Via GovWatchSD:
Senator-Elect Kevin Jensen is my guest today to inform us about the prison debacle going on concerning the proposal to build a new prison 17 miles away from Sioux Falls at the cost of $800+ million instead of updating the one that already exists plus updating prisons statewide, which would be a more efficient and responsible way to spend taxpayers’ money. He also points out the complete lack of transparency and communication from the Dept. of Corrections Under Secretary and her refusal to answer legitimate questions by the Corrections Commission as well as hearing other ideas beyond building this one new prison that defies all logical reasoning in how she wants to accomplish it.
If the trend continues, Mehlhaff said, South Dakota will fall $78.2 million short of projections lawmakers adopted last legislative session for sales tax revenue.
But Mehlhaff and Johnson told lawmakers the state could replace the lost sales tax revenue with other sources, including large remittances in unclaimed property.
“I still think the target can be achieved,” Mehlhaff said. “Given the extra unclaimed property, it’s going to be close to the target overall even with negative sales tax.”
https://southdakotasearchlight.com/2024/11/14/fiscal-analysts-caution-lawmakers-as-state-sales-tax-revenue-dips/
Stop spending people’s missing property and you will stop the funding of the prison in your back yard.
It’s almost all funded by unclaimed property:
Finance Director Brittni Skipper said that the DOC’s next prison project budget request will be less than $200 million because the money lawmakers have already allocated has been placed in an interest-bearing incarceration construction fund. The interest from the $505 million currently in the fund is anticipated to return $61 million, Skipper said. The prison is set to open in 2029. Skipper did not say how long it would take for the project to generate that much interest, and the DOC did not immediately return a request for clarification.