PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — Legislation that would require school districts to hold local elections on every proposed excess tax levy and every proposed issuance of capital outlay certificates has cleared the South Dakota Senate.

Senators voted 19-15 on Wednesday to approve Senate Bill 208 and send it across the Capitol to the House of Representatives for further consideration.

Republican Sen. Sue Peterson was the prime sponsor. Currently, state law says the districts may hold the elections. Peterson wants lawmakers to change “may” to “must.”

She said that school districts in South Dakota from 2019 through 2023 opted out for a total of $155 million and issued capital outlay bonds totaling $413 million.

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“The taxpayers of South Dakota should have a voice in whether or not they want their property tax bills to go up by almost $600 million over and above that allowed by law. Any property tax relief the Legislature passes is futile without this bill,” Peterson said.

Public education lobbyists have blocked attempts this session to steer public funding to parents of private and home school students. In turn, lawmakers who supported those bills are trying to force publicly funded school districts to reduce spending, rather than raise new revenue.

The dispute comes as the two chambers are weeding through several dozen proposals for providing property-tax relief to homeowners.

The lead sponsor of SB 209 in the House is Republican Rep. John Hughes.