Commission hears legislative update as session nears crossover; election bills draw public comment

Meredith Jarkow, assistant commission administrative officer, briefed the Minnehaha County Commission on the state legislative session on Feb. 25, saying the day was "legislative day 27 and crossover day," and outlining bills that must leave their chamber of origin.

Jarkow highlighted several measures moving through the Legislature that could affect county finances and operations. She said Senate Bill 37, which would revise and repeal provisions related to the 9/11 emergency surcharge and the 9/11 coordination board, passed the Senate and had been referred to House Judiciary. She described a property-tax bill, House Bill 1235, which would reduce limits on annual increases in property-tax revenues and was being heard on the House floor, and Senate Bill 216, the governor's property-tax proposal, which the committee amended to add grandfather language for the elderly property tax freeze and which passed out of committee 8–1.

Jarkow also noted that pipeline and eminent-domain bills have been moved to later legislative days, that House Bill 1052 had already made it out of the House, and that election-related bills were active. She said Senate Bill 188 had been amended in committee to change some absentee-voting deadlines and to require an application stating why an absentee ballot is needed; that bill was scheduled for the Senate floor the same day.

County Auditor Leah Anderson addressed the commission during the public-comment portion to note operational details related to SB 188. Anderson said removing in-person absentee voting on the Friday before the election would help the county account for Monday in-person absentee voters when printing registration lists: "Anybody that votes on Monday in person absentee ... this last election, we had 1,200 people vote. We do not have a way to indicate that they voted, when it comes to, Tuesday election day. So we print the registration list on Saturday, and then anybody that's voting on that Monday does not get recorded in that registration list." She added that shortening the in-person absentee window would reduce staffing costs: "We as a county spend about $6,500 a week just providing the staff to run the absentee voting upstairs."

During public comment, Cindy Meyer of Minnehaha County urged the commission to consider testimony previously supplied to the Legislature opposing legislation to ban certain election equipment. Meyer said experts had testified that some software and integrated management systems were not certified by the Election Assistance Commission and that internet connectivity raised vulnerabilities; she said she had submitted written materials to commissioners.

Nut graf: The briefing and comments show county officials are monitoring multiple bills that could change property-tax limits, emergency-surcharge funding and absentee-voting procedures; local election administrators urged lawmakers to consider operational impacts before adopting changes.

Background: Jarkow warned that crossover deadlines mean many bills must clear their chamber of origin quickly; commissioners asked clarifying questions and thanked her for the overview.

Ending: Staff said they will continue to track bills through the remainder of the session and update the commission on significant changes affecting county operations.