Gov. Larry Rhoden continues to make his pitch that the state’s Future Fund should stay as is. The governor-controlled fund has been controversial in recent years due to questionable expenditures.
On Tuesday, Gov. Rhoden announced two new grants awarded from the Future Fund: one to Dakota BioWorx in Brookings and another at Watertown’s Calvin Industrial Park. The two grants total $1.4 million.
The Future Fund, in state statute called the "Employer's Investment in South Dakota's Future Fund," comes from a tax on employers and was created under former Gov. George Mickelson in 1987. The fund is at the governor's disposal, so long as the funds are "used for purposes related to research and economic development for the state" Rhoden has recently been active with his use of the dollars, announcing $1 million in funds to Aberdeen developments on Dec. 10, and another $200,000 towards a “Keep Farmers Farming” initiative.
Legislators on the state’s Government Operations and Audit Committee have discussed, and plan to support during the coming legislative session, bringing oversight to the fund. A potential bill would order additional rules and approval from the state’s Board of Economic Development for expenditures from the fund.
Rhoden called the Future Fund a “valuable tool.”
“And I recognized that as a legislator and I saw the projects that that helped foster and help get off the ground," Rhoden said. "So, it’s a huge asset to our state and to our economic development in our state for the governor to have that.”
Rhoden added he hopes the “fear and rhetoric” surrounding the fund calms down.
“I think when people look at, you know, where we’ve been with the future funds and what that’s provided in the past, and what we’re doing currently, I think they’ll understand it’s a valuable tool for the governor’s office and our state, and it needs to stay where it’s at,” Rhoden said.
The funds have typically been used for economic development projects, though under that umbrella some controversy has risen. That includes Gov. Kristi Noem using $9 million on a workforce recruitment campaign she appeared in.
Lt. Governor Tony Venhuizen lauded the Future Fund because it allows the governor to act quickly and “see an opportunity when it happens.”
“Many of these are things that wouldn’t have happened without that last dollar in to make it happen, and that’s really important. And it’s transparent. It’s subject to public scrutiny," Venhuizen said. "We see that when there’s a project that’s controversial; People talk about it and they scrutinize it and they question the governor about it and that’s all part of the process.”
He specifically mentioned the creation of the Build Dakota Scholarship that utilized the fund. Venhuizen said he believes the recent expenditures have been transparent, important programs.
