Search Bills

revise parenting guidelines and repeal Supreme Court authority to promulgate guidelines.

SB 121 changes South Dakota's child support guidelines by revising the rules that courts use to calculate parenting payments and removes the South Dakota Supreme Court's authority to create or update these guidelines in the future. Instead of allowing the Supreme Court to set parenting guidelines, the Legislature will control how child support is determined going forward.

revise the eligibility for presumptive probation.

South Dakota law currently requires judges to impose probation for certain felony convictions, but this bill adds a new eligibility requirement—judges must now find that a person "meets the conditions" of a separate statute before probation becomes mandatory. The bill also clarifies that probation eligibility applies only to those not already ineligible under other existing laws, creating a more restrictive system that gives judges more discretion to impose prison sentences when they identify aggravating circumstances.

provide procedures to enforce the integrity of the United States Constitution.

This bill creates a new Joint Legislative Committee on Constitutional Enforcement that will review federal laws, regulations, executive orders, and court decisions to determine whether they exceed the powers the Constitution gives to the federal government. The committee will assess whether federal actions violate the Constitution or infringe on South Dakota's sovereignty, effectively giving the state legislature a formal process to challenge federal authority it deems unconstitutional.

provide civil remedies for certain construction permits issued by the Public Utilities Commission.

This bill allows interested parties to ask the Public Utilities Commission to review permits for large construction projects if the facility hasn't been substantially completed within 10 years of the original permit issuance, giving the commission the ability to reissue, modify, or revoke the permit based on any changed circumstances. It also establishes that anyone unhappy with the commission's decision on such a review can appeal it to circuit court using the same procedures available for other contested cases.