We're struck by the core budget dilemma facing South Dakota and Minnesota's lawmaker, despite their radically different legislative calendars. That's what a pandemic can bring on.
In Noem says special session needed for 'significant' changes to state budget, Trevor J. Mitchell reported in the Friday Sioux Falls Argus Leader:
State lawmakers will meet next week to vote on a number of bills to help the state respond to the novel coronavirus pandemic, but Gov. Kristi Noem said Friday more work will be needed.
The governor said she's looking to call a special session in June to make "significant changes" to the state budget.
Noem plans to sign existing bills in the meantime, but she's not going to spend those funds allocated for the next fiscal year until the state has a clearer picture of how the pandemic will affect state revenues.
"I will keep them and hold them knowing in June we'll have a better picture of where we're at," Noem said.
The governor also noted that legislation considered during veto day will all be emergency legislation, meaning it'll go into effect immediately. None of the bills are intended to be permanent, but rather temporary statutes.
Via the Aberdeen American, South Dakota News Watch has more in Special session needed to redo state budget due to COVID-19:
The South Dakota Legislature will have a special session in June to address financial uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and to remake the coming year’s spending plan passed earlier this month.
Members of the Legislature’s Joint Appropriations Committee told South Dakota News Watch that economic uncertainty hangs over South Dakota as businesses continue to shut their doors, layoffs accelerate around the state and tourists stay away.
Earlier this week, Gov. Kristi Noem affirmed that. She said state revenues are slumping because of the pandemic. At the same time, unemployment claims have spiked.
On Friday, she said that special session will be in June. And, Noem said, the Legislature will meet next week to vote bills to help the state respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Noem plans to sign existing bills in the meantime, but she’s not going to spend funds allocated for the next fiscal year until the state has a clearer picture of how the pandemic will affect state revenues.
The increasingly dire economic news has led legislators to anticipate that drastic changes may be needed to the state budget lawmakers just passed for the 2020-21 fiscal year, which begins July 1. Adjustments to the budget could include revision or elimination of the 2% pay increase for teachers, state employees and Medicaid providers originally included in the spending plan.
The lawmakers said they likely will not have enough updated economic information by March 30 — the final day of the regular legislative session — to make good decisions about potential changes at that time.
Anecdotal evidence is showing sharp declines in consumer spending, the bedrock of the U.S. economy and a major source of the sales taxes that make up much of South Dakota state government revenues. Sales taxes were projected to make up 63% of the state’s general fund revenues for the 2021 fiscal year, according to state Bureau of Finance and Management budget documents.
“There are a lot of people that were really happy with what came out of our budget negotiations toward the end of the session. But the world has changed in those 10 days, so yeah, everything’s on the table again,” said state Sen. John Wiik, R-Big Stone City, co-chair of the Joint Appropriations Committee.
Rep. Chris Karr, R-Sioux Falls, co-chair of the joint committee, was more definitive. He said some one-time spending, such as for new university buildings that were added to the existing year’s budget, likely will be cut by March 30. But there is plenty of time to make adjustments to the coming year’s budget by holding a special session, Karr said.
“I think it’s likely that we would need a special session. There’s no point in making those changes next week,” Karr said on Wednesday, March 25. “Frankly, we don’t have to do anything with Fiscal Year 2021 next week. Time is on our side in that case.”
Those are different headlines than March 12's Argus Leader head: South Dakota lawmakers say state has enough in budget for coronavirus response. South Dakota entered the legislative session with lean resources, but lawmakers were able to squeak out raises for teachers and state employees, the Argus reported in Legislature approves funding increases for schools, state employees in state budget.
The Capitol Journal's David Bordewyk reported on Thursday COVID may cost teachers their 2% pay hike. Unlike Minnesota, South Dakota does not have a state income tax, relying instead on sales taxes and other revenue streams. The U.S. Census estimated the state's population at 884,659 in July 2019; Minnesota, by contrast, was estimated to be home to 5,639,632 people.
The calendar of the South Dakota legislative session--which opened on January 14--lists March 30 as veto day.
Over in Minnesota, the legislature first convened on February 11 and will formally adjourn on May 18, as required by the state constitution. Unlike South Dakota, it started the session with a walloping budget surplus which grew at the latest revenue forecast at the end of February, as MPR reported in Minnesota projected budget surplus grows slightly to $1.5B. The budget reserves, or rainy day fund? MPR reports: "Minnesota has rebuilt its reserves to more than $2.3 billion."
But it's no longer business as usual in St. Paul--just like in Pierre.
Forum Communications capitol reporter Dana Ferguson writes in 'We ran out of time': Lawmakers leave St. Paul with more to do on COVID-19 response:
Six feet apart and with hand sanitizer in tow, lawmakers returned to the Minnesota Capitol this week to pass the third round of funding to confront the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the total cases and death toll from the disease again climbed in Minnesota, state lawmakers sped through a $330 million plan to fund child care providers, put up homeless individuals in motels, stock food shelves and food banks. The plan also sets up a $200 million COVID-19 fund that can be used to respond to the effects of the pandemic.
It's the state's third funding infusion to address the outbreak and its effects in the state. Earlier this month lawmakers approved $21 million for the state Department of Health and $200 million to hospitals and health care providers. And lawmakers said it won't be the last.
Even before the Legislature sent the aid package to the governor on Thursday, they acknowledged they'd left work undone.
"We ran out of time and we did make some mistakes as we went forward," Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-East Gull Lake, said, noting lawmakers were running up against the Saturday start of the governor's two-week stay at home order. “We know we have more work to do."
Lawmakers rushed to put together an aid package as the pandemic took hold in Minnesota. And they struggled to navigate the technology needed to convene committee or caucus meetings remotely. In their efforts to quickly assess what could pass the divided Legislature in a one-day session, with lots of social distancing, they turned to calls with limited groups of legislators. . . .
Legislative leaders on Thursday adjourned until April 14, but they said they could come back prior to that if COVID-19 response plans or other legislation garnered bipartisan support and the vote totals needed to get it through both chambers in one day. House lawmakers on Thursday approved a resolution requiring meetings held remotely to be made public. The Senate did not.
“We have a large amount of work to do, we just don’t know what it is yet," House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, D-Golden Valley, said. "We don’t know if the economy is going to deliver a budget deficit that we’ll have to come back later in order to cover, we don’t know what kind of recovery economic and otherwise is going to be, we don’t know if there’s going to be another wave of pandemic in the summer or fall so we know very little about what the next 10 months look like."
We'll keep an eye out for developments in both states.
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- New House Republican Caucus legislative staffer really does worry about proper social distance
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Photo: Some schools, like this one-room schoolhouse in Roberts County South Dakota, are more closed than others during our national emergency. Photo by the author.
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