Governor Dennis Daugaard is summoning the Legislature to Pierre for a special session on September 12! Whoo-hoo!
Less than eight weeks before Election Day, and only nine days before early voting begins, our 105* legislators, 77 of whose names are slated to appear on some ballot or another in the general election**, will gather at the Capitol to vote on special legislation whose likely result is that South Dakotans will pay more in taxes.
Governor Daugaard is careful, of course, not to phrase it that way. Here’s the language you’ll hear Al Novstrup and other nervous Republicans using:
Gov. Dennis Daugaard has called a special legislative session to consider legislation that would expedite implementation of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. and allow the state to enforce the obligation of remote sellers to collect and remit sales tax.
…“South Dakota led the fight for tax fairness, which culminated with our historic win before the U.S. Supreme Court in June,” said Gov. Daugaard. “Thanks to that victory, other states are implementing tax changes as soon as Oct. 1, and I will be proposing legislation to allow South Dakota to join them” [emphasis mine; Governor’s Office, press release, 2018.08.07].
We’re enforcing an obligation on remote sellers. We’re creating tax fairness.
Translation: you will pay more sales tax, possibly by October 1… just in time to vote on the people who bring you the opportunity to enjoy that fairness.
*105? Say, that reminds me: Unless I missed something, Governor Daugaard has three Legislative vacancies to fill. District 10 Senate, District 26B House, and District 32 House each have vacancies.
**This quick lunchtime count includes Rep. Larry Rhoden, who is seeking promotion to Lieutenant Governor, and Sen. Lance Russell, a lawyer who is allowing his local party officials to illegally renominate him in a Senate race from which he withdrew. That count may drop if Democrats don’t find replacements for their withdrawn placeholders.
How much does a special session cost us?
SDGOP calling a special session just to raise taxes 6 weeks before the election. How thoughtful of them.
John asks a great question. How much is the special session costing us taxpayers, in addition to raising our taxes?
Maybe Dennis Daugaard’s son-in-law… er, I mean, his COS, (nepotism noted!) could let us know about that cost.
http://thehill.com/policy/finance/400876-federal-deficit-jumps-20-percent-after-tax-cuts-spending-bill
I’m sorry, this just slipped out of my computer while I was distracted. My apologies for my computer getting off topic. Bad computer!
Reduce spending. Problem solved.
I assume Bjorkman and Sutton are running on raising taxes right Mike?
what programs do you want to cut Jason?
hay wait a minute here… didn’t we just finish the year out with a surplus? why are we so hot n bothered to collect more now?
I assume Bjorkman and Sutton are running on raising taxes right Mike?
Why not take a look for yourself? Does someone still wipe yer nose?
John, I’m hearing from a Legislatively versed source that the cost is around $35,000 for a day in the Capitol.
Per SDCL 2-4-2 (which will raise legislator pay to over $10K come January 1!) and the Legislator Reference Book, legislators get $142 per diem and an extra day’s pay “equal to the normal daily compensation for the regular session immediately preceding the special session.” That wording makes me curious: do we divide $6,000 by the number of days the Legislature met in regular session, 38, or by the number the law says they can meet, 40? By having fewer than 40 days in regular session, are legislators boosting the checks they can get for a special session?
Divide by 38, and the special day in Pierre is worth $157.89. Divide by 40, and a special session is worth just $150 a head. $7.89—hey! that’s a Big Mac Meal, isn’t it?
Ah, found it: LRC chief Jason Hancock said the 2017 Special Session on nonmeandered waters “would cost $35,150 for the first day and $33,260 for each additional day….”
If Wayfair tax is worth $58 million a year, we’ll make that up in 5.3 hours, probably before lunch on October 1 or whatever other day we enact the new tax collections.
If the numbers are correct, SD should be able to reduce the State sales tax in the future.
Should be, if the Partridge Amendment stays in effect, but net effect right now is South Dakotans pay more sales tax.