PIERRE, S.D. — South Dakota lawmakers will not meet on July 22 to make a decision on the location of a new state prison, according to a statement from Gov. Larry Rhoden’s office.

Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen, who leads the Project Prison Reset task force, sent a letter to the governor earlier this week requesting a postponement of the special legislative session Rhoden had planned. The session was intended to allow lawmakers to consider and potentially endorse a prison construction plan.

The Project Prison Reset task force was established by Rhoden via executive order in February. Its mission: determine whether the state needs new correctional facilities, how large they should be, and where they should be located.

In April, task force members agreed during a meeting in Springfield to move forward with building a replacement for the aging South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls. At the group’s most recent meeting, held in Pierre, members narrowed the list of potential sites to include Mitchell, Worthing, and existing prison campuses in Sioux Falls and Springfield. They also agreed to cap the project cost at $600 million.

However, Mitchell’s mayor, sheriff, and other local officials have since voiced their opposition to hosting the prison near their city.

Venhuizen noted that while the task force has made considerable headway, the short time frame between the next meeting and the originally proposed session date is not sufficient to finalize and communicate a well-developed plan.

“Even if the task force is able to adopt a specific proposal on July 8, we do not feel that two weeks provides adequate time for a final proposal to be completed with adequate detail, and for state legislators to learn about that proposal prior to the special session,” Venhuizen wrote.

Gov. Rhoden, through spokesperson Josie Harms, confirmed that he will honor the request and work with legislative leaders to set a new date.

“I’m eager to see what the task force can accomplish in their next meeting,” Rhoden wrote.

The rising cost of prison construction has been a sticking point throughout the process. The Rhoden administration had initially backed a plan for a 1,500-bed, $825 million men’s facility near Harrisburg in Lincoln County — a proposal lawmakers rejected earlier this year. A consultant later concluded that the state immediately needs 1,700 beds to address overcrowding, with demand projected to rise even further by the 2030s.

Even so, the task force opted to limit spending to $600 million, with the goal of upgrading capacity and replacing the most outdated portions of the Sioux Falls penitentiary.

As of now, the prison construction fund remains well-resourced. Lawmakers had allocated over $600 million before the 2025 session, and the account has grown through interest earnings.

Some of that money has already been spent — including on site preparation for the now-abandoned Lincoln County facility and on construction of a new $87 million women’s prison in Rapid City.

Corrections Department spokesperson Michael Winder shared updated figures with South Dakota Searchlight, stating:

“Subtracting the money spent since the last legislative session’s end and adding the $23 million earned in interest this year that will be deposited in August, the fund’s available balance will sit at approximately $538 million by the end of summer.”

The next task force meeting is scheduled for July 8, with expectations that a concrete proposal will follow shortly after. A new date for the special legislative session has not yet been announced.

Originally reported by John Hult in South Dakota Search Light.