Contentious session almost guaranteed

By the Journal Editorial Board | Saturday, December 27, 2008

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The South Dakota Legislature officially begins Jan. 13 but the fireworks have already started.

Last week, Brian Aust of the Associated School Boards of South Dakota challenged as unfair Gov. Rounds portrayal of school district’s reserve funds as an extra pot of money.

“It’s not just a reserve, it’s a general fund balance. There’s a difference and it’s an important distinction,” Aust said.

And just days later, Senate Majority Leader Dave Knudson of Sioux Falls said legislators weren’t cheering over the governor’s proposed budget which would include cuts in sparsity payments to schools and an increase in property taxes.

“I think that’s a wildly unpopular proposal,” Knudson said of the tax plan. Adding it would be high on the list of things to change in the final state budget.

Both comments were in response to Rounds’ state budget address and his controversial plan to balance the state budget on the backs of across the board trimming and cutting — most notably to education — and the depletion of the property tax reserve fund.

While the governor’s message was “we don’t have the money” to do more; the Legislature seems to be   responding with “we’ll find a  better way.”

To say this will be a fairly contentious legislative session would be an understatement.

Education has generated the most controversy and considering it consumes a major portion of the state budget, it should.

But while education will get the  lion’s share of attention it won’t be the only game in town. With a  $32 million shortfall and a proposal to all but drain the property tax   reduction fund, we should see plenty of differing opinions of what is best for the state.

Property tax reduction has been a key part of budget planning since 1995. But the plan has been to lower property taxes, not increase them. The governor’s budget proposal would slightly increase property taxes, something no one wants to see.

Health care, law enforcement, courts, Medicaid — the list of needs will be great.

But what legislators will have to work with is the real problem. The state budget is based on fairly optimistic forecasts of sales tax revenue collections. While the South Dakota economy seems to have escaped the worst of the economic uncertainty at this point, there have been hints that won’t remain the case.

Rounds told legislators nobody likes to work on a budget that’s as tight as the state’s is this year. But still the fact remains — change the budget if you must, but find revenue to pay for ongoing costs.

We don’t envy state legislators faced with finding a balance in state spending that will suit 700,000 South Dakotans. This year, finding that balance will be a key job and considering it will be done in an emotionally-charged atmosphere at the state  capital, we’d expect a tumultuous session.