GOP leaders clash over data center policies during news conference
Senate Majority Leader Jim Mehlhaff accuses House Speaker Jon Hansen of being anti-economic development
PIERRE — Republican legislative leaders publicly clashed Thursday over data center tax incentives, with Senate Majority Leader Jim Mehlhaff accusing House Speaker Jon Hansen of fear mongering about economic development during a joint news conference at the Capitol.
The confrontation came as lawmakers debated competing approaches to regulating and incentivizing data centers in South Dakota. Hansen opposes tax breaks for what he calls “the world’s richest companies,” while Mehlhaff has defended economic development tools as necessary to attract investment.
“You don’t want to fear monger on stuff, and I think we’ve seen an awful lot of that at just about every economic development idea that’s come along in the last few years,” Mehlhaff said. “And I think that it’s creating a very chilling atmosphere in South Dakota for developers and people who want to make investments.”
Millions in extra revenue could salvage funding for education, Medicaid, state employees
PIERRE – Gov. Larry Rhoden said Thursday that he is open to revisiting his budget proposal that didn’t include increases for education, Medicaid and state employees following a strong December sales tax report.
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