PIERRE, S.D. – A broad group of South Dakotans has launched a coalition to oppose Initiated Measure 28 in the November General Election. The coalition believes eliminating the sales tax on anything for human consumption would result in irresponsible funding cuts to essential government functions or lead to new tax increases.
IM-28 would eliminate state and local taxation on “anything sold for human consumption,” including tobacco, CBD, mouthwash, vaping products, toothpaste, marijuana, beverages, and a host of other items, excluding alcohol and prepared food.
It would eliminate more than $176 million annually in state revenues and millions more from already lean local city budgets and will negatively impact South Dakotans. IM-28 will directly result in across-the-board cuts that will reduce quality of life and essential services unless other taxes are increased. At the state level, the $176 million shortfall will result in painful cuts impacting schools and healthcare patients—the two largest expenditure categories in the state budget.
The IM-28 opposition effort is led by South Dakotans Against A State Income Tax, comprised of Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken, South Dakota Retailers Association Executive Director Nathan Sanderson, and Rapid City businesswoman Erin Krueger.
“Eliminating the sales tax on anything for human consumption will have widespread tremendous negative consequences and could set South Dakota up for an income tax,” said Krueger. “An income tax is the wrong approach for South Dakota, so we urge voters to oppose IM-28.”
South Dakota is one of only seven states without a state income tax. The other states are Alaska, Florida, Nevada, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. South Dakota also has one of lowest tax burdens in the nation and operates on a balanced, fiscally conservative budget. According to Wallet Hub, South Dakota has the seventh lowest tax burden in the nation at a rate below neighboring states Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and North Dakota.
“The language in IM-28 was chosen for one of two possible reasons; to eliminate sales taxes on many items to set up South Dakota for a state income tax, or it was drafted improperly,” Sanderson noted. “Either way, it’s bad for South Dakotans and voters should vote no on IM-28.”
The measure will also prevent municipalities from collecting sales taxes on these same items. Current state law (SDCL 10-52-2) says that municipalities can only charge a sales tax as long as the “tax conforms in all respects to the state tax on such items with the exception of the rate,” if the state cannot charge sales taxes on “anything sold for human consumption,” neither can cities and towns.
“Eliminating the sales tax for cities and towns will leave a huge hole in city budgets,” said TenHaken. “In Sioux Falls, we would see major cuts to funding for law enforcement, road repairs, pools and parks. Unlike the state, cities don’t have the ability to impose a local income tax, meaning property taxes on seniors and working families would have to increase or city services would drastically be reduced. A sales tax based on consumption levels and also paid for by non-South Dakotans is fairer to the pocketbooks of South Dakotans. IM-28 should be rejected and we should avoid its consequences.”
Founding members of the coalition opposing IM-28 include:
South Dakotans Against A State Income Tax
Coalition for Responsible Taxation
Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce
SD Association of Cooperatives
SD Bankers Association
SD Cattlemen’s Association
SD Chamber of Commerce & Industry
SD Economic Development Professionals Association
SD Education Association
SD Farm Bureau
SD Hotel & Lodging Association
SD Licensed Beverage Dealers & Gaming Association
SD Municipal League
SD Music & Vending Association
SD Petroleum & Propane Marketers Association
SD Retailers Association
Citizens and organizations can find more information and sign-up to join the coalition at nosdincometax.com.
A formal opposition Ballot Question Committee was established with the Secretary of State by South Dakotans Against A State Income Tax in June 2024.
PIERRE, S.D. – Secretary of State Monae L. Johnson says county auditors have finalized their post-election audit of the 2024 primary election. The few discrepancies which were uncovered, generally 1-2 votes, appear to be due to the manual counting looking at voter intent and not limiting their count to definitive marks within the ovals. Overwhelmingly though, counties showed no discrepancies from the manually counted post-election audit to what was tabulated by machines on election night.
Quoting Johnson, “The transparency of this process, conducted by audit board members from multiple parties, and the accuracy of the audit results should reinforce every voter’s belief that their vote mattered and was counted accurately. South Dakotans should be proud that our state runs secure and fair elections. Our county auditors are always going above and beyond. Their hard work secures our voting process in South Dakota, building trust in communities across the state.” End quote
Some counties conducted recounts due to close races and did not conduct post-election audits which is allowed under state law.
Results of the post-election audit can be found on the Secretary of State’s website: sdsos.gov/elections-voting
Please note that what is posted there is the information provided by each county.
If there are questions regarding the information you should contact the appropriate county auditor.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight) – A federal judge is declining, for now, to stop a lawsuit in state court against South Dakota’s abortion-rights ballot measure.
Judge Karen Schreier signed her order Friday. She said a state court should rule on a key issue in the lawsuit before she considers intervening.
But she added, “If the state court ruling contradicts a federal court order, this court will consider the issue at that time.”
The anti-abortion Life Defense Fund filed its lawsuit in state court last month. The group wants to disqualify the abortion-rights measure from the Nov. 5 election.
Dakotans for Health gathered the thousands of petition signatures necessary to place the measure on the ballot. The group is defending the measure in state court, but also asked a federal judge to intervene and stop the litigation from proceeding.
One of the Life Defense Fund’s allegations is that Dakotans for Health failed to abide by the requirements of a 2018 state law. The Republican-dominated Legislature adopted the law to prevent out-of-state residents from circulating ballot petitions in South Dakota. Among other things, the law required petition circulators to file a sworn statement with various pieces of information proving their residency.
The Legislature replaced that law with new restrictions in 2019 and 2020. Those laws sparked federal lawsuits from plaintiffs who successfully argued that the restrictions infringed on their First Amendment rights to political speech.
The Life Defense Fund is now arguing that while the 2019 and 2020 laws were invalidated, the 2018 law was not invalidated and is still in force. The group is arguing that because Dakotans for Health’s petition circulators did not submit the sworn statements required by the 2018 law, the abortions rights measure should not be placed on the ballot.
Dakotans for Health is arguing that the lawsuits against the 2019 and 2020 laws invalidated the previous restrictions on petition circulators, and that the Life Defense Fund is trying to “flout” the federal court decisions.
Judge Schreier wrote in her order that she’s not issuing an injunction against the state-court lawsuit “at this time,” and that she’ll wait to see how the state court rules on the enforceability of the 2018 law before she decides whether to intervene. A motions hearing in the state-court lawsuit is scheduled for next week.
Abortions are currently banned in South Dakota, except to “preserve the life of the pregnant female.” The ballot measure would legalize abortions in the first trimester of pregnancy but allow the state to impose limited regulations in the second trimester and a ban in the third trimester, with exceptions for the life and health of the mother.
RAPID CITY, S.D. – The superintendent of the Rapid City Area School System has been placed on a 30-day leave following comments that came to light during a Department of Education investigation.
Nicole Swigart was quoted in that investigation as saying certain Native American tribes do not commonly value education and inform their students that they don’t need to graduate. Furthermore, the investigation alleged Swigart maintained students operating on “Indian time” is a challenge for the district.
The district has issued a formal apology.
District officials released a statement Monday saying Swigart was placed on leave and is required to take cultural competency training. The statement maintained the district is confident in Swigart’s ability to lead the district following her leave.
IOWA Undated – Public meetings are scheduled in 23 Iowa counties to review Summit Carbon Solutions’ plan to expand its proposed pipeline to more ethanol plants.
State regulators have already granted Summit approval to build along its original 688-mile route through the state — if regulators in neighboring states approve the pipeline’s route outside of Iowa.
The Iowa Capital Dispatch was the first to report public hearings are now scheduled in 23 Iowa counties to discuss extending the pipeline another 340 miles.
The expansion represents Summit’s agreements with ethanol plants that had been linked to the abandoned Navigator CO2 pipeline project. Iowa has 42 ethanol plants and Summit’s pipeline would collect carbon from 30 of them for underground storage in North Dakota.
Listed below are the dates and locations for the hearings.
Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. in Adams County: Corning Opera House Cultural Center, 800 Davis Ave., Corning
Aug. 27 at noon in Montgomery County: Red Coach Inn, 1200 Senate Ave., Red Oak
Aug. 27 at 6 p.m. in Guthrie County: Guthrie County Activity Center, 209 State St., Guthrie Center
Aug. 28 at noon in Greene County: Clover Hall, Greene County Fairgrounds, 601 E. Lincoln Way, Jefferson
Aug. 28 at 6 p.m. in Webster County: Cardiff Center, Fort Frenzy, 3232 First Ave South, Fort Dodge
Aug. 29 at noon in Hamilton County: Jewell Golf Club banquet room, 1225 Main St., Jewell
Aug. 29 at 6 p.m. in Hardin County: Albright’s Bluff, 119 Main St., Iowa Falls
Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. in Buchanan County: Hazleton American Legion, 105 Hayes St. West, Hazleton
The pipeline connects to an ethanol plant on the border of Buchanan County, but does not run through the county.
Sept. 10 at noon in Fayette County: Oelwein Coliseum, 101 First St. SW, Oelwein
Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. in Bremer County: The Centre Hall, 1211 Fourth St. SW, Waverly
Sept. 11 at noon in Butler County: Greene Community Center, large room, 202 W. South St., Greene
Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. in Floyd County: Swartzrock Community Center, Floyd County Fairgrounds, 2516 Seven Mile Road, Charles City
Sept. 12 at noon in Mitchell County: South Square, 202 S. Washington St., St. Ansgar
Sept. 12 at 6 p.m. in Worth County: Lanterns and Lace, 3586 Orchid Ave., Manly
Sept. 13 at noon in Hancock County: Viaduct Center, 255 U.S. Highway 69, Garner
Sept. 16 at 6 p.m. in Kossuth County: Eagle Center, 401 Smith St., Lakota
Sept. 17 at noon in Palo Alto County: Iowa Lakes Community College, 3200 College Drive, Emmetsburg
Sept. 17 at 6 p.m. in Clay County: Occasions, First Avenue East, Spencer
Sept. 18 at noon in Osceola County: Melvin American Legion Community Building, 225 Main Street, Melvin
Sept. 18 at 6 p.m. in O’Brien County: Primghar Community Building, 215 First St. SE., Primghar
Sept. 19 at noon in Sioux County: Prairie Winds Event Center, 908 Eighth St. SE, Orange City
Sept. 19 at 6 p.m. in Ida County: Cobblestone Inn & Suites, 2011 Indorf Ave., Holstein
Sept. 20 at noon in Buena Vista County: Cobblestone Ballroom, 98 Lakeshore Drive, Lakeside
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Kathleen Shannon / Greater Dakota News Service) – The Biden administration announced nearly $8 million in grants to improve public transportation, including a large and rural system in South Dakota, connecting people to critical services.
Prairie Hills Transit covers roughly the western third of the state and riders clock about 180,000 trips per year. It is receiving nearly $270,000 through a Federal Transit Administration pilot program, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to improve transit for people with disabilities, older adults and low-income individuals.
Lisa Johnson, deputy director of Prairie Hills Transit, said the organization will use the funds to purchase a contactless payment system for riders, an upgrade from the wood tokens the system uses now.
“By going to a contactless payment technology, we’re hoping to streamline it to improve the reliability of the rider’s experience,” Johnson explained. “They can manage their fare card and have an ongoing history of what they’re paying.”
Johnson noted it will streamline operations for the transit system, negating the need to manage tokens and cash checks from riders. The system sees a wide range of ridership, she added, including low-income people, people with disabilities, seniors, veterans and youth.
The new system will include an updated website to help riders plan trips in advance. Johnson noted in an area with scattered small communities, people use public transit to go back and forth between them.
“We have five communities that are within a 20-mile radius,” Johnson pointed out. “I’m hoping to link those communities in a more efficient and timely manner.”
Johnson emphasized Prairie Hills Transit plans to roll out its new system in about a year.
