Governor’s Office of Economic Development Commissioner Chris Schilken testifies to the Legislature’s Executive Board on Jan. 8, 2024, at the Capitol in Pierre. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)
Lawmakers grilled a representative of the Governor’s Office about a fund controlled by the governor, but a legislative committee rejected a bill Thursday at the Capitol in Pierre that would have reduced the money flowing to the fund.
The topic was the Future Fund , which draws revenue from a tax on employers.
Sen. Brent Hoffman, R-Hartford, spoke in favor of the bill .
“It’s not the role of government to be Santa Claus in these economic development projects,” Hoffman said.
But the Senate Commerce and Energy Committee voted 5-4 to reject the legislation.
South Dakota employers pay into the Future fund when they submit payroll taxes for unemployment benefits. The unemployment tax is calculated with a complex set of formulas that includes a percentage of the first $15,000 of some employees’ annual earnings. The Future Fund receives a fraction of an additional percent on top of that, which the state describes as an “investment fee.”