South Dakota lawmakers are tangling with nearly two dozen proposals connected to property taxes.
With so many on the table, it may be difficult for any to break through the noise. However, statehouse leaders and candidates for the governor’s office are vying for the chance.
With dueling proposals from gubernatorial candidates, alongside several proposals from members of the summer study and others, lawmakers are so flush for choice it could be paralyzing.
For example, some proposals call for a complete outlawing of property taxes across the state, full stop. Others seek to replace the inevitable loss of government funds property tax relief will bring.
Others, like that from Congressman and gubernatorial hopeful Dusty Johnson, seek moderation in the form of tax credits.
“The nice thing about my plan is every single South Dakota homeowner gets relief, and for people with modest working-class homes it’s going to be a 20- or 25-percent tax relief," Johnson said. "That’s real relief I’m going to deliver and that’s not something the governor’s proposal does.”
Johnson and Gov. Larry Rhoden’s proposal both offer tax relief, but Rhoden’s comes with the caveat of an optional half-cent sales tax for counties that enact his plan. Johnson called this “passing the buck.”
"The reality is, if you want to provide meaningful relief that money has got to come from somewhere," Johnson said. "I’m the only candidate in this race whose got a track record of cutting $127 million of state government spending, which I did with Gov. Daugaard. I, like they, believe government efficiency can play a role in that, but that’s not going to give people property tax relief they deserve. My plan does that.”
It’s the latest barb traded between Johnson and Rhoden on property tax. Rhoden recently said Johnson’s plan quote “missed the mark.” The governor said his plan is targeted and helps counties getting hit the worst.
There are electoral politics at play here, but ultimately state legislators hold the cards right now. Not everyone is convinced Rhoden has the best plan on the table. That includes longtime state Rep. Will Mortenson.
“The solutions in property tax I’ve always favored need to be statewide solutions and not picking winners and losers," Mortenson said. "I’ve got some real concerns with the Rhoden plan he put out. It doesn’t require cuts to schools or anything like that, but it would be a pretty big shift of dollars from rural South Dakota into the biggest towns.”
However, Mortenson said there is a consensus within the powerful state Republican Party that property taxes are a priority. Because of that, he’s confident something will get over the finish line.
“My worry is, in an election year, we’ll focus too much on getting something done to put on a postcard and not worry enough about if it’s the right policy," Mortenson said.
Despite the consensus something needs to be done, there is ironically little consensus on what to do next. With a 10-week session, that could mean so many choices the wheat can’t separate from the chaff.
Sioux Falls Democratic Sen. Liz Larson, the minority leader in the Senate said lawmakers are still digesting bills that will likely go nowhere.
“I think there’s a general consensus that not a lot of those bills are a great remedy, or an extensive remedy, or very meaningful in terms of property tax relief,” Larson said.
While making a minority of the statehouse, with such sharp divides the votes of Democrats could be crucial in coming debates.
Larson said the debate could leave voters underwhelmed with the results.
“Only time will tell, this is how the drama goes until the end of session," Larson said. "I can see some of them breaking out and becoming viable options, but I don’t know if they’re necessarily going to be that transformative.”
On the other hand, take Republican state Sen. Randy Deibert. While confident in his contributions to the summer study on the topic, he acknowledged it could be a long road for the property tax question.
“Look at the votes in the summer study," Deibert said. "Most of them were not unanimous — very few were. The two I brought, I believe the vote was 15-0-1 and 12-3-1 I believe. That was the cream of the crop.”
Deibert said his political mantra has long been a no frills, fiscally sound policy that keeps Is dotted and Ts crossed. He said in this debate, that means keeping rural schools in mind moving forward.
“There’s no way we can predict assessed values in the bubble market we had, and that impacts the school district mill levee that’s sent from the state," Deibert said. "We need to look at some of those areas and not effect rural schools by what we do.”
Lawmakers have until mid March to debate all the options in front of them.