Lawmakers pass nursing home funding, pipeline protest bills

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem closed out the main part of her first legislative session as governor with a major funding boost for nursing homes, groundbreaking anti-pipeline protest legislation and a victory over supporters of industrial hemp who made a strong push to legalize cultivation of the crop.

Lawmakers voted this past week to approve a state budget that included a 10 percent inflationary increase for nursing homes, funding Noem prioritized but that ultimately exceeded the 5 percent bump she sought in her January spending plan. The Republican governor also saw lawmakers budget millions of dollars for her favored proposals, including rural broadband, pheasant habitat and fighting the methamphetamine epidemic, before they left the Capitol.

"What I laid out in my budget was a lot of priorities that I believed we should focus on, and I was thrilled to see virtually all of that funded and prioritized by the Legislature as well," Noem told reporters. "I think we had a good partnership, and we'll continue to do so into the future."

The measures included $5 million each for nursing home innovation grants and expanding rural broadband, $4.6 million for improving state radio infrastructure and another $4.6 million to combat meth abuse. Lawmakers also delivered to Noem $1 million to protect and improve wildlife habitat, not to mention policy priorities such as a reporter shield law.

House Majority Leader Lee Qualm said Noem's first session as governor went very well for her. He counted the pipeline legislation and a permitless concealed carry measure among positive steps lawmakers took this session.

"I think we really advanced a lot of different fronts this year and got a lot of good things done," Qualm said.

Noem and the Republican-controlled Legislature also muscled through a pair of bills...