PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — Nearly all of the money that the South Dakota Legislature committed to housing infrastructure grants at the governor’s suggestion has been spoken for. But local governments have shown little interest so far in borrowing from the housing infrastructure pool.
Chas Olson is executive director for the South Dakota Housing Development Authority that administers the infrastructure program. Lawmakers earmarked $100 million for grants and $100 million for loans. So far, there have been 69 grants totaling more than $98 million awarded by the authority’s board of directors, with just $1,708,174 left.
Olson noted that most of the remaining grant funding would likely be approved this fall for a project that has already applied.
In comparison, nine loans totaling less than $15 million have been awarded so far from the pool, leaving $85,502,286 yet to be committed. Based on the requirements in the 2023 law, there’s $27,492,461 of loan funding still specifically available for the Sioux Falls and Rapid City areas, and $57,455,089 for the balance of state, according to Olson.
The money can be used for up to one-third of the cost of public infrastructure, which is defined as “a right of way, water distribution system, sanitary sewer system, storm sewer system, lift station, street, road, bridge, curb, gutter, sidewalk, traffic signal, or streetlight” within South Dakota and “owned, maintained, or provided by a political subdivision of this state or federally recognized Indian tribe.” The money also can be used for excavation, compaction, or acquisition of land for those purposes.
RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY: The rainstorm that prompted flash flood warnings for the Pierre area on early Tuesday morning left three of the Capitol annex’s fourth-floor meeting rooms wet and damaged some of the equipment. (See above photo.)
There didn’t appear to be any new damage to either of the Senate or House chambers that are part of the original Capitol building, however. A crew has been resurfacing the portion of Capitol annex roof that is directly above the meeting rooms.
VOTING COMPLEXITIES, PART ONE: How long must a person live in one place in South Dakota in order to register to vote from there in a state election? The answer isn’t clear, according to the Legislature’s professional staff.
The Legislative Research Council recently completed an official memorandum that the Legislature’s Executive Board discussed at a meeting last week.
The law seems to require that a county auditor or judge have the ability to read the mind of the person who’s applying to be registered as a voter.
“For the purposes of this title, the term, residence, means the place in which a person is domiciled as shown by an actual fixed permanent dwelling, establishment, or any other abode to which the person returns after a period of absence,” the law begins.
“A person who leaves the residence and goes into another county of this state or another state or territory for a temporary purpose has not changed residence,” it continues. Next comes the mind-reading part: “A person is considered to have gained residence in any county or municipality of this state in which the person actually lives, if the person has no present intention of leaving.”
The law concludes with more mind-reading: “A person retains residence in this state until another residence has been gained. If a person moves from this state to another state or territory with the intention of making it the person’s permanent home, the person loses residence in this state.”
Republican Sen. Lee Schoenbeck chairs the Executive Board that supervises the Legislature’s operations during the nine months when lawmakers aren’t in regular session. Schoenbeck said the voter residency question was being posed as a mental exercise for University of South Dakota law school students when he was there during the early 1980s.
He said the answer is where the person intends to reside and can present the facts to support the intention — in other words, there’s no definite answer. “It’s that loose of a standard and it hasn’t changed in 50 years,” Schoenbeck said.
Republican Sen. Jim Bolin, a retired K-12 educator, said that the residency standard “seems like it’s almost impossible” to explain.
“It’s a very difficult thing,” Bolin said. He added, “This is the Gordian knot of politics,” referring to a Greek legend that the person who could untie such a knot would rule all of Asia.
VOTING COMPLEXITIES, PART TWO: Republican Rep. Mike Weisgram pointed to a relatively new statute that the Legislature added in 2023 requiring a minimum residency of 30 days on voter registration forms. Weisgram asked whether that meant an RV owner would have to park in one spot for 30 consecutive days before registering to vote, or could be in that spot off and on for a total of 30 days.
Thousands of RVers maintain voter registration in South Dakota, many through mail-forwarding businesses, while motoring throughout the nation most or all of the year.
Jacob Carlson, the LRC analyst who wrote the memo, said the current statute doesn’t have a timeframe. “It says 30 days,” Carlson said. “There’s no real clarity in the statute when that 30 days is counted.”
Republican Rep. Rebecca Reimer suggested that the Legislature should instead focus on the residency requirement for driver licenses. The state Division of Motor Vehicles requires only that applicants present two documents less than one year old showing a current address. Under that requirement, a person could get a driver license after spending as little as one night in South Dakota.
ONE IN, ONE OUT: The governor announced Wednesday the promotion of Joe Fiala as her administration’s new commissioner of economic development.
Fiala had been the partner relations director on the Governor’s Office of Economic Development staff. He fills the vacancy created months ago when Chris Schilken quietly stepped back from commissioner to deputy commissioner.
Fiala’s annual salary for his prior role was listed as $111,325.53. Schilken was making $152,975.82 as commissioner. Deputy commissioner Jesse Fonkert has a current salary of $124,800.
Governor Kristi Noem’s original commissioner of economic development, Steve Westra, had an annual salary of $203,248.64 when he resigned in spring 2023. Noem announced on June 1, 2023, that she had chosen Schilken to replace Westra.
Meanwhile, the Noem administration will be looking for a successor to Jeff Clines, who’s leaving as commissioner of the state Bureau of Information and Telecommunications to accept a similar post one state to the west.
Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon announced recently that Clines will be the next chief information officer in the Cowboy State’s Department of Enterprise Technology Services
Clines had joined the Noem administration in 2020, coming from the Illinois secretary of state office, where he was chief information officer. His current annual salary at South Dakota BIT was listed as $184,805.29.
IN REMEMBRANCE: A notable former member of the Legislative Research Council’s staff has died. Reuben Bezpaletz passed away August 11 at age 77.
U.S. Senator Mike Rounds served as a state senator for 10 of the years that Bezpaletz was at the council, where Bezpaletz was chief of research. Rounds issued a statement on X: “South Dakota lost a true public servant with the passing of Reuben Bezpaletz. Reuben spent a remarkable 42 years at the Legislative Research Council before retiring in 2014. His legacy will live on in the hundreds of legislators he worked with.”
You can reach KELOLAND Capitol Bureau reporter Bob Mercer with news tips, story ideas, questions and complaints at 605-280-7580 or [email protected] or @pierremercer on X or even through good old-fashioned U.S. mail at 1810 Camden Court, Pierre, SD, 57501.
