The South Dakota Senate dialed back a bill meant to pay for a Capitol restoration on Tuesday in a move meant to keep discussions on the project alive as lawmakers wrestle with the state budget.

The Senate Appropriations Committee voted 5-3 on Monday to endorse a version of Senate Bill 199 that set aside $25 million for a project that could cost far more than that. 

In the Senate on Tuesday, Tea Republican Ernie Otten asked the body to amend the bill to instead put $101 into the Capitol Restoration Fund the bill would create.

“It will give us time to find out what money we actually want to stick in it,” said Otten.

Capitol restoration looms as a major expense for South Dakota

Lawmakers typically pass the next fiscal year’s budget near the end of the legislative session. 

The Capitol restoration bill’s sponsor is Sioux Falls Republican Chris Karr, who compared the Capitol in Pierre to the Milan Cathedral, the 600-year-old Italian church that served as a backdrop for coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics. 

“This is our duomo,” Karr said, using the Italian term for cathedral. “This is our building in South Dakota that I think people look at. It can’t be replaced.”

Karr did not resist Otten’s motion to amend the bill.

“It’s part of the process,” Karr said. “The $25 million was put in there so everybody can understand the magnitude of what we’re talking about and the seriousness.”

Price tag could reach nine figures

The state official in charge of maintaining the Capitol and its grounds guessed last year that a full restoration could cost $150 million to $200 million. The 116-year-old Capitol was last restored nearly 40 years ago, ahead of the state’s 1989 centennial.

SB 119’s text doesn’t spell out what the money would be used for, the committee didn’t discuss the details and the Bureau of Human Resources and Administration — the agency leading the restoration efforts — did not elaborate in response to questions from South Dakota Searchlight.

Plaster cracks, goose droppings, and an un-Flaming Fountain: the SD Capitol conundrum

“At this time, no specific plan has been developed,” bureau spokesman Jesse Merkel said in an email to South Dakota Searchlight. “Any planning would occur only after the bill is passed and funding for future restoration is authorized.”

Lawmakers put aside $3 million during last year’s legislative session to study the Capitol’s needs and begin plaster and painting work in water-damaged areas. That money was part of a broader $12 million since 2019 devoted to studying problems afflicting the Capitol complex, and making temporary repairs while planning for a broader restoration.

In the budget committee on Monday, Sen. Taffy Howard, R-Rapid City, called SB 119 “a fiscally responsible step in the right direction” for a long-term project with a hefty price tag. 

Opponents say state should prioritize citizens

Two senators voiced opposition in committee. Republican Glen Vilhauer of Watertown said the project specifics and the amount of the funding request should’ve come earlier.

“There are many other projects in the wind out there that are going to die for lack of funding” this year, said Vilhauer, a nod to a tight state budget in which Gov. Larry Rhoden initially requested no increases for education, state employee salaries or Medicaid providers.

Newer revenue estimates have since opened a door to small increases in those areas, commonly referred to as “the big three” of the state budget.

Vilhauer, Mitchell Republican Paul Miskimins and Republican John Carley of Piedmont voted against the bill in committee. 

On the Senate floor Tuesday, Aberdeen Republican Mike Rohl said the restoration fund signals that lawmakers are out of touch with constituents, who struggle to pay property taxes and make ends meet.

“A lot of them have real issues. I don’t think we should be setting aside money to make our Capitol nicer,” Rohl said.

The Senate passed the bill 21-12. Its next stop is a House committee.