5 days ago
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.
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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?'
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