South Dakota is appropriating $5 million to help counties improve rural roads by funding the inventory and repair of small structures (like bridges and culverts) on township and county secondary roads. The money will be distributed to each county based on how many of these small structures it has compared to the statewide total, and counties must use the funds according to existing rural access infrastructure rules. Any money not spent by June 30, 2031 will be returned to the state.
The amendment removes the requirement that the $5,000,000 appropriation be distributed in equal portions across three fiscal years (2026-2028), instead allowing all funds to be deployed immediately, and extends the deadline for spending or obligating the money from June 1, 2031 to June 30, 2031. This change STRENGTHENS the bill by accelerating access to rural infrastructure funding for counties rather than rationing it over time.
This amendment removed outdated language referencing a 2021 deadline and a specific $3 million appropriation, replacing it with flexible language allowing the Department of Revenue to distribute appropriated funds for county rural access infrastructure based on a pro-rata allocation formula—effectively broadening the bill to work with any future appropriation amount rather than the original fixed sum. The amendment also converted the bill from engrossed to enrolled status, adding standard signature pages and attestation language required for final enactment.
Signed by the Governor S.J. 541
Delivered to the Governor S.J. 488
Signed by the Speaker H.J. 530
Signed by the President S.J. 470
House of Representatives Do Pass Amended Passed, YEAS 64, NAYS 2. H.J. 488
House of Representatives Committee referral waived pursuant to JR 6D-1 H.J. 477
First Reading House H.J. 469
Senate Do Pass Amended Passed, YEAS 31, NAYS 1. S.J. 415
Senate Motion to amend S.J. 415
Committee on Appropriations Do Pass Passed, YEAS 17, NAYS 0.
Committee on Appropriations Scheduled for hearing
Transportation Referred to Joint Committee on Appropriations Passed, YEAS 7, NAYS 0. S.J. 15
Transportation Scheduled for hearing S.J. 1
First read in Senate and referred to Senate Transportation S.J. 180
Prime sponsor · Sen.
R
Prime sponsor · Rep.
R
Do Pass Amended
Do Pass Amended
Committee on Appropriations — Do Pass
Transportation — Referred to