By Doug Kott | The Brookings Register
BROOKINGS — Good coffee and a good discussion on the top issues facing the state were on the menu at the legislative coffee, sponsored by the Brookings Area Chamber of Commerce.
Reps. Mellissa Heermann and Roger Degroot and Sen. Tim Reed, all representing District 7 in the Legislature, addressed a near-capacity crowd in council chambers of the Brookings City & County Government Center on Feb. 7.
Property tax relief
Reed said there dozens of bills working through the system and which ones come through is difficult to say at this point.”The issues are getting convoluted throughout this and that’s why it’s so hard to get to something … There’s so much noise in the system right now, it’s really hard to kind of figure out what we’ll have in the end.”
DeGroot added “It’s going to be really difficult to get 60% of the body to vote for anything.”
He said that there are many amendments and details to be worked out before any agreement to be reached but he said property tax relief is one of the main issues to be addressed by the Legislature this year.
Heermann noted that the fact that it is campaign year with the governor’s race is influencing the debate and makes reaching a consensus more difficult.
High number of bills
The next issue discussed was the prospect of limiting the number bills that can be introduced during the session.
Heerman said “This is certainly the most number bills I’ve ever seen.” Adding that “Because of the high volume we are putting an overwhelming burden on our LRC staff.” She said the staff has had to deal with more than 1,000 items.
DeGroot agreed that LRC is understaffed and that the money is not there to hire more staff.
Reed also noted that the high number of bills does not allow much time for debate in the committees and on the floors. “We are being really stressed with our Legislative Research Council.
Education funding
Moderator Don Norton asked the lawmakers if there is any movement on increasing funds for education.
Reed said there that current property tax collections have been higher that creates hope that greater revenue can provide more money for the education system.
He said there are several one-time funding issues that, but a long-term solution is needed for the education system.
Reed and DeGroot noted that the governor’s plan to increase the amount budgeted for reserves from 10% to 12.5% could be curbed and that would leave more money for things like education.
Data centers
The legislators also addressed the issue of data centers.
Reed noted that its a complicated issue to address. He said there are two things involved. One is AI and the yet undetermined role it will play in our society. “People are questioning ‘Where does this end up in our world?” he said.
The other issue he identified is the high amount of power required by a data center. He said it’s important for South Dakota to not make the mistakes that have been made by other states in dealing with data centers.
He said that policies on incentives for the data centers should be left to the local governments
“There’s a lot work to be done here. I don’t think we can just bury our heads in the sand,” Reed said He said its important to make sure things are done correctly by the state. He said that two issues that will probably be addressed during the session regulating power and water usage.
Heermann said the devil is in the details in issues surrounding. She said every data center is different. She said it is possible to bring in a data center that is a boon to the state, but it has to be the right one and it is prudent to be cautious about how the development is done.
She said an underlying fear about AI overall will make it difficult to come to a consensus. “”If there’s ever a time to be cautious and do it right, that time is now. I don’t know that we have the voting power to do anything significant,” Heermann said.
— Contact Doug Kott at [email protected].
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