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revise the freeze on assessments for dwellings of disabled and senior citizens.

HB 1001 updates South Dakota's property tax freeze program for seniors and disabled homeowners by clarifying how the "base year" assessment is determined and allowing applicants to choose a year after the base year if it benefits them. The bill also updates the definition of "disabled" to reference current Social Security regulations instead of those frozen at January 1, 2008, ensuring the program reflects current federal disability standards.

provide a partial property tax exemption for the surviving spouses of certain veterans.

This bill allows surviving spouses of veterans to receive a partial property tax exemption on their primary home worth up to $150,000 in assessed value. The exemption applies if the veteran was rated permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected condition, or if the surviving spouse receives dependency and indemnity compensation from the federal Veterans Affairs department due to the veteran's service-connected death. The exemption continues until the property is sold, the surviving spouse moves, or other qualifying conditions end.

to eliminate property tax for certain seniors.

This bill creates a new property tax exemption for seniors who meet specific qualifications: they must be at least 65 years old (implied by "seniors"), have owned property in South Dakota for at least 20 years, have a household income of $60,000 or less, own a home worth $500,000 or less, and have no unpaid property taxes. The exemption eliminates all property taxes on their owner-occupied, single-family home, and the income and home value limits automatically adjust annually for inflation.

provide property assessment freeze and reduction of property assessment for certain seniors, and to revise qualifications for a property tax exemption.

HB1253 creates a property tax relief program for seniors age 70 and older and disabled property owners by freezing their home assessments at a baseline year value and limiting future increases to a calculation based on the appreciation rate from their baseline year. Surviving spouses of eligible seniors can also receive this benefit using the same baseline year their deceased spouse would have used. This reduces property tax bills for qualifying seniors by preventing their assessments from rising as much as other homeowners' assessments do.

revise the application process for the reduction of tax on dwellings owned by paraplegics.

This bill creates a new annual application process for South Dakota homeowners with paraplegia or loss of use of both legs who qualify for a property tax reduction on their home. Applicants must submit their forms to the county treasurer by April 1st each year, sign under penalty of perjury, and provide documentation that the county treasurer requires to verify their eligibility.

provide property tax relief for family day care homes.

Family day care home owners who are registered with the state can reduce their property's assessed value by 2% for each child they care for (up to a 20% maximum reduction), which lowers the property taxes they owe. The reduction only applies if they care for at least four children and they can claim it a maximum of three times. Owners must apply annually by April 1st with proof of their registration and the number of children in their care.

allow persons moving from certain municipal zones to retain property assessments from original homes.

South Dakota municipalities can now establish special zones where homeowners who have lived in their house for at least five years can transfer their property's assessed value to a newly built home they move to outside that zone. This allows homeowners to avoid higher property tax assessments when building new homes, as long as they sell their original home to a non-family member and move outside the designated municipal zone. The transfer is optional for municipalities to allow through a local resolution.

increase household income thresholds for a paraplegic tax reduction.

This bill increases the income limits for South Dakota's paraplegic property tax reduction program. Under the new thresholds, people with paraplegia can qualify for a 100% tax reduction on their home if their household income is up to $14,000 (instead of $11,670), with the income cutoffs for the 75%, 50%, and 25% reduction levels also rising accordingly. This change makes the tax break available to paraplegics with somewhat higher incomes than previously allowed.

provide for the assessment of certain agricultural land as noncropland.

SB 206 changes how certain agricultural land is taxed by allowing some farmland to be assessed as "noncropland" rather than cropland, which typically results in lower property tax valuations. The bill modifies the assessment rules in state law to expand when landowners can qualify for this noncropland classification on their tax assessments.

revise the discretionary formula for reduced taxation of new structures and residential property.

Counties in South Dakota currently have the option to reduce property taxes on new structures for up to five years after construction, and this bill clarifies and slightly adjusts how that discretionary tax reduction works. The bill specifies that counties must apply their chosen tax reduction formula equally to all similar properties within the same taxing district, and it allows property owners to request that the tax reduction not apply to their new structure if they prefer to pay full taxes immediately. The bill also makes technical corrections to the law's language about how assessed values are calculated during the tax reduction period.

expressing support for the 2021 South Dakota Coordinated Plan for Natural Resources Conservation.

SCR 601 is a resolution expressing the South Dakota Senate's support for the 2021 Coordinated Plan for Natural Resources Conservation. This is not a law change—it's a statement of support for an existing conservation plan, with no changes to state regulations or requirements.

require closure of litigation over the recreational use of nonmeandered waters.

SB 126 ends ongoing court cases about whether the public can recreate on non-meandered waters (bodies of water that don't naturally flow) that sit on private property. The bill closes litigation over this issue by having the Legislature declare that it has already balanced public recreational rights with private property owners' rights through earlier legislation, preventing further legal battles on the matter.