State of South Dakota

EIGHTY-SEVENTH SESSION
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY, 2012

826T0803

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 1018

Introduced by: Representatives Brunner, Blake, Boomgarden, Carson, Conzet, Deelstra, Dennert, Fargen, Feickert, Feinstein, Gibson, Haggar, Hawley, Hickey, Hoffman, Hubbel, Hunhoff (Bernie), Iron Cloud III, Jensen, Jones, Killer, Kirkeby, Kirschman, Kloucek, Kopp, Liss, Lucas, Lust, Miller, Moser, Munsterman, Novstrup (David), Olson (Betty), Rausch, Schaefer, Schrempp, Scott, Sigdestad, Sly, Solum, Steele, Stricherz, Turbiville, Vanneman, Venner, Verchio, Wick, Willadsen, and Wismer and Senators Juhnke, Adelstein, Begalka, Bradford, Buhl, Frerichs, Fryslie, Hansen (Tom), Holien, Hunhoff (Jean), Johnston, Kraus, Novstrup (Al), Nygaard, Peters, Putnam, Sutton, Tidemann, Tieszen, and Vehle

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION, Urging Congress to restore the impact aid program.

WHEREAS, impact aid is the oldest elementary-secondary federal education program administered by the Department of Education to offset property tax revenue to local educational agencies due to federal government acquisition of previously taxable properties; and

WHEREAS, property taxes paid by American families, individuals, businesses, farms, and all other property owners, as well as impact aid funding, support local educational agencies and the thousands of students served by those local educational agencies; and

WHEREAS, the financial obligation to local educational agencies and the students they serve remains regardless of property owner, date of acquisition, or use of property; and

WHEREAS, the impact aid program provides reimbursement to local educational agencies for Indian lands, military bases, low rent housing, and/or other federal property to make up lost

tax revenue due to the non-taxable federal ownership status; and

WHEREAS, existing property owners in affected local agencies already bear a significant burden in financial support of local educational agencies due to federal acquisition of private lands; and

WHEREAS, raising additional local tax revenue to support local educational agencies is unrealistic and overly burdensome on local taxpayers; and

WHEREAS, South Dakota has thirty-eight local educational agencies which apply for impact aid funding due to the federal presence; and

WHEREAS, South Dakota local educational agencies qualify under all subsections of the impact aid law; and

WHEREAS, impact aid funding is of critical importance in providing quality educational opportunities for the more than 37,500 students educated in these thirty-eight local educational agencies; and

WHEREAS, each generation of students on that generation's educational journey deserves the same opportunities to enrich the students' lives through education, and impact aid funding is a key component in providing those educational opportunities; and

WHEREAS, it is the federal government's obligation to rectify the negative financial impact its presence has caused:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the House of Representatives of the Eighty-seventh Legislature of the State of South Dakota, the Senate concurring therein, that the Legislature strongly opposes the elimination of section 8002 of the impact aid program by the President's Administration and advocates for the continuation of federal funding for this specific federal responsibility as has been the standard for more than sixty years; requests, in order to alleviate the local tax payer burden caused by federal land ownership, full funding by the federal

government for all sections of the impact aid program; and requests the impact aid program be reauthorized this year either as part of the ESEA reauthorization or as a stand-alone bill.