Summary#

HB 1326 is South Dakota’s annual appropriations bill, titled “Appropriate money for the ordinary expenses of the legislative, judicial, and executive departments of the state, the current expenses of state institutions, interest on the public debt, and common schools.” It creates an appropriation law for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027; it does not identify an existing Act it amends. Its stated goal is to fund state government, institutions, debt interest, and common schools.

• It appropriates money and spending authority across state agencies and programs. The supplied text is incomplete, so it does not show the full list or total.
• Each budget unit’s total appropriation is approved as a whole. Unless the Act says otherwise, an agency may use base money to supplement changes to individual line items.
• It funds school aid, including special education, and provides money for a reduction in the owner-occupied general fund property-tax levy for taxes payable in 2027.
• It adds $9 million in spending authority for opioid-related project grants, partly restores Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits, and funds support for critical access hospitals and federally qualified health centers.
• It eliminates the state hemp regulatory program’s funding and three full-time-equivalent positions (FTE). It also removes federal spending authority for SNAP nutrition education.

What it means for you#

• Schools and families: The bill funds general and special education aid. General education aid is reduced because of projected enrollment declines, while special education funding increases. It also funds the owner-occupied levy reduction, but the supplied text does not say how much an individual homeowner’s tax bill would change.
• Medicaid providers and recipients: The bill funds provider inflation adjustments and additional support for certain hospitals and health centers. It also adjusts Medicaid spending based on enrollment and use. The supplied excerpt does not change Medicaid eligibility rules.
• TANF recipients: It funds a partial restoration of benefits toward levels before reductions approved in July 2025. The text does not state the benefit amount each recipient would receive.
• People affected by opioid misuse: The Department of Social Services would have $9 million in spending authority for grants to establish or expand services addressing opioid misuse and related risks.
• People involved in hemp regulation: The state hemp regulatory program loses its funding and three FTE. The excerpt does not establish what this means for any separate legal requirements.
• State agencies and employees: Several agencies receive funding for new positions, transfers, or operating costs. The bill includes a 1.4% state employee compensation funding adjustment; it does not promise a specific raise to each employee.
• SNAP participants: The bill removes federal spending authority for SNAP nutrition education. It also funds implementation of a SNAP restriction waiver, but the excerpt does not explain who would be affected or how.

Money#

The bill authorizes spending for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, using state, federal, and other funds; the overall total is not available in the supplied material.

• The Department of Social Services receives $9 million in other-fund spending authority for opioid-related grants.
• The bill provides $427,000 in state funds and $427,000 in federal spending authority for a partial restoration of TANF benefits.
• It provides $4.8 million in state and federal funds for support to critical access hospitals and federally qualified health centers.
• It provides $55.9 million in other-fund spending authority for state general-education aid tied to the owner-occupied property-tax levy reduction.
• It authorizes new positions in some agencies, but no overall staffing-cost estimate is available. No publicly available information.

What is unclear#

• The supplied bill text ends partway through the Department of Education section. No publicly available information in the supplied material gives the full appropriation total or all changes in the bill.
• The text does not state the amount of the tax reduction for an individual homeowner or how it would vary.
• It does not give the restored TANF benefit amounts or explain how the SNAP restriction waiver would operate.
• The excerpt does not explain the legal effect of eliminating the state hemp regulatory program’s funding.
• The bill allows agencies to supplement line-item changes with base money, but the supplied text does not show how agencies will use that flexibility.

Case for#

• A possible argument for the bill is that state departments and institutions need annual spending authority to operate and deliver services.
• Funding school aid, special education, health providers, and opioid-related grants directs money toward identified public services and needs.
• The bill adjusts some budgets for enrollment, service use, inflation, and changing federal funds rather than treating every program’s spending as unchanged.
• The budget-unit approach, with limited ability to supplement line items from base funds, may let agencies respond to changing costs within their approved totals.

Case against#

• The bill cuts or removes some funded activities, including the state hemp regulatory program and SNAP nutrition education; the supplied text does not explain the effects on people who rely on or are subject to those programs.
• The bill authorizes a large set of spending changes, but the supplied excerpt is incomplete and gives no overall total, making the full budget’s scale and trade-offs unclear.
• Allowing agencies to use base money to supplement line-item changes may make it harder to see where spending will ultimately go.
• Several appropriations support broad purposes, such as opioid-related grants, without details in the excerpt about award rules, oversight, or who will receive the money.