Latest news with #TaffyHoward
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
18-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lawmakers aim to stabilize ‘volatile' unclaimed property revenue with trust fund
State Sen. Taffy Howard, R-Rapid City, listens to a presentation during a South Dakota legislative budget committee meeting on Jan. 15, 2025, at the Capitol in Pierre. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight) South Dakota lawmakers, the Governor's Office and the state Treasurer's Office hope to bring more predictability to a volatile revenue source and protect the state from a large liability by creating a trust fund for unclaimed property. Senate Bill 155, advanced by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday at the Capitol in Pierre, would limit the amount of unclaimed property funds that could be used in the state's general fund budget. The bill would also create an interest-bearing trust fund to pay claims and accrue interest on the rest of the money. That interest could then be used as a revenue stream. Unclaimed property consists of an array of abandoned or forgotten private assets, including money from bank accounts, PayPal accounts, stocks, life insurance payouts, uncashed checks, unused refunds, and even the contents of safe deposit boxes. Holders of the money or items, such as banks, try to find the owners. The property reverts to the state after three years. Huge surge in 'unclaimed property' is sole revenue bright spot for SD legislators Unclaimed property revenue surged to record levels during the past few years as people left assets behind during pandemic-motivated relocations, and because of Bancorp's relocation of its national headquarters to Sioux Falls. The state typically spends much of the revenue, while setting aside only a portion of it for people who come forward to claim their property. Yet rightful owners can claim their assets from the state at any time, which has so far created a $1.2 billion perpetual and unfunded liability for the state, said Sen. Taffy Howard, R-Rapid City, who introduced the bill. Much of the money is never claimed. Last year, as the state took in about $175 million of unclaimed property, it paid out $38 million in claims to 6,768 claimants. South Dakota has received $310 million worth of unclaimed property so far this year. 'It's been a benefit for our citizens, but I hope you'll agree that the time is now to create this trust fund and alleviate the burden that has also been placed on our citizens because of this,' Howard said. Unclaimed property 'is fine in some ways,' Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen told lawmakers, but it's problematic, volatile and unpredictable as well, he said. 'Even though we know that a lot of these unclaimed property items will never be claimed, they could be and they stay on our books as a claim against the state,' Venhuizen said. Under SB 155, lawmakers would only be able to use $61.4 million of unclaimed property money for the general fund in fiscal year 2026. The rest of the funds would be placed into a trust fund used to pay out claims and accrue interest. The amount of unclaimed property that could be used for general fund expenses would gradually decrease to $25 million in fiscal year 2035 and would remain there. The state would begin drawing 4% of the market value of the trust fund to use as general fund revenue by 2031, while still retaining the rest of the trust fund to pay potential claims. 'There's concern that we may not have some one-time money or we're going to slowly reduce our ongoing revenue,' said state Treasurer Josh Haeder, 'but you're going to make it up from that interest earned at the end of the day.' The Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously approved the bill, sending it to the Senate. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Appropriators recommend revenues for 2025, 2026
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — A legislative subcommittee spent several hours Wednesday night setting revenue forecasts for South Dakota state government. Committee kills bill to roll back medical pot defense The 10 lawmakers, all members of the Joint Committee on Appropriations, agreed to recommend that an estimated $2.460 billion of ongoing general receipts will flow into the state general fund during the fiscal 2026 year that starts July 1. That was $4 million less than the Legislative Research Council forecast but $24 million more than the forecast from the governor's budget office. The vote was 10-0. The motion came from Republican Sen. Taffy Howard. 'I honestly believe it's a good compromise,' she said. The subcommittee also unanimously recommended a revised 2025 general fund amount of $2.391 billion from ongoing general receipts. That was down from the $2.420 billion for 2025 that the Legislature had adopted last February. All 18 Joint Committee on Appropriations members will consider the subcommittee's recommendations on Thursday morning. They were using estimates that appropriators had received on Wednesday morning from the governor's Bureau of Finance and Management and the Legislative Research Council's budget staff. LRC deputy director Jeff Mehlhaff, who is the Legislature's chief fiscal analyst, and state economist Derek Johnson from BFM presented their agencies' forecasts for the remainder of fiscal 2025 and projections for the new 2026 fiscal year that starts July 1. The subcommittee's agreement on the 2026 estimate came after the five senators and five representatives had reached agreement on how much they expect during the four-plus months left in the current 2025 fiscal year. BFM and LRC were extremely close on estimating the 2025 ongoing receipts. But they were roughly $20 million apart on the amount of one-time revenue from unclaimed property that will be available: BFM forecast $186 million while LRC was at $166 million. Republican Rep. Mike Derby, the House appropriations chair, wanted the subcommittee to recommend $186 million. But Sen. Howard didn't want to go that high. State government is forever liable to pay all legitimate demands for unclaimed property, and Howard asked what would happen if those came in for more than expected. 'I just don't think it's wise for the taxpayers,' Howard said. The committee split 5-5 — House yes, Senate no — on Derby's attempt. Howard then proposed they take the average of the BFM and LRC numbers. 'They're both good estimates. They both do outstanding jobs. We're better off taking the average of the two,' she said. That went through 10-0. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
