From the desk of Senator Mykala Voita - District 21

I hope this update finds you well as we draw to the close of 2025. The first day of the 101st Legislative Session is right around the corner now. On December 2nd I was in Pierre for the Governors Budget Address. As many affected have already heard, his proposal did not include an inflationary increase for “The big Three” -healthcare providers, education, and state employees. Only time will tell if there is a way to find roughly 30 million to give a 1% increase to those employees and providers or not. It is interesting to note that the increase in Medicaid, largely due to Medicaid expansion that South Dakota citizens voted in favor of, ate up most of the new “On-Going Revenue” that is projected in this budget in its mandatory budget increases. One can’t help but note that the more government is involved in healthcare and healthcare insurance, the more twisted up, distorted, and less transparent the whole system becomes. On December 1st and 2nd we had appropriations meetings, where we heard from the School Finance Accountability Board, the Attorney General and DSS on the Opioid Settlement Funds, and several others who gave Letter of Intent Reports to the committee. The SFAB (School Finance Accountability Board) had six school districts come before them to request waivers for their general fund cash balances not meeting the accountability standard set forth in statute. The SFAB had voted to grant partial waivers to two districts to only impose a portion of the financial penalty to their state aid to education dollars that is allowed by statute, but in a 10-8 vote the Appropriations Committee voted to remove the financial penalty. I found this to be an interesting outcome. In a year where so many across the state are talking about property taxes, the committee voting this way seemed counter productive if the goal is to hold these governing bodies to a strict standard to tax payers. The Attorney General and folks from Department of Social Services, including Secretary Altoff gave us an update on the disbursement of Opioid Settlement Funds. South Dakota has roughly 99 million dollars projected to come in from this settlement. 70% of these funds will be administered through the State, and the other 30 is being distributed through local governing bodies that opted in to the lawsuit settlement when they had the opportunity. Both Gregory and Charles Mix counties have received a portion of their localized share. The Department of Social Services has a dashboard on their website to see where grants have already been awarded to, the services and outreach those groups are looking to provide, etc. We as communities must be aware and involved to break the circle of addiction to save this generation and set the next up for success, not imprisonment by these horrible, life destroying, silent killers. Attorney General Marty Jackly stressed his desire to see these settlement dollars getting put to use to help people in our communities sooner rather than later, but he pitched a plan to work through Sioux Falls and Rapid City as treatment hubs. Those of us in rural South Dakota know how hard it can be to get attention and proper care for our neighbors and families here, so I just want to encourage everyone affected by drug addiction, mental illness, etc, and those who are fighting to combat it to rally together and be involved. I will continue to advocate for our area and our providers to be seen and directly impacted by any aid we can get, but I also want to ask you to help me stay aware and educated in how I can best advocate for our communities. I think it is great that there is a large sum of money available, but I hope we aren’t just throwing money into buildings or programs only to miss addressing the root of the issue. This will be my last update of 2025. I can’t express my gratitude enough to everyone who has supported me through this year. Whether it was sharing wisdom, helping me stay informed, directly collaborating with me, or praying for my family- Thank You from the bottom of my heart. I am looking forward to getting to work for you in this new year. I pray you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. -Senator Mykala Voita