South Dakota’s $200M workforce housing bill passes through House after much discourse

The South Dakota House of Representatives voted in favor of a bill Monday that would provide $200 million in funds for workforce housing infrastructure across the state.

A similar bill was originally proposed during the 2022 legislative session, but failed to passed due to concerns over the wording.

The now-approved Senate Bill 41 creates a program that will provide loans in the sum of $100 million, and grants in the sum of $50 million for the construction of housing infrastructure. State funding will be used for the $150 million and federal funding will provide an additional $50 million to be used for grants.

Earlier:Workforce housing sees win in Senate amid debate about government overreach and infrastructure

The South Dakota Housing Development Authority will be in charge of approving and administering the loans and grants.

After the Senate approved the bill this time around, it was sent to the House last Friday, where representatives debated over it for an extensive period of time and ultimately decided to reconvene Monday to hear the proposed amendments and vote.

A few of the proposed amendments included getting rid of the emergency clause, adding the phrase "workforce housing" to the bill, and adding a clause that said no current or future legislator may benefit directly or indirectly from the act, although none of the amendments were voted through.

The session went on for nearly an hour and a half with much back and forth among House members.

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Rep. Greg Jamison, R-Sioux Falls, explained how some companies look to see if there is nearby workforce housing for potential employees before making a decision to open a location.

"Imagine your community is desperately trying to get a Cheesecake Factory to be built in your city," he said, adding Sioux Falls would be a "good community for that," and garnering a lot of laughs.

The major objections of the bill included the lack of definitions for what the money could be used on and who it could be given to. One concern was that it could be used to benefit out-of-state contractors or those building housing for the upper class.

Rep. Jon Hansen, R-Dell Rapids, even went so far so to claim the funding is not necessary because the housing crisis is self-exaggerated, alleging South Dakota experienced the fastest housing development growth in the country this year despite inflation.

But others disagreed, saying the funding would indeed be helpful, particularly to smaller communities.

Rep. Drew Peterson, R-Salem, gave a small-town perspective in support of the bill.

He said small towns don't have land developers or an abundance of homes for sale, and that what's needed in more infrastructure within city limits for the people who want to move and work there but who don't want to live on farmland.

"SB41 will help small towns like Salem provide an opportunity to grow and welcoming people that love the small-town, rural way of life," Peterson said.

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The South Dakota Retailers Association, the South Dakota Bankers Association, the South Dakota Home Builders Association, the South Dakota Association of Rural Water Systems and the Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce were a handful of organizations also in support of the bill, according to Rep. Carl Perry, R-Aberdeen.

"I believe in building communities. I think it's important," Perry said. "If we can have Ipswich, South Dakota, have 10 infrastructures built there, that's going to be a bonus.... And yes, in government, there’s always negative and positive, but I can tell you the positive on this."

The discourse went up until the vote, with Rep. Phil Jensen even raising a point of order objection, stating there was a conflict of interest from Rep. Roger Chase, R-Huron, alleging Chase would financially benefit from the bill. This was eventually overruled.

The final vote was 54 yeas to 16 nays, and the bill was passed with the emergency clause. It will now to go Gov. Kristi Noem for final approval to be signed into law.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: $200M workforce housing bill sees win in House after much discourse