Madison City Commission Weighs in on IM 28; Supporters Say it's Disinformation

SD Legislative Research Council

The battle over the effects of initiated Measure 28 made its way to the Madison City Commission meeting on Monday, as commissioners approved a resolution taking an opinion on the ballot measure. The resolution reads in part, “That initiated Measure 28 would negatively impact the municipal budget in our community.” It would do so, according to the resolution, by eliminating the cities ability to tax certain items.

But the director of the South Dakota Legislative Research Council says that’s not correct. IM 28 would prohibit a state sales tax on anything sold for human consumption, except alcoholic beverages or prepared food. The ballot measure also specifically says municipalities may continue to impose such taxes. John McCullough, the Director of the LRC, confirmed to Dakota News Now in Sioux Falls that municipalities should still tax anything sold for human consumption if IM-28 passes because a later law would take precedence over an earlier law.

The original fiscal note that the Legislative Research Council sent out in January of 2023 also said that municipalities can still impose such taxes if IM 28 passes. That directly contradicts what the South Dakota Municipal League said in a press release last week and the resolution passed by the Madison City Commission on Monday.

If cities in South Dakota were to lose the ability to tax consumables like food, it would be a significant loss of tax revenue. For the city of Madison, as much as $622,000. Rick Weiland from South Dakotans for Health says that’s why they crafted IM 28 to not include municipalities, and he says that’s what state officials agree would be the result of the measure’s passage.

While the language in Monday’s resolution by the Madison Commission is definitive, City Administration Jameson Berreth said it’s unknown what the results of IM 28 would be.