Say NO to Hulse, Goodwin and Ladner
I emailed the senator and representatives a week ago.
Subject: Request for Legislative Review of Road District Funding Authority (SDCL 31-12A)
Email Body:
Dear Senator Hulse and Representatives Goodwin and Ladner,
I am a landowner in Custer County writing to respectfully request your assistance regarding a troubling issue with road districts organized under SDCL Chapter 31-12A.The Legislature was clear when it defined the financial powers of road districts. Under SDCL 31-12A-21, boards may only “levy taxes and special assessments.” Both of these tools come with important statutory protections for landowners:
- Tax levies are based on property value (ad valorem).
- Special assessments must be based on actual benefit to the property and require formal procedures, notice, and hearings.
However, many road districts — including ours — are instead imposing a flat annual “special maintenance fee” (commonly $500 per landowner). This flat fee has none of the procedural safeguards or proportionality requirements that the Legislature built into the authorized methods.By allowing this practice to continue, we are effectively creating a third, unregulated funding mechanism that bypasses the protections the law was designed to provide. If we accept this flat fee today, we set a dangerous precedent that could lead to further unauthorized takings from landowners in the future.This issue affects landowners across multiple counties and undermines confidence in local government. We are not asking to eliminate road districts — we simply want them to operate strictly within the authority granted by the Legislature.Would you be willing to look into this matter? I respectfully ask that you consider:
- Requesting a review of Chapter 31-12A by the Legislative Research Council for clarity and consistency.
- Supporting legislation to clearly limit road districts to the two authorized funding methods.
- Creating a reasonable process for agricultural properties to withdraw from existing districts.
I would be happy to provide specific examples, meeting minutes, bylaws, and statutory references if helpful.Thank you for your time and for standing up for South Dakota taxpayers and property owners. I look forward to your thoughts.
Sincerely,
Kim
Response from Amber Hulse on Monday, May 18 2026:
Hi there,
Thank you for taking the time to reach out to me. Hearing from people like you is one of the most important parts of my role as your state senator.
I receive a large number of emails every day, and I work through them as quickly as I can. While I may not be able to respond to every message right away, please know that I value your input and will do my best to address your concerns as soon as possible.
If your message is urgent, feel free to call the Senate Chambers directly at 605-773-3821.
Thank you again for being an engaged and active member of our community—I’m grateful for your voice.
Warm regards,
Amber Hulse
State Senator
It’s now Friday
Response from Trish Ladner or Tim Goodwin?
In case you don’t get it, the response was ‘crickets’. Get it? No response. Exactly what I expected from both of them.
We need to vote out people like Tim Godwin and Trish Ladner and Amber Hulse. All their talk about
Cutting waste & Improving Government- Trish Ladner
Reining in Government Overrreach- Amber Hulse
And Tim? Well, I didn’t get one of those cheesy but expensive “re-elect Tim” cards in the mail so went to his website… where he promises absolutely nothing. He says absolutely nothing. I think that says it all.
