AARP Eye Center
The end of week 3 marks the deadline for bills to be submitted for the 2018 South Dakota legislative session. With more than 400 bills filed so far this year, the legislature has already surpassed the total number of bills filed in 2017 (390).
With AARP South Dakota's support, Senate Bill (SB) 56 has passed the Senate and will soon be considered in the House of Representatives. SB 56 provides property and sales tax refunds to low income seniors.
Property taxes are the single most burdensome tax for low-income, older homeowners. Many of our state's aging citizens have lived in their homes for generations. As their property values have appreciated, so have their property taxes. Because seniors often live on fixed incomes, many cannot afford the yearly increases in their property taxes while also meeting their basic needs for food, medicine and utilities.
AARP South Dakota was pleased to see the income eligibility parameters for this program raised to $12,060 for a single member household and $16,240 for a multi-member household.
Follow up on last week’s report:
Senate Bill (SB) 62, the South Dakota Attorney General’s Data Breach Notification bill (which AARP South Dakota supports) passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday and passed on the Senate floor on Thursday. The bill now moves over to the House of Representatives for consideration.
As you recall, we support this bill because South Dakota is one of the last states in the country to adopt a data breach notification bill. AARP South Dakota believes consumers should be notified of all security breaches involving their sensitive personal information as soon as reasonably possible.
The entire team at AARP SD is looking forward to our annual Lobby Day in Pierre next week. We are expecting close to 100 advocates from across the state to represent you and your communities during lunch and conversation with 75+ legislators in the Capitol Rotunda. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates throughout the day.