South Dakota

Decision instrument

State debt stops at $100,000, counting debt already outstanding, except to meet a war.

What public act authorizes the borrowing, and where is the purpose and the first-year cost written down? South Dakota Constitution, Article XIII, Section 2. The permitted purposes inside that cap are extraordinary expenses, public improvements, and a casual deficit or a failure of revenue. A larger debt is allowed only to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, or defend the state or the United States in war. The law must provide for the interest each year and the principal when due, by a tax or from other revenue, and that law cannot be repealed until the debt is paid. The annual report says this section prohibits general obligation indebtedness over $100,000.

Debt statement

No Annual Debt Statement of the New Jersey kind.

What yearly filing states gross debt, deductions, and how close the issuer is to its limit? State debt is in the annual report for the year ended June 30, 2025. County dollar rows are not attached.

Debt limit

A county, city, town, or township stops at 5% of last year’s assessed value. A school district stops at 10%.

What cap binds a county or a city, and is the state's own ceiling a different rule? Constitution, Article XIII, Section 4. The percentage is of the assessed valuation of taxable property for the year before the debt is incurred. Water and sewer may add another 10%. A city of 8,000 or more may add 8% for lighting. No debt for the purposes in that section unless a majority of the electors vote for it.

Conflict rule

A local officer may not be interested in a contract of that county, city, township, or school district. The contract is void from the beginning.

Which ethics statute covers local officers, what counts as an interest, and who is left out? SDCL 6-1-1. The interest can be the officer’s own or through an agent. It covers labor, supplies, and the purchase of the public body’s property. SDCL 6-1-2 lists exceptions if there is no fraud. One is a contract of $5,000 or less if the price is reasonable and just. Another is a contract let by competitive bidding when more than one bid is submitted. Professional services are another, if the price is reasonable and just. If the conditions of the exception are not fully met, the contract is voidable. A separate statute, SDCL 5-18A-17, makes void a contract in which the officer who approves, awards, or administers it has an interest. A knowing violation is a Class 2 misdemeanor. An officer who serves without pay is left out of that statute.

Geography

Sixty-six counties. Oglala Lakota and Todd have no seat of their own.

What is the county-equivalent, and which cities, schools, and authorities must not be pasted onto that row? FIPS 46003 through 46137. Oglala Lakota is 46102. The old Shannon County number, 46113, is not used. Oglala Lakota’s own page says Hot Springs, in Fall River County, is the administrative center. Dollar rows stay blank.

Primary money record

No general obligation over $100,000. Building Authority revenue-bond principal: $47.2 million.

Which audited report is the state's own number, and as of what date? Annual report, June 30, 2025. Four series: 2014D, $1.5 million; 2017A, $33.8 million; 2019B, $5.2 million; 2020A, $6.8 million. Unamortized premium is $4.2 million. The report’s net line is $51.4 million. The year began at $72.1 million of principal. Deductions were $25.0 million. Nothing was issued for the primary government. The Authority issued $5.0 million for higher education, which is not in the $47.2 million. The Legislature set aside $38.2 million to retire part of Series 2017A, to be called on June 1, 2027, and part of Series 2014D.

Who pays the coupon

The Building Authority’s bonds are not a lien on the state. Rent from state departments pays them.

Which fund, tax, or rate is actually pledged — not which new store might show up later? The report says the payments come from the General Fund and from dedicated fees, through agreements with the departments. In fiscal 2026 the principal due is $4.2 million and the interest due is $1.9 million. Interest still on the schedule is $15.3 million. The legal liability stays with the Authority.

Other obligors

Clean-water and drinking-water revenue-bond principal: $754.9 million. Do not add it to the $47.2 million.

Which authorities and districts borrow beside the state and must not be added to its total? Clean Water State Revolving Fund principal, $450.7 million, plus $61.7 million of premium. Drinking Water, $304.2 million of principal, plus $22.3 million of premium. The report’s combined line, with premiums, is $838.9 million. These bonds are not a debt of the state and are not a faith-and-credit pledge. They fund loans to political units. In fiscal 2026 the clean-water principal due is $18.5 million and the interest is $20.6 million. Drinking-water principal due is $8.3 million and the interest is $13.0 million. The state also records $80.3 million of notes for vocational-education facilities and $16.6 million of installment purchases. Higher-education housing bonds are $353.2 million of principal, plus $14.1 million of direct placements. None of those is the Building Authority’s $47.2 million.

Book-entry wall

Cede & Co., at the Depository Trust Company.

Who is the registered owner on ordinary public paper? Series-level confirmation still waits on that official statement. Beneficial owners stay unnamed.