Latest news with #ChrisKarr
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Legislature's property-tax panel sets work plan
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The special panel that will look at cutting South Dakota property taxes has decided to search for ways to reduce spending by public schools and state, county and local governments, as well as seeking new revenue sources and making state government responsible for a larger share of K-12 funding. State committee discusses possible SNAP cuts The Legislature's Comprehensive Property Tax Task Force set that plan Friday during a free-flowing teleconference that saw Republican Sen. Chris Karr chosen as chair and Republican Rep. Jon Hansen as vice chair. They were prime sponsors of the resolution establishing the panel. 'Before the session started we knew there was growing concern by our citizens of South Dakota,' Karr said. He said achieving 'meaningful tax relief for South Dakotans' would be one of the bigger issues for the 2026 Legislature. 'I believe there is a solution,' Karr said. 'I think we can do better.' The 16 legislators will split into three work groups — five lawmakers for schools, six for local governments and five for state government — and be assigned based in part on their preferences. Five public meetings are planned, starting on June 25 in Sioux Falls and followed July 17 in Rapid City and August 13 in Aberdeen. The final two will be in Pierre on September 23 and October 22. 'Everything needs to be on the table. We need to stay as broad as possible,' Republican Sen. Taffy Howard said, including tax-increment financing districts, optouts, spending cuts, and state government taking on more K-12 aid. Property-tax relief for homeowners is being emphasized by Hansen, who's running for governor in 2026. Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden, who worked with a group of legislators and got a property tax measure passed in the 2025 session, hasn't said yet whether he'll be a candidate. Representing Rhoden's administration as non-voting members on the panel are state Finance Commissioner Jim Terwilliger and former legislator Kirk Chaffee, a retired Meade County director of equalization. Terwilliger will be part of the state government work group, while Chaffee will be on the local government group. Howard, who traveled to Aberdeen earlier this week where she introduced Republican gubernatorial candidate Toby Doeden at his campaign announcement, said the task force should aim high. She posed a goal that she admitted might be 'pie in the sky.' 'Ideally,' she asked, 'what if we could eliminate property taxes on homeowners?' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senate OKs oversight of property leases, projects
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The South Dakota Senate has given unanimous approval for lawmakers to have more control over long-term property leases that state government enters, as well as state Department of Game, Fish and Parks projects and leases costing more than $2.5 million. Republican Sen. Chris Karr is prime sponsor of both measures. The 35-0 votes on Monday sends them forward to the House of Representatives for further action. They are in response to deals that were made in the past six years while Kristi Noem was governor. DOC official: No contingency if new prison plan fails Senate Bill 144 would require legislative approval for GFP works. Senate Bill 145 would require legislative approval for 'any proposed real property lease by the state where the initial term of the lease exceeds a commitment of fifteen years and the base rent due during the initial term either exceeds $5,000,000 in total for the rental payments due during the term of the lease or $50,000 per month during the term of the lease.' In recent years, state government entered into leases for One Stop centers in several cities that are costing significantly more than when the services in those communities were offered at various locations. Data provided in the past to the Legislature's Joint Committee on Appropriations showed: In Sioux Falls, the One Stop lease cost $7,648,618 per year. That was a $5,598,740 increase. In Rapid City, the One Stop lease cost $1,760,250 per year. That was a $1,125,056 increase. In Spearfish, the One Stop lease cost $382,610 per year. That was a $197,983 increase. In Huron, the One Stop lease cost $328,474 per year. That was a $211,154 increase. In Madison, the One Stop lease cost $113,738 per year. That was a $29,018 increase. Karr noted that state agencies in turn also needed $11 million of new furniture when they moved into the new locations. The Senate on Monday approved a third Karr measure, Senate Bill 146, that would further restrict financial transfers within state government. 'These would stop those things from happening,' he told reporters afterward about the three-bill package. Karr said the oversight would be required regardless if the project resulted from a gift. Had the legislation been in effect, it would have covered the One Stop leases as well as projects such as the shooting range complex outside Rapid City that GFP plans to open later this year, at an estimated cost of $19.5 million, and the Outdoor Campus East renovations in Sioux Falls that will cost an estimated $6.5 million. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
South Dakota Senate narrowly passes bill requiring Ten Commandments in school classrooms
Eighteen South Dakota senators voted to pass a bill Tuesday afternoon that would require the display and curricular inclusion of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom. Senate President Pro Tempore Chris Karr, R-Sioux Falls, was the final senator to vote on the bill, breaking what was a 17-17 tie vote. First-term Republican Sen. John Carley of Piedmont brought Senate Bill 51, which is similar to legislation that's popped up in North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana. Louisiana in particular has a new law requiring schools to post the Ten Commandments, but that's been stopped by a lower court. South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley recently joined 17 other attorneys general in signing an amicus brief to support Louisiana's law. The South Dakota bill requires an 8-by-14-inch or larger display of the Ten Commandments in each classroom in each public school district, and statements about its historical context. It also mandates that each student receives instruction on the Ten Commandments at least once from grades 1-4, 5-8 and 9-12, and instructs the South Dakota Department of Education to develop and provide materials supporting that instruction. The bill will move to the House Education Committee for consideration. Sen. David Wheeler (R-Huron) brought an amendment during the Senate floor discussion that he said holds school districts harmless for any legal challenges that may come from the bill, as has happened in Louisiana. His amendment passed. Sen. Red Dawn Foster (D-Pine Ridge) attempted to bring an amendment that would let school boards substitute the text of the Woope Sakowin for the Ten Commandments, which are a set of values that have been part of Oceti Sakowin teaching since a time predating statehood and are a moral and ethical framework within the community, but her amendment failed. Foster said she's heard an overwhelming amount of concern about the bill, especially from tribal members, parents and educators like Leslie Crow, who she said told her that she sees the bill as 'perpetuating the legacy' of the federal boarding school initiative, which she said used education and Christianity 'as a tool of forced assimilation and acculturation for Indigenous people.' Carley said for the past 40 or 50 years, the Ten Commandments have been 'missing' in public schools after being in them for almost 200 years prior. He said the idea of the separation of church and state is to not have the government influencing the church, but said the church can influence the government. He also noted his bill allows districts to receive donated displays, or to fundraise or receive donations to cover the cost of the displays. He said four organizations have reached out to him willing to cover the cost of the displays for all the schools in the state. Sen. Mykala Voita (R-Bonesteel) said the Ten Commandments are what the country bases its law systems and founding documents on, and were the philosophy of the founding fathers. She said it's important for kids to 'know where they come from,' and know about that philosophy. More: Senate committee passes bill to require Ten Commandments in all South Dakota classrooms Sen. Curt Voight (R-Rapid City) said the nation was founded on the Ten Commandments, and said legislators and citizens shouldn't apologize 'for who we are foundationally.' Sen. Lauren Nelson (R-Yankton) said the U.S. is based on Christian values and principles, and said the three branches of government are linked to God, with the executive branch as the Father, the legislative branch as the Son, and the judicial branch as the Holy Spirit. Nelson also pointed to examples of the Ten Commandments in federal buildings, like the Supreme Court. Sen. Sue Peterson (R-Sioux Falls) asked what it would hurt to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms. 'Thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not kill; thou shalt honor your father and mother,' Peterson said. 'I don't think that hurts anything. In fact, I think it's helpful. I think it's that simple.' Sen. Greg Blanc (R-Rapid City), a pastor, said the children of the state have the 'right to know the truth about the founding of our great nation.' 'In a culture where student-on-student shootings continue to increase, teenage gangs are out of control, situational ethics dominate many young people's minds, where lying and stealing are acceptable, (SB 51) can only have a positive result,' Blanc said. Sen. Carl Perry (R-Aberdeen) said while many people in the state 'like to see local control,' sometimes he likes to see 'local help,' or a 'nudge to move in the right direction.' Sen. Jamie Smith (D-Sioux Falls) said the state already has permissive language in statute that allows schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms, and said that just because some schools have chosen not to display them doesn't mean they should be forced to. 'I'm sitting here in a room full of people that believe in smaller government, less government, and we're making a mandate?' Smith questioned. 'Frustrating. We keep putting more and more on our teachers and our public schools, telling them, 'Do this, do this, do this.' Local control, people. Let your communities decide what's best for them.' Sen. Glen Vilhauer (R-Watertown) said SB 51 struck a nerve with many people in the state, including some pastors who are opposed to it. He said while he has his own 'strong, deep and abiding faith in God,' he opposed the bill and thought the legislation wouldn't accomplish what the sponsor was trying to do with it. 'I would love to see us get back to our Judeo-Christian roots, but this is not going to be the way to do it,' he said. More: SD Attorney General Marty Jackley signals support for Ten Commandments displays in schools Sen. Kyle Schoenfish (R-Scotland) said SB 51 adds more unfunded mandates for districts to create and fund thousands of posters, and for districts and the DOE to develop and purchase curriculum to teach the requirements of the bill. Sen. Stephanie Sauder (R-Bryant) said she's a former social studies teacher and recalls that the Ten Commandments was in one of the textbooks she used. While she didn't go over every single one of the Commandments in class, she remembers it was 'brought forth' to students, and said the Ten Commandments are already in schools now. She said SB 51 takes away the local control of school districts. 'Many of you, I heard your campaign speeches. You voiced your strong support for freedoms, and the right to maintain local control,' Sauder said. 'Here's an opportunity for you to prove to your voters you meant what you told them. 'Thou shalt not kill' does not apply to this bill.' Sen. Randy Deibert (R-Spearfish) said he opposed the bill after asking himself if it was needed, if there was an issue and if a law would fix the issue. Sen. Steve Kolbeck (R-Brandon) said while he's Catholic-educated and thinks 'we could all use a little more God in our life,' he thinks policy mandates are a 'mistake' and 'overreach.' Sen. Ernie Otten (R-Tea) said while the Ten Commandments are 'precious words' to him, he felt the postings required in the bill might be 'dumbing down a group of people that all they're going to end up doing is walking by a sign and thinking, 'Something mystical is going on.'' This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Ten Commandments bill narrowly passes South Dakota Senate
