SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The South Dakota Legislature’s Joint Committee on Appropriations approved budgets for boards or full departments on Feb. 28.

Budgets for boards from the Department of Agricultural and Natural Resources (DANR), the Department of Labor and Regulation (DLR) and the Department of Health (DOH) were approved. So were full budgets for the Department of Revenue (DOR), the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED), Bureau of Human Resources (BHR) and Bureau of Information and Telecommunications (BIT).

The approved budget for DANR boards is $29.7 million. The boards include the Soybeans Research and Promotion Council, the American Dairy Association, the Brand Board and others.

Committee member Republican Sen. Ryan Maher said that while he supported the overall budget, he objected to the Brand Board. “The Brand Board is a mess,” Maher said.

Committee member Democratic Sen. Red Dawn Foster said she had similar concerns about the Brand Board.

Both wanted the concerns noted. Maher voted against the DANR board’s budget as an additional way to voice concern about the brand board. Foster voted in favor of the DANR boards budget.

The committee approved $6.1 million for DOH boards such as board of dentistry and the board of nursing home administrators.

The boards budget for $5.6 million for the DLR was also approved. Some of those boards are the real estate commission and the plumbing commission.

The full budget of $103,780, 777 with 261.5 FTEs for the DOR was approved. The full budget of GOED at about $104.8 million, BIT at about $75.8 million and BHR at $8.5 million were also approved.

The BHR has 73.5 FTEs while the BIT has 397.5 FTEs and the GOED has 47 FTEs.