The South Dakota State Penitentiary sits north of downtown Sioux Falls on Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Sarah Raza)
PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Legislature convenes Tuesday for a special session to consider legislation authorizing the Department of Corrections to move forward with a new prison complex in northeastern Sioux Falls.
The vote will be the fifth taken since the Department of Corrections hired a consultant in 2021 to study the state’s current and future prison needs, which concluded that South Dakota needed a new prison — a conclusion not all lawmakers agree with.
The Legislature passed a law in 2023 to authorize the Department of Corrections to purchase property for a proposed facility. In 2024, the Legislature approved an appropriation for site preparation and planning for a proposed facility.
Lawmakers then voted twice on a new prison in the last session, ultimately rejecting an $825 million facility in Lincoln County. A Project Prison Reset Task Force set up by Gov. Larry Rhoden came back in July with a proposal for the $650 million facility in Sioux Falls, which the Legislature will vote on Tuesday.
Comments