House votes to slow growth of owner-occupied values

PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The South Dakota House of Representatives tried once, fell short, came back from a closed-door caucus with a new compromise, and then tried again.

That was the path to agreement on Monday on Senate Bill 216 that the governor and a group of 10 lawmakers put together. They say it’s supposed to help bring property taxes under more control for tens of thousands of home owners during the next five years.

Kitchen remodel underway at Ronald McDonald House

The 53-16 tally sends SB 216 back to the Senate for a decision whether to accept the House compromise version. The Senate could act as early as Tuesday.

The House had voted earlier Monday afternoon on SB 216. Needing 36 yeas to pass, the vote-board showed 36-33, but Republican Rep. Bethany Soye changed to a nay, leaving it one vote short.

That led to a compromise by Gov. Larry Rhoden. The legislation originally would have allowed counties to capture up to 2% of new owner-occupied assessments. The governor agreed to 3% of new owner-occupied assessments.

Republican Rep. Leslie Heinemann explained the change. That was followed by a bit of parliamentary scuffle, where House Speaker Jon Hansen initially ruled that the amendment failed on a voice vote, only to correct himself when a majority of 36 subsequently stood in support of the amendment.

Heinemann acknowledged that he had originally felt “queasy” about a key provision that caps growth of existing owner-occupied assessments at 3% in a county. But he drew a distinction between the governor’s approach and another bill that sought to roll back owner-occupied assessments to 2021 levels.

“It would be across the county, rather than individual owners,” Heinemann said.

Republican Rep. Greg Jamison voted nay the first time. During reconsideration, Jamison told House members that he appreciated the governor and his staff making an adjustment to allow an additional 1% of new growth. “Having something seems to be the right place to be,” Jamison said.

Jamison meanwhile saw his 2.5% budget cap die on Monday afternoon in the Senate, while the Hulse-Kolbeck proposal to roll back owner-occupied assessment was gutted and then killed in the House.

That left only the governor’s proposal. Jamison and Soye were among the 18 Republicans who changed to yeas the second vote. The chamber’s five Democrats present Monday voted nay both times, as did 11 Republicans.

One of the two-time nays was Republican Rep. Liz May. “We’ve had summer study, summer study, summer study,” May said. “I just can’t understand how all of us cannot get this figured out.”

May made reference to Rhoden’s explanation that SB 216 was “a rifle shot.”

“Rifle shot? Rifle shot for who?” she asked. She noted, “The only thing we haven’t studied is cut spending.”

May also suggested that “a fourth lane” of a new tax might be considered, but she didn’t spell out what that might be. “But I know one thing — if anybody thinks this is going to fix it, it’s not.”

May praised and thanked Republican Rep. Trish Ladner, who’s been trying for years to find a way to deal with rising assessments that greatly accelerated during and after the COVID-19 pandemic in places such as the Black Hills and the Sioux Falls area.

“She wasn’t looking for a rifle shot. She was looking for a solution,” May said about Ladner. “Everybody put a lot of thought in this. We just didn’t get across the finish line.”

Ladner was one of the 10 legislators who worked with Rhoden on the legislation She saw the challenge somewhat differently than May did. The way to eat an elephant, according to Ladner, is one bite at a time.

“I really believe this is a good first bite,” Ladner said.

Heinemann meanwhile responded to May’s claim that local government spending wasn’t being considered.

“It is a shot over the bow,” he said. “It’s a clear message. I hope everyone hears that.”