Search Bills

reduce the penalty for manslaughter.

This bill reduces the criminal penalty for first-degree manslaughter from a Class C felony to a Class 2 felony, making the punishment less severe for people convicted of killing someone without intent during the commission of a felony, in a heat of passion, with a dangerous weapon, or while resisting a crime. The change affects all the different circumstances that qualify as first-degree manslaughter under South Dakota law.

revise the penalty for the ingestion of certain controlled substances.

This bill reduces the penalty for possessing Schedule III or IV controlled substances in your body from a Class 6 felony to a Class 1 misdemeanor for first-time offenders. The penalties for Schedule I or II substances (Class 5 felony) and repeat offenses remain unchanged, but this gives judges more flexibility in sentencing for less serious drugs while still requiring drug evaluation and treatment as conditions of probation.

revise certain provisions regarding eligibility for parole for certain persons sentenced to life imprisonment.

This bill creates a new exception allowing people sentenced to life imprisonment to become eligible for parole once they reach age 50, but only if they committed their crime before turning 26 years old. Previously, people sentenced to life imprisonment in South Dakota had no path to parole consideration at all (with limited exceptions). The change gives younger offenders a second chance at freedom after serving decades in prison.

revise the eligibility requirements for compassionate parole under certain circumstances.

This bill expands who can apply for compassionate parole by lowering the age requirement from 65 to include inmates as young as 60 who have served at least ten years and have high medical costs, and by adding a new category for inmates age 70 who have served at least 30 years. The bill also temporarily extends compassionate parole eligibility to all inmates convicted of non-violent Class 3 felonies or lower during a global pandemic declared by the World Health Organization.

revise provisions on aiding, abetting, or advising.

This bill prevents people convicted of helping someone commit a crime from receiving longer sentences than the person who actually committed the crime, unless they committed separate crimes on their own. It also allows courts to reduce sentences that violate this rule if someone was already sentenced too harshly compared to the principal offender.

revise the voting requirements necessary for the board to grant or deny parole or recommend clemency.

This bill changes the voting requirements for the state parole board when making decisions about prisoners. For cases reviewed by a smaller panel, decisions now require agreement from two board members instead of the previous requirement, and for cases reviewed by the full board, a majority vote is now required. The bill applies these voting thresholds to decisions about granting or denying parole, recommending clemency, and revoking or rescinding parole.

limit the application of the death penalty.

South Dakota currently allows judges and juries to consider multiple circumstances when deciding whether to impose the death penalty; this bill narrows those circumstances by removing some factors that can justify a death sentence. The specific aggravating circumstances that qualify for capital punishment are being reduced, making it harder for prosecutors to pursue the death penalty in certain cases.

revise the automatic removal of certain convictions from a background check record.

This bill expands South Dakota's automatic record removal process by adding marijuana possession and use convictions to the list of offenses that can be removed from background checks. Previously, only minor offenses like petty crimes and low-level misdemeanors could be automatically removed after ten years; now misdemeanor marijuana convictions qualify for automatic removal as well, though court personnel will still have access to the records if needed.

revise the requirements of setting discretionary parole dates by the board.

When an inmate's parole is revoked, the parole board must now set a new parole date within two years of the revocation, and must hold follow-up hearings at least every two years after that. The bill clarifies that the board doesn't need to hold these two-year hearings if the inmate receives an additional felony sentence or a suspended sentence with an initial parole date that extends beyond two years from the revocation.

revise the time requirement for the automatic removal of speeding violations from a background check record.

This bill speeds up when speeding violations disappear from a person's public background check record. Instead of waiting the standard ten years, speeding violations (whether charged as municipal ordinance violations or Class 2 misdemeanors) will be automatically removed after just two years, as long as the person completed all court-ordered requirements.

revise certain provisions regarding sentencing.