you have any questions for me during the summer please contact me as this is the best time to be able to work on legislation for next year, my cell is 605.933.2042 and my email Caleb. Finck@SDLegislature.Gov.

I wish everyone the best and may God Bless South Dakota!

Rep. Caleb Finck SD House of Representatives - District 21

Bon Homme, Charles Mix, Gregory, & Tripp Counties

- Ag & Natural Resources Committee

- Transportation Committee

- Military & Veterans Affairs Committee

Cell: 605.933.2042

Email1: Caleb.Finck@sdlegislature.gov

Email 2: CalebFinck@gmail.com