5:42
Gov. Kristi Noem has been clear about her motivation for merging the state’s environmental and agricultural departments.
She wants to help agriculture.
In her State of the State address earlier this month, she said the merger will “help reinvigorate our number one industry – and all the families it serves – for many years to come.”
The offices that are merging are the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Agriculture. Noem’s recent executive order mandating the merger takes effect in 90 days, unless the Legislature rejects it. Because she’s a Republican and the party has a super-majority, she’s unlikely to face significant opposition.