Latest news with #BureauofFinanceandManagement
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
South Dakota loses federal funds for prison rape elimination amid fears of national impact
Educational materials on sexual assault in prisons, produced by the South Dakota Department of Corrections and paid for by federal grant funding. (Photo illustration by John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight) The South Dakota Department of Corrections has lost access to more than $25,000 in federal funding meant to aid in the investigation and prevention of sexual assaults in prisons and jails. The state Bureau of Finance and Management publishes a rundown, updated weekly, of dollars lost to the state through Trump administration cuts. The latest list includes a loss of $25,332 in 'strategic support' money for compliance with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act. The act requires prisons and jails to document sexual assaults behind bars, protect victims who report incidents and ensure adequate safeguards are in place to prevent assaults. The lost money would have been a second-year award in a two-year grant. The state already received $28,419. The finance bureau's newest spreadsheet lists $23.7 million in total federal funding lost across various state agencies and projects since the start of the Trump administration. The DOC says it doesn't actually need the lost federal dollars to comply with the federal law on sexual assaults in prisons. As of this week, the agency hadn't spent all the money from the first grant award. Corrections spokesman Michael Winder told South Dakota Searchlight that the agency spent about $16,000 from the first year's funding for 'educational literature and training.' That material included wall posters instructing prisoners on how to report sexual assaults, which listed addresses for anonymous reporting and the number to dial from inmate tablets to report an assault. The department also printed 'no means no' posters, six-step staff procedure cards outlining what to do when an inmate reports a sexual assault, and pamphlets on the rape elimination act for inmates and their friends and family members. The grant was awarded to help the department comply with the law, and Winder said it now does. He said South Dakota's facilities are 'continuously audited' for compliance with the federal statute. The remaining $12,000 from 2023, he said, will be used 'to provide continued training and advancement for staff who respond, investigate, and provide continued care for victims of sexual violence within the correctional facilities.' The state penitentiary's most recent federal audit was finalized in January. The report found no deficiencies. Audits of each state correctional facility since 2019, as listed on the department's website, showed no deficiencies. In 2023, the most recent year for which data are available, there were 22 substantiated sexual assault reports in South Dakota prisons. That was 22 out of 148 investigations tied to the Prison Rape Elimination Act. The department declined to offer details on the substantiated incidents, citing exemptions in South Dakota open records law for law enforcement records or records that could endanger others, as well as a provision in the act that bars the release of information on individual incidents. That most recent annual report notes that the department 'began tracking and reporting investigations in a consistent and efficient manner' in 2023. The loss of the remaining $25,332 for South Dakota was part of the fallout from a decision by the Trump administration to cancel a host of grants related to the Prison Rape Elimination Act Resource Center. The cuts effectively shut down the resource center for a short period of time. Until the change, the nonprofit organization had dozens of employees, laboring under a collaborative agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice. Overdose deaths, gang violence draw charges in some — not all — recent prison incidents Many of them worked to review the audits required of every correctional facility in the U.S. every three years, and served as a resource to connect prisons and jails nationwide with partners who could help them do things like train officers on how to handle sexual assault reports. A California-based nonprofit called Just Detention International is among the organizations that relied on and worked with the resource center. Its mission is tied specifically to sexual assaults and harassment in correctional settings. In South Dakota, the group worked with the Rosebud Sioux Tribe to build a compliant sexual assault prevention and reporting framework for a juvenile detention facility. It's also listed as a resource for victims in the most recent penitentiary audit for South Dakota. Linda McFarlane, Just Detention's executive director, told South Dakota Searchlight that some staff at the resource center have returned since April, when the grants for states and the resource center were rescinded. All the audits conducted across the U.S. since 2022 remain archived on the resource center website, but McFarlane worries the pared-down staff won't be able to review them. She's also troubled that the funding cuts removed the staff that trained investigators and connected local coordinators with resources. 'Part of the problem was that this message was sent, that PREA is no longer taken seriously,' McFarlane said. 'I think people misunderstood the defunding of the PREA Resource Center to mean the law was no longer in effect. And that is absolutely not true.' McFarlane was glad to hear that South Dakota intends to continue adhering to the law, but she worries that jailers who may have never taken the law seriously will feel empowered to ignore it. 'We heard from survivors and from currently incarcerated people that this felt like a huge slap in the face, that the government was signaling that they no longer take their safety seriously,' McFarlane said. 'And from within the corrections departments, the people who take it seriously were panicked.' The former director of the resource center, Dana Shoenberg, posted on LinkedIn that the funding cut had 'scattered' its team into different jobs around the country, but said she hopes they or others continue to work 'to fulfill PREA's promise of eliminating sexual abuse in confinement.'
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rhoden changes governor's credit card policy
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — Gov. Larry Rhoden is taking a different approach than Kristi Noem had when it comes to the office's state government credit card. That's according to the head of state government's Bureau of Finance and Management. Commissioner Jim Terwilliger told the Legislature's Government Operations and Audit Committee on Thursday about changes that he said Rhoden has put in place since becoming governor in January. Murder charge against Yankton man dismissed In an effort to be more transparent, Terwilliger said Rhoden has started separating the South Dakota Highway Patrol's charges for providing the governor's 24-hour security from the charges he makes as governor for travel and expenses. Terwilliger said Rhoden also canceled some subscriptions such as for Sirius radio that were paid by Noem with a state credit card. Lawmakers on the committee sharply questioned in general the credit-card charges Noem made when she was governor. Noem resigned from the office in January after the U.S. Senate confirmed her appointment as federal Homeland Security secretary. The South Dakota Constitution provides that the lieutenant governor becomes governor when there is a vacancy. Republican Sen. Taffy Howard said Noem traveled to more than 30 states during her six years as governor, taking her security team with her. Howard said Noem used a government credit card to charge non-travel expenses, too. State Auditor Rich Sattgast testified Thursday that his office sometimes questioned but never denied a credit-card charge made by a governor. Republican Rep. Marty Overweg, Republican Rep. Julie Auch and Democratic Sen. Red Dawn Foster said they have faced questions from constituents about Noem's use of government credit cards. Sattgast said the Legislature could place limits on their use. Howard said the committee might return to the issue later this year regarding possible legislation for the 2026 session. The Dakota Scout was first to obtain Noem's credit card records from the state auditor's office. KELOLAND News also received the records. Terwilliger, however, said the credit-card charges weren't hidden. He said they are available on the website and can be found by checking payments state government made to First Premier Bank. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
School lunch bill fails in House appropriations
SIOUX FALLS S.D. (KELO) — A bill that would allow the state to reimburse schools to pay for students reduced lunch failed to make it through the House Committee on Appropriations Monday. The bill was sent to the 41st legislative day, effectively killing it, by a vote of 5-4. House Bill 1089 would cover meal copays for reduced-price eligible students. The bill targets students from families that are already eligible for the reduced lunch program, earning between 130% and 185% of the federal poverty level. The bill if passed would cover their 40-cent lunch and 30-cent breakfast copays. The bill states the Department of Education shall, with monies appropriated in the General Appropriations Act, reimburse each school district for costs incurred by the district in providing meals to students who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals pursuant to this section, less any amount reimbursed through the National School Lunch Program or the School Breakfast Program. The Bureau of Finance and Management estimates show a $616,000 annual cost. Democrat Rep. Erik Muckey said while he understands that this is a budget year for the legislature, the Democratic caucus has made this a top priority. Muckey was the only lawmaker to speak on Tuesday. 'We are talking about challenges in our schools as far as covering costs and making sure we are taking care of our students, this is a really effective way taking care of some of our poorer students,' Muckey said. 'This is an important priority for our kids, especially in a year where we are talking about making reductions teacher pay.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Tobacco bill advancing through legislature
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — If it becomes law, Senate Bill 54 would decrease the amount of money that goes into South Dakota's Tobacco Prevention and Reduction Trust Fund. Those who support the change call it a necessary step because of the state's tight budget. Opponents worry it could impact smoking and vaping rates. Under the current South Dakota law, the first $30 million of tax revenue from cigarettes and other tobacco products goes to the state general fund. The next $5 million goes into the Tobacco Prevention and Reduction Trust Fund. Senate Bill 54 would reduce the amount going toward the Tobacco and Prevention Trust Fund to $2 million, allowing an extra $3 million to go into the general fund. Jim Terwilliger, commissioner of the Bureau of Finance and Management, is a proponent of the bill. 'This is one of the areas where we felt we could still do a really good job of offering tobacco prevention services but also be smarter with how we spend the money and then allocate some of those funds to the general fund, which will help cover some of our increased health care costs that we're seeing on the general fund side,' Terwilliger said. Carla Graciano with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network opposes the $3 million cut. 'The tobacco companies are spending about $24.9 million per year on marketing for their products in South Dakota,' Graciano said. 'We're only spending $5 million to fund our tobacco prevention and control program, and a $3 million cut is going to be detrimental to reduce smoking rates.' Terwilliger points to a recent decrease in smoking rates in South Dakota. Graciano says Senate Bill 54 could turn those numbers around. 'That problem has gotten gotten smaller over time. The public's attitude towards tobacco has changed, so we thought it was an opportunity to reinvest those dollars into other areas,' Terwilliger said. 'If we don't have the resources to keep programs like the Quit Line, we know that the smoking rates are going to increase, and the smoking deaths are going to also increase,' Graciano said. SB 54 passed the Senate by a vote of 21-14. Next, it heads to the House. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State seeks to capture $7 million by repealing credit for online sales tax filers
South Dakota Bureau of Finance and Management Commissioner Jim Terwilliger speaks to the state Senate Committee on Appropriations on Jan. 18, 2024. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight) PIERRE — South Dakota could do $6.8 million worth of good for its bottom line by repealing a $70 monthly credit for businesses that remit sales tax returns online, lawmakers learned Monday at the Capitol. The state's Bureau of Finance and Management delivered the message to the House Appropriations Committee, which acts as a screening panel for budgetary proposals as they move toward a place in the state's financial plan for the coming fiscal year. Noem budget includes cuts, but also new school choice program and more prison money The money would come from undoing what's known as the 'sales tax collection allowance' by way of House Bill 1037. The allowance lets businesses who file their taxes online keep up to $70 of the sales taxes they've collected on the state's behalf. The cut is one of many under consideration this session as legislators deal with declining sales tax revenues. The time to repeal the allowance has come, contended Bureau of Finance and Management Commissioner Jim Terwilliger, and not just for the incidental purpose of attending to a tighter-than-average budget. It's tax money left on the table, he said. 'At the end of the day, this is significantly different than repealing an exemption on the sales tax, because this tax is already being paid,' he said. In its current form, the allowance is designed to push businesses to remit electronically. In 2013, lawmakers restricted the credit's availability to businesses that ditched paper for digital. That year, Terwilliger said, about 51% of businesses were sending sales tax returns electronically; today the figure is closer to 80%. At this point, the budget manager said, the $70 monthly credits to local businesses would be worth more as a source of funding for essential government services. 'It's a really, really small amount to businesses, but it's a meaningful amount for us,' Terwilliger said. South Dakota Retailers Association Executive Director Nathan Sanderson took issue with that characterization of the fee's origin and impact. 'This is a $7 million tax increase on businesses,' Sanderson said. The allowance first appeared in 1990, he said, long before the practice of online remittance became possible, let alone incentivized as a means to streamline the flow of sales tax dollars. Busloads of public broadcasting supporters make case to avoid $3.6 million state budget cut In truth, Sanderson argued, the money helps cover fees charged to businesses by credit card companies on each transaction. It's a recognition that businesses do the state a favor by collecting money and sending it to Pierre month after month. Businesses are 'not getting rich' on the allowance, Sanderson said, but it does defray some of their costs. Sanderson was the first of nine opponents to testify. The others included business owners, as well as lobbyists for hoteliers, convenience store owners and economic development associations. When Terwilliger returned to rebut their arguments, he said 'this is absolutely not a new tax,' that South Dakota is 'a pretty darn business friendly state,' and that the taxes that go unremitted under the allowance now are being paid by consumers at the checkout counter. 'I also want to point out that it is my job, and ultimately your job as the Appropriations Committee, to ensure that at the end of the day we have a balanced budget,' he said. The committee voted to defer action until lawmakers set the state's official revenue forecasts later this week. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
