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Appropriations committee defers bill to update tax refunds for elderly and disabled after outreach and eligibility questions
Summary
Senate Bill 44, which would raise income limits for sales and property tax refunds for seniors and people with disabilities, was deferred after testimony on eligibility, outreach and refund amounts; committee members asked for more data on participation and inflation adjustments.
Pierre — The Joint Committee on Appropriations deferred action on Senate Bill 44 after statistics and extensive testimony highlighted questions about eligibility thresholds, the program’s outreach and the frozen refund amounts.
Brandy Eckert, deputy director in the Department of Revenue’s Business Tax Division, described SB 44 as "the annual special appropriation for sales or property tax refunds for elderly and disabled persons and declares an emergency," and summarized eligibility and recent participation. She said the program requires applicants to be age 65 or older for the full year, or declared disabled under Social Security or Veterans Administration guidelines. In calendar year 2024 the department approved 1,063 applicants and spent $356,195 on refunds; the average refund before any supplemental payment was about $241. A supplemental program may distribute up to $100 per applicant when funds remain.
Eckert explained that the bill raises income limits (to roughly 100–110% of the federal poverty level, as specified in the text) and that the department has added outreach measures this year, including a printable application, a QR code and electronic filing. She told the committee the department made the application easier to read and worked with community partners to spread the word. "We had a 136 electronic applications received, so about 12%," she said.
Advocates pressed for larger changes. Kathy Brechtelsmauer, an advocate for low-income people, asked the committee to increase both eligibility and payment amounts. She noted the maximum refund levels — $258 for a single-person household and $581 for multi-person households — have not increased in decades and suggested indexing the maximums to poverty thresholds or inflation. She urged moving the program’s application earlier in the calendar so eligible taxpayers receive materials during tax season.
Eric Nelson of AARP South Dakota urged continued support and described a coordinated advertising campaign the organization ran to drive awareness. Committee members asked several operational questions, including how household income is defined and verified (the Department said applicants may provide federal returns if available or alternate proof such as W-2s or SSI letters) and how much of the appropriation is used for administration (the bill authorizes up to $20,000; the department said printing and mailing costs come from that allocation).
Committee disposition: the chair announced that SB 44 is deferred to a later date to refine numbers and outreach plans. No final vote was taken.
