Latest news with #R-Spearfish
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Legislative tone shifts from helping counties to blaming their spending
House Majority Leader Scott Odenbach, R-Spearfish, left, and House Assistant Majority Leader Marty Overweg, R-New Holland, speak with reporters on Mar. 6, 2025, at the South Dakota Capitol in Pierre. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight) PIERRE — Two years ago, South Dakota lawmakers were so concerned about the financial struggles of counties that they devoted a summer study to the topic. After it was completed, state Sen. Randy Deibert, R-Spearfish, a former Lawrence County commissioner and member of the study committee, said it was illuminating. 'I do believe we've had a lot of education that's taken place because of the summer study — especially with the committee members and the word they're getting out to constituents and fellow legislators about the hardships counties are having and why they're having it.' Property tax relief plans loom over final days of SD legislative session This winter during the annual legislative session, the conversation has changed. Some Republican lawmakers are arguing that spending — not inadequate funding — is the problem. Deibert's fellow Spearfish resident, Republican House Majority Leader Scott Odenbach, has been repeating a mantra this session: 'It's the spending.' He applies the criticism to both schools and counties, saying the growth in property taxes is driven by their budgets. The shift in rhetoric has the president of the South Dakota Association of County Commissioners frustrated. 'The property tax problem has been caused by the state legislators' push of all the unfunded mandates onto the backs of the counties,' said Dan Klimisch, who also serves as a Yankton County commissioner. Sandra Waltman, director of public affairs for the South Dakota Education Association, said recent polling conducted by a coalition of public education advocates shows most South Dakotans think public schools receive too little funding, with only 9% of respondents saying they receive too much. 'We're 49th in the nation for teacher pay,' Waltman cited as evidence that schools are not overspending. The debate over county and school finances comes amid discussions about property tax reform. It's a top priority for Republicans responding to voter frustration over increased home valuations and taxes, particularly in areas of the state that experienced rapid growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lawmakers are considering multiple property tax bills that would place stricter caps on local property tax collections, roll back and cap the growth of home assessments, expand eligibility among disabled and elderly people for relief programs, and more. Rep. Greg Jamison, R-Sioux Falls, introduced a bill that would lower the cap on annual property tax collection inflationary growth from the lower of 3% or inflation to the lower of 2.5% or inflation. He said the bill sends a message to local taxing districts. 'And that message is, 'give me a break,'' he said. 'Property taxes are haunting all of us.' Last year, after the summer study on county funding, it was counties that were asking for a break. Many lawmakers were inclined to help. The Legislature funded a $7 million initiative to help local governments with cybersecurity, and approved a $3 million, one-time appropriation to help counties cover costs they're required to pay for criminal defendants who need public defenders or court-appointed attorneys. Lawmakers also approved the creation of a new state public defender's office to handle appeals from some of those defendants, taking some of the burden off counties. Meanwhile, homeowner property taxes continued to rise, demand for relief increased, and many legislators campaigned last fall on delivering relief. An initial proposal this year from Deibert and then-Rep. Tony Venhuizen, R-Sioux Falls (now the lieutenant governor), would have reduced the property tax levy on owner-occupied homes for general education and special education to zero and raised the state sales tax rate from 4.2% to 5% to replace the revenue. That proposal went nowhere, and legislators have subsequently focused on proposals — including one from Venhuizen's new boss, Gov. Larry Rhoden — that would achieve property tax relief through one or more limits on local government spending, with no replacement funding for lost revenue. Odenbach is calling for greater fiscal restraint at the county and school level. 'You're not going to get property tax relief until you look at the spending done by our public school system and our counties, because that's where local property taxes go,' Odenbach said. Counties and schools are funded mostly by property taxes. Cities receive property tax revenue and sales tax revenue, while the state depends on sales taxes. Gov. Rhoden said that when he took office, he told his staff to take inspiration from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, referencing the federal group managed by billionaire Elon Musk tasked with cutting government spending. 'And I believe the counties should do the same thing,' Rhoden said. Rhoden pointed to the state's 10% budget cuts in 2011 as an example of the kind of austerity counties should take inspiration from. He said local governments are often not held to the same standards as the state when it comes to belt-tightening. But not all Republicans agree. Senate Majority Leader Jim Mehlhaff disagreed with Odenbach's comments about local government spending during a recent Republican legislative leadership press conference. Mehlhaff was a member of the 2023 county funding study committee. 'I actually do have a little bit more sympathy for the job that our county commissioners are faced with, in trying to maintain the infrastructure, the roads and bridges that they have to take care of,' Mehlhaff said. 'I know they are grinding a lot of the roads into gravel.' Klimisch said some Republican lawmakers' shift in messaging ignores the financial realities counties face. He rejected claims of runaway spending, saying counties have been forced to absorb costs the state has offloaded onto them. He said counties collect 100% of property taxes but only get about 27% of what's collected. The rest is redistributed to schools, cities and other local entities. Klimisch pointed to the rising costs of essential county services, including law enforcement, court-mandated public defense, and road maintenance. He highlighted the unpredictable nature of legal costs, noting that a single major criminal case could throw a county budget into disarray. He and others who represent local governments will be busy lobbying legislators next week. Lawmakers have three property tax relief bills under consideration and four days left in this year's legislative session. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
USA Today
06-02-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
South Dakota majority leader says education savings account bill wouldn't pass Senate
Joshua Haiar South Dakota Searchlight Some Republican leaders are pushing for legislative action on 'school choice' this year, but the state Senate majority leader says his chamber doesn't have the votes to support it. Gov. Larry Rhoden, who assumed the position last month upon the exit of former Gov. Kristi Noem for a post in President Trump's cabinet, is 'kind of getting his legs under himself,' according to Sen. Jim Mehlhaff, R-Pierre. Based on discussions with the governor, Mehlhaff said, 'we decided we just don't want to go down that bunny trail over in the Senate this time.' 'We're going to move on to other priorities,' the majority leader said during a legislative leadership press conference on Thursday at the Capitol in Pierre. More:South Dakota House Education Committee kills both school choice, voucher bills The push for education savings accounts took a major hit last Wednesday when two separate bills – one backed by the Governor's Office and another, more expansive proposal, were defeated in the House Education Committee. The governor's bill was rejected in a 9-6 vote. It proposed a $4 million allocation for education savings accounts. The more expansive plan, estimated at $142 million, failed 8-7. Support within the Senate Republican caucus is slim, Mehlhaff said. 'There was zero love for it,' Mehlhaff said, citing budget constraints and competing priorities. 'We're cutting PBS, we're cutting the state library, we're cutting maintenance and repair on our public buildings, we're cutting veterans service officers — we're cutting all over the place. There's just a lot of members in the Senate that didn't think it was appropriate to dig up $4 million to start a new program.' House Majority Leader Scott Odenbach, R-Spearfish, said the fight will continue. House leaders are considering alternative approaches, including tax credit-based solutions that might garner broader legislative support. 'There's also a lot of people saying, 'Well, gosh, President Trump is jumping into this now, let's wait and see what he is wanting to do in that space,'' he said. President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order directing the U.S. Department of Education to explore new funding opportunities for state-level school choice programs.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
South Dakota school choice fight is ‘not over,' Republican leader says
South Dakota House Majority Leader Scott Odenbach, R-Spearfish, participates in a press conference on Jan. 30, 2025, at the Capitol in Pierre. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight) PIERRE — South Dakota Republican legislative leaders are still planning to push forward with school choice legislation after two bills failed in a committee earlier this week. 'The fight's not over,' said House Majority Leader Scott Odenbach, R-Spearfish. Democratic leaders said the effort is a waste of time and an attack on public education. Each leadership group had its weekly legislative press conference Thursday at the Capitol. Rival SD school choice bills both fail in Education Committee Republicans said they're working on an alternative solution, which they hope will gain broader support following the rejection of a $4 million education savings account bill backed by Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden and another proposal from Rep. Dylan Jordan, R-Clear Lake, that would cost an estimated $142 million. Each of the bills sought to provide public funds to help families pay for private school tuition, homeschool or other alternative instruction costs. Odenbach hoped to pass the governor's bill, but concerns about its impact on public school funding and a lack of oversight and transparency in private education led to a 9-6 defeat in the House Education Committee. The competing bill was rejected in an 8-7 vote. Conflicting opinions among school choice supporters also contributed to the defeats, with some arguing the governor's bill was too limited. Several options exist to keep the effort alive, including procedural maneuvers to force the bills to the House floor, the filing of new bills, or the wholesale amendment of an unrelated bill. Democratic leaders said the school choice bills should be left for dead. 'I think both bills had a fair hearing,' said House Minority Leader Erin Healy, D-Sioux Falls. 'The room was completely packed yesterday. Everyone was there.' The push for school choice in South Dakota received a potential boost from Washington, D.C., this week. President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the federal Department of Education to explore federal funding opportunities for states with school choice programs. 'Hopefully we can get something in place to capitalize on that,' said Senate Majority Leader Jim Mehlhaff, R-Pierre. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
