(Pierre, SD) — A bill to keep severance tax revenue from precious metal mines in county is advancing. A bill on Governor Rhoden’s desk would keep 20-percent of tax revenue from precious metal mining within the county where its mined from. A bill passed in 1980 to allows the same rule, but with a one-million dollar limit. The limit was met in Lawrence County in 1994 and they haven’t received any mineral severance tax revenue since. The bill would only apply to mines that become active after July 1st, but representatives from Lawrence County estimate that three gold mines could begin permitting in the near future.
