Budget Principles
By: Gov. Larry Rhoden
November 28, 2025
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of time with family and friends, great food, and gratitude for our abundance of blessings. As Thanksgiving turns to Christmas and gratitude turns to generosity, I’m preparing to present a balanced budget to the South Dakota Legislature.
We do a lot of things right in South Dakota. Our people are some of the most generous in the nation. A big reason for that is our government doesn’t tax them to death, so they have the flexibility to give more of their own hard-earned income in support of their neighbors.
I’ve served in the Capitol for over 20 years, including 16 years in both chambers of the Legislature and six years as Lieutenant Governor under Governor Noem. For all of those years, I was engaged in the budget process – but this will be the first budget with my name on it, so I’d like to set the table with some core budget principles for how I approached this budget.
First and foremost, this money is the people’s money – not ours. So we spend it wisely and return it to the people when we can. We balance our budget. Every year. For 136 years in a row – and this budget will make the 137th. And we don’t use any gimmicks to do it – we structurally balance our budget. To achieve that, we don’t spend money we don’t have.
More specifically, we don’t spend one-time money on ongoing expenses. We use one-time dollars to pay debt, invest in projects that will have a long-term benefit, or endow an ongoing cost to save taxpayer money over the long haul. We don’t engage in wishful thinking – we conservatively project revenue and expenses. We maintain at least 10% of our budget in reserves to save for true emergencies. And we fully fund our pension and protect our AAA credit rating.
These are principles we have followed in the past, and I am strongly committed to following them as well. If we do, we’ll be in good shape, no matter how tough it gets.
My budget invests in our people. It keeps South Dakota strong, safe, and free by making targeted investments where we should, saving extra money for the future, and still paving the way for property tax relief. We recognize these dollars aren’t ours. They belong to the good people of South Dakota. As our state motto says: “Under God, the People Rule.”
I look forward to sharing my budget with the Legislature and the people of South Dakota, then working through it in the upcoming legislative session. In the meantime, may God continue to bless the great state of South Dakota.
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How much was spent on Noem’s travels?
“Under God the People Rule”
Unless Larry and his former boss don’t like the results of a free and legal election that the people
voted for.
Reference November 2020.
Amendment A
Passed by a majority of the PEOPLE in South Dakota.
But…WAIT !!!
The fake, author, Kim Jung Un pal, fake cowgirl and fake Christian got caught asleep at the wheel and had to depend on her appointed judge Christina Klinger to do her bidding along with Larrys blessing, to use the single subject rule that by the way was used numerous times in the past
to overturn THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE.
Larry, your hats on sideways and your big belt buckle is rusty.
We’ve had enough…
May I suggest Caplyta?
Quite a stretch, lady.
The single subject constitutional amendment was approved by the SD voters in November, 2018. A was voted on in November 2020 and then ruled unconstitutional re: the single subject amendment.
Please explain how is was used numerous times before.
Doesn’t matter Mike, Noem haters do what Noem haters gotta do.
Because the state supreme court ruled that recreational marijuana and medical marijuana (both being called legal) would be two different subjects. The amendment voted on in November 2018 stated all constitutional amendments—whether initiated constitutional amendments or legislatively referred constitutional amendments—concern only one subject. Nobody would have thought “legalize marijuana” was multiple subjects. You have to go through a lot of loops to consider the details within the definitions multiple subjects. The only good part is that they painted themselves in a corner, just like SCOTUS has with executive power. Now, anything based on this precedent should be overturned if challenged; if not, it shows they are just a partisan hack position, not a branch of government. Take your pick!
The truth hurts, the petition was ruled improperly written before they even started getting signatures, the sponsors were told it would be thrown out by Supreme Court but they still proceeded with in. This has nothing to do with Noem, it was an attempt to make her look bad, instead it showed how ignorant the liberal left are.
100% but only the informed are aware. Kristi took an oath. It was simple. Uphold the US Constitution and the State Constitution. Pretty much it.
Let us all hope Mr. Rhoden, the budget hawk he is, has no moneys in his budget for the Demon Weed or any such unconstitutional nonsense like the Amendment lettered as “A.” grudznick would be shocked if there is a push by a conservative fellow like Mr. Rhoden to pimp the Devil’s lettuce in his speech about the budgeting. I expect the Rhoden Rhangers will be heavy in attendance and won’t allow toking on the grounds.
Noem has problems traveling around on state dollars which is the same thing Rhodes has been doing. Hhmm campaigning on your state public tax dollars with state plane.
Example of the latter?