SB 223

 26.203.25  101st Legislative Session  223
                                         2026 South Dakota Legislature
                                                 Senate Bill 223
                                                SENATE STATE AFFAIRS ENGROSSED
 Introduced by: Senator Peterson (Sue)
1 An Act to modify the requirements for a petition to refer an excess tax levy of a
2school district to a vote.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA:
4 Section 1. That § 10-12-43 be AMENDED:
510-12-43. The governing body of the school district may raise additional revenues,
6     for general fund purposes only, from property tax through the imposition of an excess tax
7     levy. The governing body of a school district may impose the excess tax levy with an
8     affirmative two-thirds vote of the governing body on or before July fifteenth of the year
9     prior to the year the taxes are payable. On any excess tax levy approved after July 1,
10     2002, the governing body of the taxing district shall specify in the resolution the year or
11     number of years the excess tax levy will be applied and the total maximum dollar amount
12     of taxes payable over the full term of the excess tax levy.
13The requirements for an announcement made pursuant to this section are as
14     follows:
15     (1)      The decision of the governing body to originally impose or subsequently increase
16an excess tax levy shall be first published within ten days of the decision;
17     (2)      Publication shall be made at least twice in the legal newspaper designated pursuant
18to § 13-8-10, with no fewer than five days between publication dates, before the
19opt out takes effect;
20     (3)      The announcement shall be at least three newspaper columns in width and four
21inches in length or at least one-sixth of a page in size, whichever size is greater;
22     (4)      The announcement shall be headed with the following statement in a typeface no
23less than eighteen point type: "ATTENTION TAXPAYERS: NOTICE OF PROPERTY
24TAX INCREASE OF $(fill in amount)." The remainder of the announcement shall
25consist of a reproduction of the "Resolution for Opt Out," including the amount that
26property taxes will be increased annually by the proposed opt out, the number of
                                                                                 Underscores indicate new language.
                                                                               Overstrikes indicate deleted language.
 26.203.25  2  223
1years that the excess tax levy is to be applied, the total maximum amount of taxes
2payable over the full term of the excess tax levy, and a statement of the right to
3refer the decision of the board to a vote of the people as provided in this section.
4The secretary of revenue, in rules promulgated pursuant to chapter 1-26, shall
5    prescribe a uniform form to be used by the school district for notification of taxpayers as
6    required by this section.
7However, the requirements of subdivisions (3) and (4) shall be waived if:
8(A)    The opt out is for less than fifteen thousand dollars; or
9(B)    A copy of the resolution for opt out is mailed to every property taxpayer in
10the local governmental unit, by first class mail or bulk mail, within twenty
11days of the decision to opt out; and
12(C)    A copy of the resolution for opt out is printed in each official newspaper in
13the local governmental unit's boundaries.
14For the purposes of subsections (A), (B), and (C), the first publication is not
15    deemed to have occurred until three days after the mailing is sent or the resolution is
16    delivered to the official newspaper.
17The opt out decision may be referred to a vote of the people upon a resolution of
18    the governing body of the school district or by a petition signed by at least five percent of
19    the registered voters in the school district and voters who cast a vote in the most recent
20    regular school district election or fifty voters, whichever is greater. The petition must be
21    filed with the governing body within twenty forty days of the first publication of the
22    decision. The ballot used for an excess tax levy election must clearly state the number of
23    years the excess tax levy is to be applied and the total maximum dollar amount of taxes
24    payable over the full term of the excess tax levy. The election must be conducted in the
25    same manner as a special election conducted pursuant to § 13-16-6.4, except that the
26    referendum election shall be held on or before October first of the year prior to the time
27    the taxes are payable.
                                                                                  Underscores indicate new language.
                                                                                Overstrikes indicate deleted language.