A committee greenlights establishing a fund for registration taxes on agricultural-use drones.
Drones over 55 pounds are taxed a registration fee in South Dakota. Those fees generated around 70-thousand-dollars the past three years.
Senate Bill 205 creates a drone aviation compiled of the registration taxes. Those dollars would be used to support training in drone aviation through technical colleges.
Currently those dollars are in the state aeronautics fund.
Sen. Mykala Voita is the bill’s prime sponsor. She said it came to be after conversations with constituents.
“When they found out that this money went to the aeronautics fund, which please come in mind drones cannot fly near airports or those airspaces per FAA regulations, when they found out that this money goes to the aeronautics fund they were not happy at all," Voita said. "So, I sat down and I asked them, ‘Well what would you like to see changed? What’s your suggestion?’ And we had multiple rounds of discussions, and this bill was the result of those discussions.”
The Department of Transportation opposed the bill, saying the funds could support drone training already.
The bill also makes the registration tax for ag-use drones 1.5% of the purchase price, and all other drones 2%.
SB 205 advances to the Senate Floor following a 6-1 vote in the Senate Commerce and Energy Committee.
