Proposing and submitting to the voters at the next general election a law transfer the state accounting system from the Bureau of Finance and Management to the state auditor and amend provisions pertaining to the Bureau of Finance and Management.
House Joint Resolution 5007 proposes to submit to voters a constitutional-style statutory change that would move the state accounting system from the Bureau of Finance and Management to the state auditor. The measure defines the “state accounting system,” assigns the auditor responsibility for administering it, and revises numerous statutes to replace references to the Bureau of Finance and Management or its commissioner with the state auditor or the Bureau of Management and Budget, where appropriate. It also directs code counsel and the Code Commission to make conforming cross-reference and title changes throughout the South Dakota Codified Laws.
The resolution makes broad technical and administrative changes across state finance law, including annual financial statements, fund accounting, budget reserve and general revenue replacement fund procedures, condition statements, reconciliation of treasury records, capital construction fund transfers, tax levy certification, and child support collection accounts. It also shifts several accounting and reporting duties to the state auditor while leaving budget administration functions with the Bureau of Management and Budget in many places, reflecting a reorganization of financial oversight rather than a wholesale rewrite of spending policy.
If approved by voters and implemented, the bill would transfer core state accounting functions and related reporting responsibilities from the Bureau of Finance and Management to the state auditor, while updating many statutory references to match the new structure. This would affect how state agencies, the treasurer, the investment officer, legislative committees, and other officials interact with the state’s accounting and financial reporting systems. It would also require conforming changes in numerous chapters of state law and administrative preparation beginning July 1, 2025, with the statutory sections effective January 1, 2025.
The available voting history suggests the bill faced some resistance in committee, as it was tabled on a 9-1 vote. No committee transcript is provided, so there is no recorded floor or committee debate to show broader support or opposition arguments. Based on the text alone, the proposal appears to be framed as an organizational and accountability reform, but the tabling vote indicates at least some members were not ready to advance it in its introduced form.
The main point of contention is the proposed transfer of the state accounting system from the Bureau of Finance and Management to the state auditor, which changes institutional control over financial records, reconciliations, and reporting. That shift likely raises questions about separation of duties, administrative efficiency, and whether the auditor’s office should take on functions traditionally housed in the executive branch’s finance office. A secondary area of concern is the bill’s extensive conforming amendments, which touch many unrelated statutes and could create implementation complexity or unintended cross-reference issues. The lone naysayer on the tabling vote suggests at least one member objected to delaying or blocking the measure, but the record does not identify specific arguments.