The bill amends South Dakota's education funding laws to ensure that a portion of revenues from wind farms is retained by school districts. Specifically, it modifies the definition of "wind energy tax revenue" to include tax revenue apportioned to school districts from wind farms producing power for the first time after June 30, 2016, which must be fully retained by the respective school district. This change replaces the previous tiered retention system, which allowed for decreasing percentages of retention over a period of years. Additionally, the bill clarifies that wind energy tax revenue is considered local effort and contributes to the other revenue base amount for funding calculations.

Furthermore, the bill restricts school districts from transferring funds from the general fund to other funds, such as the capital outlay fund, with specific exceptions for wind energy tax revenue. It stipulates that any transfer of wind energy tax revenue is contingent upon the district's compliance with certain educational standards and limits the amount that can be transferred to the revenue that the district is allowed to retain. This aims to ensure that school districts benefit directly from the financial contributions of wind energy projects while maintaining accountability in their funding practices.

Statutes affected:
Introduced, 02/02/2026: 13-13-10.1, 13-16-26.2