South Dakota legislators passed a seven point four billion dollar state budget as they wrapped up the main run of the session last week.
At the center of the budget negotiations was Senator Jean Hunhoff of Yankton, Chair of the Joint Committee on Appropriations. She says it was important to fund the so called “Big Three” the same….

The “Big Three” are state aid to education, Medicaid providers and state employees.

Hunhoff says they really focused on pay increases for state employees….

Hunhoff says those raises and future revenue concerns were factors in the tax cut talks….

Legislators finally agreed on a point three tenths of a percent cut in the sales tax rate.
Governor Kristi Noem has threatened a veto of the budget because it doesn’t include her food sales tax cut.