South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds (R) has agreed to pay tribal excise taxes on highway projects that run through the reservation.

Rounds signed agreements with six tribes, ending a dispute that started with former governor Bill Janklow (R). He had refused to pay the taxes and had filed a lawsuit against the Bush administration challenging them. The taxes are authorized by federal law.

The agreements were with the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, the Yankton Sioux Tribe, the Sisseton-Whapeton Sioux Tribe, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. They allow for several road projects to move forward.

Agreements are pending with the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe.

Get the Story:
New policy clears way for roads on reservation (The Rapid City Journal 1/15)

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