South Dakota

South Dakota lawmakers whittle property tax relief ideas down to governor’s proposal

Published

1 year ago

March 11, 2025

South Dakota lawmakers whittle property tax relief ideas down to governor’s proposal

Makenzie Huber
| South Dakota Searchlight

South Dakota lawmakers nearly came up empty-handed on their property tax relief campaign pledges Monday, until they rescued one of several remaining bills from defeat.

Many lawmakers campaigned on property tax reform in the 2024 election, more than 20 bills were introduced this legislative session addressing the issue, and the governor convened a working group earlier this session to introduce a comprehensive property tax reform package. That bill from the governor was the only one left standing by late Monday, the first day of the session’s final week.

Lawmakers are responding to public calls for relief, largely from non-agricultural property owners. Since 2017, property tax payments have gone up 47% for owner-occupied homes and 36% for commercial property, while rising 3% for agricultural property. Ag land taxes have been held in check by a change from market-based to productivity-based assessments.

Lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives rejected other bills Monday at the Capitol in Pierre that would have provided varying amounts of property tax relief to South Dakota homeowners.

The House of Representatives reconsidered and approved, by a vote of 53-16, an amended version of what the governor has called his “rifle shot” approach to the issue, after the bill failed in the chamber by one vote earlier in the day. The legislation will now go back to the Senate for consideration of the amended language.

Rep. Trish Ladner, R-Hot Springs, has been working to pass property tax reform for several years. She called the legislative proposal a “good first bite.”

“It’s not a solution to every issue,” Ladner told lawmakers on the House floor, “but it gives us the opportunity to pause the skyrocketing valuations and the bleeding that people are feeling.”

Governor’s legislation passes with amendment

Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden’s bill would cap countywide residential assessment growth at 3% annually for five years, cap at 3% for five years the amount local governments can increase tax collections annually based on new construction (that five-year sunset and change to 3% were amended into the bill Monday), exempt some home improvements worth less than 40% of a home’s value from affecting assessments, and expand eligibility among disabled and elderly people for property tax relief programs.

Rep. Greg Jamison, whose own property tax bill failed Monday in the Senate, told lawmakers the Governor’s Office supported the amendment on the governor’s bill “to make something work.” It was enough to sway his vote because the amendment “lightens the load” for growing counties, but he’s still “concerned” about the limiting growth factor.

“But I don’t want to go home empty-handed either,” Jamison said.

Opposing lawmakers said the legislation is flawed because it primarily targets counties with the largest growth. Rep. Mike Weisgram, R-Fort Pierre, said the legislation aims to manipulate property valuations, which strays from “letting the market work.”

Rep. Liz May, R-Kyle, voted against the bill twice, saying that the solution is to cut spending by local governments or find new revenue streams.

“I hope when we step back in here next year, there better not be any more rifle shots,” May said. “I want a plan.”

Other bills rejected

Earlier Monday, the House rejected Senate Bill 191 in a 62-7 vote. The bill, from Sen. Amber Hulse, R-Hot Springs, would have rolled back assessments for some homeowners and capped assessment growth for all of them.

Some lawmakers in the House made a last-ditch effort to revive a bill to lower property taxes and replace the lost local revenue by increasing the state sales tax. The House shot that effort down 42-27.

The Senate rejected House Bill 1235 in a 21-13 vote. The legislation, from Jamison, would have reduced local taxing districts’ annual inflationary property tax collection growth from a 3% cap to a 2.5% cap.

Opponents said the bill would limit counties, cities and school boards’ ability to meet their budgetary needs. Sen. Randy Deibert, R-Spearfish, told lawmakers the legislation is a “bad bill” that messes with a system “that’s not broken.”

“We have a summer study under a resolution that’ll dig into this and look under the hood,” Deibert said.

Both chambers passed a resolution earlier this session to create a summer task force to “identify impactful, substantive measures” to provide significant and lasting tax relief. The task force will include 16 lawmakers, a representative from the Bureau of Finance and Management, and a representative from the Governor’s Office.

Senate President Pro Tempore Chris Karr, R-Sioux Falls, said property tax reform is “one of the most important priorities” of the legislative session.

“We need to take a look at the whole picture of what’s happening,” Karr told lawmakers, “what forces are driving the property taxes to increase and what some of the mechanisms are that we can look at and consider to provide relief.”

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South Dakota

South Dakota Governor signs trucker English proficiency and CDL bills to ‘deliver Dalilah’s Law’

Published

4 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

South Dakota Governor signs trucker English proficiency and CDL bills to ‘deliver Dalilah’s Law’

This week, South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden signed two bills imposing stricter language and citizenship requirements on commercial driver license (CDL) holders.

On March 10, 2026, Rhoden signed the following two bills into law in an effort to strengthen standards for CDL holders in South Dakota:

SB 164, which requires CDL holders to be proficient in the English language
SB 180, which modifies requirements regarding non-domiciled CDLs

Rhoden said in a news release announcing the signing of the bills into law that South Dakota has now satisfied President Trump’s call for states to pass “Dalilah’s Law,” which would “increase standards for English proficiency and prohibit states from issuing CDLs to undocumented immigrants.”

Trump pushed for “Dalilah’s Law” during his State of the Union address in February.

“These bills are commonsense steps to improve public safety by guaranteeing that truckers can read our road signs and making sure that only citizens and legal immigrants hold CDLs. South Dakota will continue to prioritize strong licensing standards so all drivers are traveling safely and responsibly,” Rhoden said.

Rhoden also said that the state has partnered with federal immigration authorities for an enforcement detail.

“The [South Dakota] Department of Public Safety (DPS) recently conducted an enforcement operation alongside the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. DPS also reviewed its process for non-domiciled CDLs to ensure illegal immigrants are not operating with or receiving CDLs in South Dakota,” Rhoden said.

Dalilah’s Law was named for Dalilah Coleman, a child who was injured in a June 20, 2024, crash in California involving Partap Singh, who was driving a semi truck. Officials said that Singh was an Indian national present in the U.S. illegally. He was later taken into U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody.

Much action has already been taken at a federal level over the past year to tighten citizenship requirements for obtaining a non-domiciled CDL and to increase English Language Proficiency enforcement for truck drivers.

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South Dakota

SD Lottery Mega Millions, Millionaire for Life winning numbers for March 10, 2026

Published

16 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at March 10, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from March 10 drawing

16-21-30-35-65, Mega Ball: 07

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 10 drawing

03-27-43-45-49, Bonus: 04

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize

Prizes of $100 or less: Can be claimed at any South Dakota Lottery retailer.
Prizes of $101 or more: Must be claimed from the Lottery. By mail, send a claim form and a signed winning ticket to the Lottery at 711 E. Wells Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501.
Any jackpot-winning ticket for Dakota Cash or Lotto America, top prize-winning ticket for Lucky for Life, or for the second prizes for Powerball and Mega Millions must be presented in person at a Lottery office. A jackpot-winning Powerball or Mega Millions ticket must be presented in person at the Lottery office in Pierre.

When are the South Dakota Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Dakota Cash: 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Dakota editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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South Dakota

Trading property tax for sales tax: Legislature moves forward with parts of homeowner relief package

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Trading property tax for sales tax: Legislature moves forward with parts of homeowner relief package

PIERRE — Two pieces of a property tax reduction package prepared by South Dakota’s legislative leadership and the executive branch are moving forward, but one bill failed during votes on Monday as lawmakers began the final week of the annual legislative session.

The House of Representatives voted

42-27

in support of

Senate Bill 245

, which would pull future revenue from a scheduled sales tax increase from 4.2% to 4.5% next year into a relief fund for homeowner property taxes, and use nearly $56 million in one-time money to seed the fund before the sales tax increase.

The Senate supported

House Bill 1323

, which would reduce the number of petition signatures needed to force an election on a local government’s decision to levy property taxes beyond limits set by the state. The Senate passed the bill 19-15.

Both bills have to return to the opposite chamber for consideration of amendments.

The Senate rejected

House Bill 1253

, which would cap annual assessment growth for owner-occupied homes and commercial properties at 5% annually and reset assessments back to market value every five years. The bill failed with a 9-24 vote.

The bills are part of a broader,

five-bill legislative package

targeted at property tax relief.

Another bill

in the package, which would allow counties to implement a half-percent sales tax with proceeds going to homeowner property tax credits, is awaiting the governor’s signature after he proposed it and it received both chambers’ approval.

The legislative budget committee is scheduled to consider a fifth piece of legislation in the package on Tuesday.

The bill

would reduce maximum property tax levies for school districts.

Sales tax bill overcomes concerns about future budget needs

SB 245 would capture revenue from the impending sales tax increase to deposit into a “homeowner property tax reduction fund” meant to reduce property taxes levied by school districts. The Legislature and then-Gov. Kristi Noem reduced the state sales tax rate three years ago but scheduled the reduction to sunset in 2027.

House Speaker Jon Hansen, R-Dell Rapids, told lawmakers on Monday that the bill would be an “investment in the people,” because it’ll give South Dakota homeowners more money to spend as they choose. Hansen, the bill’s sponsor and a candidate for governor, said that would lead to more spending and, therefore, more sales tax revenue. The state relies on sales taxes, while counties and schools rely on property taxes, and cities receive revenue from property taxes and sales taxes.

Some opponents said the legislation would favor wealthier, property-owning South Dakotans rather than lower-income renters.

Rep. Mike Weisgram, R-Fort Pierre, speaks on the House floor at the Capitol in Pierre on March 9, 2026.

(Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

Rep. Mike Weisgram, R-Fort Pierre, worried that automatically diverting future state revenue to reduce homeowner property taxes would come at the cost of other priorities, such as annual funding increases for state employees, Medicaid providers and public schools — which are known as the “big three” budget priorities. Lawmakers often

aim

to increase funding for the groups by 3% or inflation, whichever is less. An inflationary increase this legislative session would be 2.5%, according to the state Department of Education.

“We are just clawing to get 1.4% for the big three,” Weisgram said. “I don’t think any of us are proud of that.”

Hansen said the decision “is not an either-or” situation.

“We can help the property taxpayers in the state who desperately, desperately need it,” Hansen said, “and then I trust fully that this state is going to continue to grow and that we are going to be able to meet the needs of our core obligations of this state.”

The bill was introduced as an amendment to placeholder legislation last week, and it will head to the Senate for approval. The Senate narrowly rejected a

similar proposal

earlier this legislative session.

Senate approves lower signature threshold to force election on excess taxes

The version of House Bill 1323 that passed the Senate would set the number of petition signatures needed to force an election on an excess tax levy (often called an “opt-out”) for a local government at 2,500 or 5% of registered voters within its jurisdiction, whichever is less. The current threshold to refer decisions by a local government is 5% of registered voters in the district, without a 2,500 signature cap.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Taffy Howard, R-Rapid City, said it will still be difficult to refer decisions by a local government to voters.

“You’re talking dozens and dozens of volunteers, weeks of organized effort,” Howard said. “There’s not a lot of people that have been through that and can even organize that kind of effort. So it’s not a trivial bar.”

Because the bill was amended since it last appeared in the House, it’ll now go to the House for approval.

HB 1253 intended to provide South Dakota homeowners and commercial property owners predictable increases in their property assessments, which factor into property taxes they pay, over five year periods.

But opponents said the change would shift the property tax burden onto farmers and ranchers and surprise homeowners every five years when assessments would be re-based on market value, which could lead to double-digit increases in assessments.

This story was originally published on

SouthDakotaSearchlight.com.

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