modify the requirements for a petition to refer an excess tax levy of a school district to a vote.
SB 223 modifies South Dakota's process for school districts to refer excess tax levies to voter approval. It changes the petition signature requirement from a flat 50 voters to "at least five percent of the registered voters" in the school district. The bill also adjusts notice rules, waiving newspaper publication requirements if the district mails the resolution to all property taxpayers within 20 days. This affects school districts seeking voter input on tax increases and directly impacts local taxpayers who may petition to refer levy decisions.
Bill status
passed both
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Feb 2026
House Failed
Mar 2026
Governor
Introduced Feb 4, 2026
Last action Mar 2, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Introduced
→
Senate State Affairs Engrossed
·
3 edits
·
Feb 9, 2026
MINOR
This bill modifies the requirements for school districts to announce excess tax levies and the process for voters to challenge them. It simplifies notification rules for small tax increases and clarifies the timeline for filing petitions to force a public vote on the levy.
Scope change
The bill applies to all South Dakota school districts seeking to impose excess tax levies for general fund purposes.
REQUIREMENT
Waived strict newspaper publication requirements if the tax increase is under $15,000 or if a copy of the resolution is mailed to every taxpayer and printed in local newspapers.
Updated the deadline for filing a petition to challenge the levy to twenty days after the first publication.
TIMELINE
Clarified that the first publication date for notification purposes is deemed to occur three days after the mailing is sent or the resolution is delivered to the newspaper.
Floor votes · Senate Feb 17, 2026 · House Mar 2, 2026
How they voted
20–14
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 35
Feb 17, 2026
D
Democratic3
66% Nay
R
Republican32
59% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
13
Key actions
8
Committee
4
Amendments
1
Mar 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
House of Representatives Reconsidered , Passed, YEAS 31, NAYS 34 H.J. 468
lower
Feb 26, 2026
Lower · Passed
Intent to reconsider , Passed, H.J. 459
lower
Feb 26, 2026
Lower · Passed
House of Representatives Do Pass Amended , Passed, YEAS 32, NAYS 34 H.J. 459
lower
Feb 25, 2026
Lower · Passed
Education Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 8, NAYS 7
lower
Feb 18, 2026
Introduced
First read in House and referred to House Education H.J. 356
lower
Feb 17, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate Do Pass Amended , Passed, YEAS 20, NAYS 14 S.J. 281
upper
Feb 17, 2026
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (20-14-1)
senate
Feb 11, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate Deferred to another day , Passed, S.J. 245
upper
Feb 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
State Affairs Do Pass Amended , Passed, YEAS 6, NAYS 3 S.J. 21
upper
Feb 9, 2026
Introduced
State Affairs Motion to amend , Passed, S.J. 21 Amendment 223B
upper
Feb 4, 2026
Introduced
First read in Senate and referred to Senate State Affairs S.J. 179
upper
6 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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