南达科他州红柴油风波升级：农民联盟呼吁召开特别会议，把减税写进法律
围绕"红柴油"的一系列联邦与州行政令在南达科他州引发的混乱仍在发酵。代表逾1.8万名成员的南达科他州农民联盟（SDFU）10月8日致信州长拉里·罗登（Larry Rhoden）及州议会领袖，要求召开特别会议：把税收假期写进州法、免除使用者的罚则风险，并把州柴油与汽油税临时降至每加仑1美分——现行税率为每加仑28美分。
所谓红柴油（dyed diesel），与普通柴油完全相同，只是加入红色染料以便按税收用途区分。它免缴24.4美分的联邦税，在南达科他州也免缴州税，原本只允许用于拖拉机、联合收割机等非公路农业机械。本月早些时候，特朗普总统签署行政令，允许农民在2026年内于公路上使用染色柴油，并暂缓相关联邦税（彻底豁免仍需国会批准）。此前，在公路上使用红柴油在南达科他州属一级重罪，可处250美元罚款（州法典10-47B-185）。
特朗普行政令之后，罗登州长10月7日发布指令，要求州公共安全部暂不执行禁止红柴油上路的规定。州税务部10月8日跟进发布指引：只有持有有效农业免税证书的农业生产者才应在公路上使用红柴油；指引还警告，在联邦指引未定的情况下，使用红柴油并缴纳销售税的消费者，"在某些情形下实际支付的可能比普通柴油税更高"，并建议使用者保留准确的用油记录。
农民对此反应不一。苏福尔斯地区的农民斯科特·克诺肯默斯（Scott Knochenmus）正忙着秋收，他担心把便宜燃油向所有人放开会带来意外后果："如果大家都去买红柴油来避税，红柴油就会断供。"哈米尔附近的农户奥迪·拉尔森（Audie Larson）则批评整个双轨制"很荒谬"，主张干脆统一使用染色柴油。南达科他州公共广播（SDPB）采访的农户表示，当前油价比去年春季播种时高出60%至70%，行政令只是"创可贴"，真正的解药是平息国际紧张局势、恢复炼油产能。
农民联盟主席、第四代布朗县种植兼养殖户道格·松布克（Doug Sombke）10月8日把信分别寄给了罗登州长、众议院议长乔恩·汉森和参议院议长托尼·韦尼胡森。信中写道："只是告诉执法部门对一条根本不存在的法律不予执法，这是违法的。"他要求在税收假期内修改法律，让需要减税的农民不必担心违法；同时要求把减税惠及全体南达科他人——汽油与普通柴油的州税一并降至每加仑1美分，并对红柴油也征收每加仑1美分的税，以便精确统计减免总额，再由州议会从储备金中定向划拨补足州公路基金，"在泵前直接减负的同时保护我们的道路桥梁"。松布克表示，若联邦与州柴油税一并暂停，农户每加仑可省50美分以上。
罗登州长回应称，州长的紧急权力可以暂停行政规章，但无权暂停州法典中的成文法，暂停燃油税必须由立法机关行动。不过州长有权召集特别会议——他去年就曾为批准新建男子监狱项目召集过特别会议。州长新闻秘书在一份声明中说："所有选项都在桌面上，我们将继续尽力在这个动荡时期支持农民和纳税人。"州长办公室同时指出，议员也可凭三分之二联署自行召集特别会议——上一次议员联署召集特别会议是在2021年，当时为选区重划与时任总检察长弹劾案。
除红柴油指令外，罗登还签署了其他减负行政令，包括暂停超重运输许可，允许农户以高于限重10%的载重运输秋收作物。特别会议是否召开，将决定这场始于联邦行政令的减税风波，最终是落为一项临时执法宽限，还是一次真正的立法减税。
South Dakota Red Diesel Dispute Escalates: Farmers Union Calls Special Session to Put Tax Relief Into Law
The confusion set off by a wave of federal and state executive orders on dyed ("red") diesel keeps growing in South Dakota. The South Dakota Farmers Union (SDFU), representing more than 18,000 members, sent a letter on October 8 to Gov. Larry Rhoden and legislative leaders calling for a special session: to write the tax holiday into state law, shield users from penalties, and temporarily cut the state's diesel and gasoline tax to one cent a gallon — down from the current 28 cents.
Dyed diesel is chemically identical to regular diesel; it is simply marked with red dye so it can be told apart for tax purposes. It is exempt from the 24.4-cent federal tax and from South Dakota's state tax, and was previously restricted to off-road farm machinery such as tractors and combines. Earlier this month, President Trump signed an executive order allowing farmers to use dyed diesel on highways through 2026 and deferring the federal tax (a full suspension still requires Congressional approval). Until then, running red diesel on the highway in South Dakota was a Class 1 felony carrying a $250 penalty under state codified law 10-47B-185.
Following the Trump order, Gov. Rhoden issued a directive on October 7 telling the Department of Public Safety not to enforce the ban on dyed diesel on highways. The Department of Revenue followed up on October 8 with guidance saying only agricultural producers holding a valid agricultural exemption certificate should fuel with red dyed diesel for on-road use. The guidance warned that, depending on federal guidance, consumers using red dyed diesel and paying sales tax "may actually pay more than the regular diesel tax in certain circumstances," and urged users to keep accurate fuel-use records.
Farmers are split. Scott Knochenmus, who farms near Sioux Falls and is in the middle of harvest, worries about unintended consequences: "If everybody starts buying red dye diesel so they don't have to pay the tax, then there will not be any red dye diesel. So it would create a shortage." Audie Larson, who farms near Hamill, called the two-tier system "silly" and argued all diesel should simply be dyed. A producer interviewed by South Dakota Public Broadcasting said fuel prices are 60 to 70 percent higher than last spring when the crop being harvested was planted, calling the executive orders "a little bit of a Band-Aid" — the real cure, he said, is calming world tensions and restoring refining capacity.
SDFU President Doug Sombke, a fourth-generation Brown County crop and cattle producer, addressed the letter to Rhoden, House Speaker Jon Hansen and Senate President Tony Venhuizen. "Simply telling law enforcement not to enforce a law that is not on the books is illegal," Sombke said. He asked the governor and lawmakers to change the law during the tax holiday "so that those of us who need the tax break do not need to worry about breaking the law," and to extend tax cuts to all South Dakotans by cutting the state tax on clear diesel and gasoline. The letter also proposes a one-penny-per-gallon tax on red diesel so the exact waived revenue can be measured, after which the Legislature could authorize a targeted transfer from state reserve funds directly to the State Highway Fund — "protecting our roads and bridges while providing direct, immediate relief at the pump." Sombke said suspending federal and state diesel taxes together would save a little over 52 cents per gallon.
Rhoden responded that his emergency powers let him suspend administrative rules but not statutes in the state code, and suspending the fuel tax requires legislative action. A governor can, however, call a special session — Rhoden did so last year to approve a new men's prison project. His press secretary said in a statement that "all options are on the table, and we will continue to do what we can to support farmers and taxpayers during this turbulent time." The governor's office also noted legislators can call a special session themselves with a two-thirds petition — last used in 2021 for redistricting and the impeachment trial of then-Attorney General Jason Ravsborg.
Beyond the red diesel directive, Rhoden has signed other relief orders, including suspending overweight trip permits so producers can haul the harvest at 10 percent above weight restrictions. Whether a special session is called will decide if this dispute — born of a federal executive order — ends as a temporary enforcement pause or becomes real legislated tax relief.
图片来源：现代约翰迪尔大型拖拉机，Paul Bryan 摄，CC BY-SA 2.0（Wikimedia Commons）
