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grant property tax relief to certain persons who are long-term residents and long-term property owners.

HB 1252 expands property tax relief for South Dakotans who have been long-term residents and owners of the same property by modifying the eligibility requirements in state law. The bill changes the existing property tax relief program to include more people who meet the long-term residency and ownership criteria.

exempt certain real property from the special maintenance fee levy.

SB161 exempts certain real property from paying a special maintenance fee levy in South Dakota. The bill modifies the state law that governs how these fees are collected, removing the requirement that designated properties contribute to this particular funding source.

require property owners to receive notification of property tax reduction programs.

Property owners in South Dakota will now automatically receive information about tax reduction programs they may qualify for when they get their property tax assessment notice each year. The notice must inform owners about five specific tax relief programs: owner-occupied home exemptions, disabled veteran exemptions, wheelchair-accessible home exemptions, disability-related exemptions, and senior citizen exemptions. This change ensures property owners learn about these tax breaks without having to seek out the information themselves.

provide an excess levy for the capital outlay fund.

HB1198 removes the $3-per-$1,000 valuation cap on property taxes that school districts can levy for capital outlay funds (money used for buildings, equipment, and similar assets). This allows school boards to levy as much as needed for capital projects instead of being limited to that maximum amount, though they can still only pledge tax revenue to pay for specific bonds or equipment purchase agreements.

provide for the assessment of certain agricultural land as noncropland.

Agricultural land that has been seeded to grass for at least ten years and used for grazing (or left unharvested) or is native grassland can now be assessed as "noncropland" for tax purposes, which typically results in lower property valuations than cropland. Landowners can request this classification from the director of equalization before August 1st, and the director has 30 days to decide; if denied, owners can appeal the decision.

revise provisions regarding the acceptance of gifts by municipalities.

South Dakota cities and towns may now accept gifts of real estate, personal property, or money for parks and public spaces under whatever conditions the donor specifies—such as exempting the property from taxes or assessments. The bill broadens who can give these gifts (removing restrictions to just certain classes of municipalities) and allows the city council to approve gift terms either directly or through a general policy they adopt by resolution, rather than having to approve each gift individually.

increase the annual assessment limits for certain road maintenance and repairs.

This bill doubles the maximum annual assessment that townships and counties can charge property owners for road maintenance and repairs on asphalt roads, from $2 per front foot to $4 per front foot. The assessment limit for non-asphalt roads remains unchanged at $2 per front foot, and property owners within 300 feet of these roads continue to bear the costs based on their property's frontage.

revise the special education property tax levy for school districts and to revise the state aid to special education formula.

School districts can now levy up to $1.68 per thousand dollars of taxable property value for special education (increased from $1.61), giving them more local funding to cover special education services and assistive technology for students with disabilities. The bill also updates the state aid formula for special education to account for this higher local contribution, changing how state funds are calculated to supplement district spending on special education programs.

exempt vehicles owned by improvement districts from certain vehicle registration fees.

Improvement districts—local government entities that manage services like water, drainage, or rural fire protection—will no longer have to pay certain vehicle registration fees on the vehicles they own. This exemption reduces costs for these districts, which are typically funded by property taxes and fees from the landowners they serve.

revise the boundaries of certain water development districts and to revise certain provisions regarding the election of the board of directors and the levying of taxes in the affected districts.

HB 1118 redraws the boundaries of certain water development districts in South Dakota and changes how their board members are elected and how they can collect taxes from property owners. The specific amendments to state law sections 13-39-75 and 13-55-42 expand and revise the rules governing these districts' operations and revenue collection methods.

revise provisions for taxes levied by the board of a school district for the capital outlay fund.

School districts can now levy up to $3 per $1,000 of property value annually for capital outlay (building and equipment purchases), and they can pledge these tax revenues to pay back loans and lease agreements used to finance school facilities. The bill clarifies that districts can be legally forced to collect these taxes each year to cover outstanding debt payments, as long as the total doesn't exceed the $3 per $1,000 limit.

revise the property tax levies for the general fund of school districts and to revise the state aid to education formula.

This bill reduces the property tax levies that school districts can charge for their general operating funds, effective for taxes payable in 2021 and beyond. The maximum levy on all property drops from $6.82 to $5.56 per $1,000 of value, the levy on agricultural land falls from $1.47 to $0.41 per $1,000 of value, and the levy on owner-occupied homes decreases from $3.29 to $1.68 per $1,000 of value.

Proposing and submitting to the electors at the next general election, an amendment to Article XII of the Constitution of the State of South Dakota, relating to the creation of the property tax relief trust fund and to provide for the transfer of unobligated cash.

This proposed constitutional amendment would create a new Property Tax Relief Trust Fund and allow the state to transfer unobligated cash (money not yet committed to spending) into it. Voters would decide whether to approve this amendment at the next general election. The fund would provide a mechanism for dedicating state money specifically toward property tax relief for South Dakota residents.

provide an option to sparse school districts regarding the amount of taxes collected in the capital outlay fund.

This bill gives sparse school districts (those with very low enrollment) the flexibility to choose how much they collect in property taxes for capital projects—either the maximum amount allowed under existing law or a per-student amount of $2,800 (adjusted annually). Regular school districts remain capped at whichever is lower between the existing maximum or the $2,800-per-student limit. The change allows sparse districts more control over their building and equipment funding while other districts face the stricter limit.

establish certain provisions regarding pore spaces.

This bill creates new state law establishing that landowners automatically own the pore spaces (natural cavities and voids) beneath their property, and this ownership cannot be separated from the surface land title. However, landowners can still lease out pore space to others, and the law doesn't affect any pore space deals that were already completed before July 1, 2020.