STATE BUDGET

South Dakota operates on an annual budget cycle. The governor submits a proposed budget in December and the legislature typically adopts a budget in March. The fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30 and is referred to by the year in which it ends.

STATE LEGISLATURE

The South Dakota Legislature begins its session on the second Tuesday of January, lasting 40 working days in odd-numbered years, and 35 days working days in even numbered years.  The state has 35 Senators, and 70 members of the House of Representatives.  Both Senators and Representatives are elected to 2-year terms, and are limited to serving four consecutive 2-year terms in a particular chamber, but there is no limit on the number of non-consecutive terms.   Bills do not carry over from year to year.

KEY RESOURCES

• South Dakota Legislature
• South Dakota Office of the Attorney General
• South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation
• South Dakota Bureau of Finance and Management
• South Dakota Governor
• Information on Healthcare Policy in South Dakota

2025 LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY

SB 87 and SB 158 proposed implementing a preauthorization exemption program for all insurers and providers that automatically approves requests from provider who have had at least a 90% approval rate the past year with an annual audit for services within a patient’s policy. The bill also proposed a payment guarantee for providers with exceptions for fraud and failure to service, limit on retrospective review, and guarantees patients’ appeal rights. Both bills ultimately died.