Top 5 takeaways from Gov. Noem's State of the State speech

PIERRE − The State of South Dakota is strong, according to Gov. Kristi Noem.

The second term governor laid out her vision of the state throughout the next year during her 40-minute speech to a joint session of the House of Representatives and Senate on Tuesday as part of the State of the State address, kicking off the start to the 2023 legislative session.

Here are the top takeaways from Noem's speech.

No. 1: Building economic opportunities for all South Dakotans

In her speech, Noem highlighted while South Dakota continues to have a low unemployment rate, there's still plenty of unfilled jobs.

Part of her solution: recognize out-of-state professional licenses and create more apprenticeship opportunities.

More:Read Gov. Kristi Noem's 2023 State of the State speech

"When other states have done this, they have seen their workforces grow almost immediately," Noem said. "Arizona’s workforce has grown by about 5,000 workers since their law was implemented."

Noem also hit on her plan to cut the state sales tax on groceries, an unprecedented $100 million tax cut for South Dakotans. However, she faces stiff opposition from members of her own party.

No. 2: Investing in mothers and foster children

It was no surprise when Noem announced in her December budget address that one of her administration's priorities is paid family leave. She had announced during her re-election campaign that under her second term, she would move to cover 100% of paid family leave for state employees.

Tuesday, lawmakers got a bigger picture of what that program would look like. Not only would parents of new babies and children get paid family leave, but also employees who have to take care of sick loved ones or those with a spouse in active military deployment will have access to the 12-week benefit program.

More:Child care is a major workforce concern. Why wasn’t it in Gov. Noem’s budget address?

Noem also announced a $20 million grant for private businesses to invest in paid family leave programs.

When it comes to foster children, Noem also wants to provide a scholarship for K-12 students in foster care to receive up to $4,000 to use on tuition for a private school, academic testing, tutoring and more.

No. 3: Addressing South Dakota's childcare crisis

Currently, South Dakota is in a childcare crisis from lack of providers to parents who can't afford to place their children in daycare.

More:From daycares to stipends, what South Dakota businesses are doing to help with childcare

Noem said efforts are currently underway to overhaul the childcare rules and regulation system, and create opportunities for childcare employees to access employer benefits.

She added the state plans to release $40 million in federal grant money to address the childcare issues.

No. 4: New tourism opportunities for the tribes

Noem announced during her speech the South Dakota Department of Tourism will expand tours to South Dakota's native nations throughout the next year.

Bus tours will take visitors to locations in Pine Ridge, Rosebud, Standing Rock, and Milk’s Camp, Noem said.

"We will continue to emphasize telling tribal stories," Noem said. "They are a key part of our state’s rich history and heritage, and I’m excited to share that with the world."

No. 5: Curbing adversarial foreign influences in the state

Noem has already banned TikTok, the Chinese-owned app, from state devices and she plans to go further when it comes to agricultural investments.

She told the legislature Tuesday her administration is working with lawmakers to prevent foreign agricultural investments from countries that are no friend of the United States. While the state has had a law preventing non-resident foreigners from owning more than 160 acres on the books since 1979, more than 350,000 acres of farmland still belongs to non-American entities

More:Chinese companies in the crosshairs as South Dakota officials call for supply chain reforms

Noem referenced the Chinese purchase of land near an air force base in North Dakota earlier in 2022.

Part of her plan includes creating a new commission: the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States – South Dakota, or CFIUS-S, that will be tasked to review foreign purchases, leases or transfer of land.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: How Gov. Kristi Noem set the tone for the state of South Dakota this next year