modify the requirements for a petition to refer an excess tax levy of a school district to a vote.

26.203.25 101st Legislative Session 223

2026 South Dakota Legislature
Senate Bill 223
SENATE STATE AFFAIRS ENGROSSED

Introduced by: Senator Peterson (Sue)

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