Legislative Report

Agroterrorism, Medicaid expansion funding on lawmaker's mind

By Casey Crabtree

District 8 state senator

Posted 1/24/25

Greetings from the 100th South Dakota legislative session. It is an honor to once again serve the great people of District 8 as your state senator. The year ahead will include several challenges as …

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Legislative Report

Agroterrorism, Medicaid expansion funding on lawmaker's mind

Posted

Greetings from the 100th South Dakota legislative session. It is an honor to once again serve the great people of District 8 as your state senator. The year ahead will include several challenges as we work to balance the budget during a soft economy and work to make sure opportunities for the years and decades to come can materialize in South Dakota.

As with each year, my priority is looking for solutions that help South Dakotans prosper. South Dakota is a place where anyone can live out their dreams as long as they’re able to find opportunity in our state. I will work with my fellow legislators to make sure that we can eliminate unnecessary red tape, keep taxes low, and make sure we are taking care of educating and training our future workforce. At the same time, we need to make sure our state is safe for our residents.

This year, Rep. Kent Roe and I introduced SB 14 to address a growing concern with farmers — agroterrorism. People aligning with the extreme agendas of groups like PETA and Sierra Club are vandalizing and ruining the livelihoods of farmers and ranchers. SB 14 strengthens penalties and adds clarity for law enforcement and prosecutors to protect the state's No. 1 industry.

Rep. Tony Venhuizen and I will also be asking the legislature to pose a question to the voters in November 2026. This last election, the two of us led the charge on implementing a Medicaid expansion work requirement for individuals who are able-bodied and able to work. This new proposal addresses the potential fiscal disaster that could affect South Dakota if the federal government decides to decrease the amount of money they reimburse the state.

Today, they cover 90% of the cost for Medicaid expansion patients. With the stroke of a pen in Washington, D.C., that amount could be significantly reduced. Even a 5% reduction would lead to drastic funding cuts or tough discussions on tax increases. I believe that South Dakota voters approved Medicaid expansion with the assumption that the federal government would keep its promise and continue to fund Medicaid expansion at 90%. Since this program is enshrined in our constitution, you, the people, get to decide if we should change how it is implemented in South Dakota.

I believe the dominant discussion of the upcoming session will be the state's balanced budget. Sales tax revenues have dropped significantly this past year and the projections are not bright for the year ahead. This led Gov. Kristi Noem to propose some drastic cuts in her budget proposal to the legislature. While there is some one-time money, dollars available for ongoing new programs are impossible without cuts elsewhere. At the same time, I want to work hard to reduce your property tax. There are several ideas that are being discussed amongst legislators. I will be working with my fellow lawmakers to find a proposal that provides serious tax relief for homeowners while also allowing us to meet our budgetary obligations.

Again, it is an honor to serve District 8. As we move through the nine-week legislative session, I look forward to hearing from you on the issues that are important to you.

If you plan to travel to Pierre, let me know so that we can meet to say hello. In the meantime, stay safe and may God bless South Dakota.