Governor Kristi Noem appears to have changed her mind about her support for a ballot measure looking to remove the state sales tax on groceries. Noem made removing the tax on groceries one of her campaign promises for re-election in 2022. During the 2023 legislative session, she testified in favor of House Bill 10-75, which was defeated with an 8-1 vote by the House Appropriations Committee. In a report published by South Dakota News Watch, Jim Terwilliger, commissioner of the Bureau of Finance and Management under Noem, said she would not support the Dakotans for Health ballot measures for stopping grocery sales tax “as drafted.” His comments come less than three months after Noem said “it would be impossible” for her to come out against the ballot measure.
