Three big proposals aimed at providing property tax relief are still in play in the South Dakota Legislative session.
A lot is at play between the House and Senate chambers.
On Tuesday, the state Senate unanimously passed a bill over to the state House that closely mirrors California property tax system.
Assessments would role back to 2020 values for those who owned their home before then, and only be allowed to increase by three percent going forward. Same for those who bought a home after or into the future—assessments would get set from the date of purchase and increase from there.
Another caps the amount schools and counties can raise at 2.5 percent. County budgets are already strapped for cash.
Dan Klimisch is a Yankton County Commission and is with the South Dakota Association of County Commissioners. He points to the state cutting the overall sales tax rate two years ago, while county governments are barely getting by.
“There’s a lot of talk about, ‘oh, we should cut,’ but there’s no specifics. Where are counties supposed to cut?," Klimisch said. "We can’t cut unfunded mandates that we’re forced to pay by law.”
Klimisch says the only thing left for counties to cut is infrastructure—roads, bridges, snow removal.
The remaining proposed bills could also negatively affect education funding.
Gov. Larry Rhoden is backing senate bill 216.
Rep. Will Mortenson, R-Fort Pierre, is a member of the working group that wrote the proposal. He said property tax changes affect almost everyone in the state.
“It’s a Jenga block. You don’t want to just start taking out a piece or two or you might crash the whole thing," Mortenson said. "I think a more prudent path forward would be to take time, be intentional about it, and try to come up with meaningful solutions ahead of next year.”
Many state lawmakers are adamant about passing some form of property tax relief this session.
