Legislative News: 

On Monday, January 28, the House State Affairs committee will be dealing with two bills seeking to change how agricultural land is assessed for tax purposes.

HB1252 by Rep. Al Novstrup from Aberdeen would continue to base ag land valuations on part of the market – changing the 150% rule to a 250% rule and only assessing a fraction of the value.

HB1005 is the bill which came out of the interim summer study committee to change ag land valuations to a productivity basis. 

            Farm Bureau and the majority of the other agricultural groups have been working in support of HB1005.  Main reasons for support include: 

·         The true value of land used for ag purposes is its ability to produce crops or support livestock

·         The market-based assessment system has not worked for many years, and there continue to be growing disparities between true value of crop and pasture land and market value for open ground

·         43 states use productivity, not the market, as the basis for ag land taxation

We encourage you to contact members of the House State Affairs committee to support HB1005 and oppose HB1252.

Members of the House State Affairs Committee are

            Tom Brunner, Nisland

            Joni Cutler, Sioux Falls

            Tom Deadrick, Platte

            Joel Dykstra, Canton

            Bob Faehn, Watertown

            Margaret Gillespie, Hudson

            Dale Hargens, Miller

            Shantel Krebs, Sioux Falls

            Kathy Miles, Sioux Falls

            Garry Moore, Yankton

            Tim Rave, Baltic

            Larry Rhoden, Union Center

            Chuck Turbiville, Deadwood

 You may contact legislators by calling the House Lobby and leaving a phone message (605-773-3851) or by e-mailing Rep.Lastname@state.sd.us

Alternative fuels

The Senate State Affairs committee gave swift approval to Governor Rounds’ bill to provide for a tax incentive for fuel blended with biodiesel.  The two-cent incentive would kick in when biodiesel production facilities in the state reach a nameplate capacity of at least 20 million gallons per year and fully produce 10 million gallons of biodiesel per year.  The incentive would go away after 35 million gallons of biodiesel and biodiesel blended fuel are sold in the state.  The bill was approved on an 8-0 vote.

Moments later, the Senate Tax committee considered a bill to repeal the two-cent incentive for ethanol.  Proponents of the measure focused on the idea that the incentive was first instituted nearly 30 years ago as a way to start a fledgling industry that is now no longer “fledgling.”  They also pointed out that the two cents of taxes would add $4.6 million to the state highway fund.  Opponents said the bill amounted to nothing more than a tax increase.  The committee deferred the bill to the 36^th Legislative Day on a 6-3 vote.

Two bills have been introduced to provide an incentive grant program for ethanol blender pumps.  HB1285, introduced by Rep. Steve Street, appropriates $200,000 to the Department of Agriculture to implement the grant program.  SB 184, introduced by Sen. Jim Peterson, is a duplicate of HB1285.

Conservation Funding

SB115 – Increase the amount of funding for conservation and value-added purposes from certain unclaimed motor fuel tax refunds.  This is a repeat of the conservation funding bill that passed last year and was vetoed by Governor Rounds.

Referred to Senate Tax Committee

HB1185 – Establish dedicated funding sources for conservation, including:

·      Taking an additional three cents per gallon for claimed off-road refunds (there is currently three cents taken out for the value-added agriculture subfund; this would bring the total to six cents)

·      Increasing the real estate transfer fee from fifty cents per each $500 of value to one dollar for each $500 of value.  The conservation districts would get one-fourth of the total; counties would get the rest

     As originally introduced, the bill would have instituted a fee of five cents per 1,000 gallons of metered water distributed by a public water system, up to $50 per month.  House Tax committee deleted that portion of the bill, then referred it to House Appropriations committee.

 HB1177 – Create the beverage container recycling and redemption program.  A five-cent “litter reduction fee” would be added to beverage containers sold in the state.  Community redemption centers would pay the fee back to those who wish to redeem their beverage containers.  Twenty percent of the money raised by this fee, up to $3 million, would go into the coordinated natural resources conservation fund.  The rest would go to the state general fund.

            Referred to Commerce Committee

Livestock identification

HB1054 – Authorize the State Brand Board to impose civil penalties

            Killed in House Judiciary Committee

HB1055 – Change the penalty for leaving the brand inspection area without a brand inspection from a Class 1 to a Class 2 misdemeanor (a lighter penalty).

            Passed the House 69-0

            Referred to Senate Ag

HB1056 – Revise provisions related to holds on livestock sales and transporting livestock out of the ownership inspection area.

            House Ag – Do Pass, Consent

HB1057  - Revise criteria regarding eligibility for open market status

            House Ag – Do Pass

HB1058 – increase the maximum brand inspection fee to $1.00 for cattle and $10.00 for horses and mules

            House Ag – Do Pass

HB1176 – Require statewide livestock ownership inspection

            House Ag  - Deferred to 36^th Legislative Day

HB1305 – Revise provisions related to a state animal identification program and prohibit participation by the State of South Dakota in a national animal identification system.

            Referred to House Ag 

            Complete information on the 2008 Legislature is available online at: 

http://legis.state.sd.us/sessions/2008/index.aspx

To contact your legislators during Session:

House Lobby – 773-3851

Senate Lobby – 773-3821

To leave a message for Mike Held or Mary Duvall: