South Dakota senator Deb Peters named public official of the year.

• Position: AWARD

South Dakota Senator Deb Peters (R) was recognized as a Public Official of the Year by GOVERNING magazine for her outstanding accomplishments as a national leader in fighting for the ability of states to collect sales taxes from online purchases.

Peters, chair of South Dakota Senate Appropriations Committee, has repeatedly urged Congress to give states taxing authority over internet commerce. Congress has debated the so-called Marketplace Fairness Act for more than a decade, while states, in the meantime, have lost tens of billions of dollars in potential sales tax revenue. Federal action would address a 1992 court decision that prohibits states from collecting sales taxes from retailers outside their borders.

Last year Peters, who is president-elect of NCSL, and by her own admission "not a patient person," grew frustrated by congressional gridlock while South Dakota sales tax revenue declined--an ominous portent in a state that has no income tax. So she introduced her own bill allowing South Dakota to collect sales tax on internet purchases. She worked with her governor and attorney general to write the bill in such a way that it would fast-track any potential lawsuit through the courts...