Search Bills

update certain citations to federal regulations regarding pipeline safety inspections.

HB 1005 updates South Dakota's pipeline safety inspection rules to align with the current federal pipeline safety regulations. This change ensures that state law references the most recent federal standards rather than outdated versions, keeping inspection requirements current and consistent with federal oversight.

require written consent for a third party to transmit a completed voter registration form.

This bill requires government employees and contractors to get written permission from voters before submitting their voter registration forms on their behalf. Anyone who collects a registration form must deliver it by certified mail with the voter's written consent, and violating this requirement is now a Class 2 misdemeanor.

revise certain provisions pertaining to poll watchers.

HB1106 revises how South Dakota removes ineligible voters from registration lists by requiring (instead of allowing) county auditors to remove voters identified as deceased or convicted of felonies, and mandating that voter records be matched against death records and felony conviction records. The bill also clarifies the process for courts and coroners to report names of mentally incompetent persons and deceased individuals to county auditors for removal from voter rolls.

revise certain provisions pertaining to the destruction of ballots and pollbooks after an election.

HB1115 extends the time election officials must keep ballots and pollbooks from nonfederal elections from 60 days to 182 days after the election, unless a recount, legal contest, or civil lawsuit involving those materials is pending. The bill also clarifies that for federal elections, all ballots and election materials must be kept for 22 months, and if a ballot covers both federal and state/local races, the longer 22-month retention period applies.

modify provisions pertaining to the testing of automatic tabulating equipment.

HB 1124 changes how South Dakota counties must notify the public about voting machine testing before elections. Instead of just publishing a notice in the newspaper 48 hours before the test, counties must now post notice using the same process required for public meeting agendas and directly notify political party chairs and ballot question committees. The bill also clarifies that if an error is found during testing, the county auditor must conduct a new test after the error is corrected.

modify certain provisions pertaining to absentee voting.

HB1165 strengthens the requirements for absentee ballot applications by making the oath requirement mandatory and clarifying that applicants must either provide a notarized oath or submit a copy of their voter identification card with their request. The bill also specifies that voter identification cards submitted with absentee applications cannot be made available for public inspection.

exempt funeral and burial services from the state gross receipts tax.

# HB1197 Summary Funeral and burial services will no longer be subject to South Dakota's state gross receipts tax, providing a tax break for families and funeral homes that purchase these services. This exemption removes the state sales tax that was previously applied to funeral homes' charges for services like embalming, cremation, and burial arrangements.

require postelection audits.

South Dakota will now require counties and municipalities to conduct audits of election results after every election before officially certifying those results. The State Board of Elections must create rules governing how these post-election audits work, and election officials must complete the audit before they can canvass votes and declare winners.

require certain reviews and updating of voter registration records and data sharing.

This bill strengthens South Dakota's voter registration system by requiring courts, coroners, and the Secretary of State to regularly share information about deceased individuals and those declared mentally incompetent so voter rolls can be updated promptly. Courts must now send monthly lists of people declared incompetent to county auditors, coroners must report deaths within five days, and the Secretary of State must check the statewide voter registration database monthly against death records to remove ineligible voters.

update maintenance and verification requirements for voter registration files.

This bill updates how county auditors maintain and verify voter registration records by requiring them to compare addresses on new voter registration applications against county tax records to confirm they are residential addresses, not commercial or industrial ones. The bill also clarifies requirements for updating voter registration files twice yearly and keeping records of purged voters for twenty-two months.

establish post-election audits.

South Dakota will now require county auditors to conduct post-election audits within 15 days after each primary and general election by hand-counting all votes in randomly selected precincts (representing at least 5% of precincts or 100+ ballots, whichever is larger) and comparing them to the official count for two statewide contests with the closest vote margins. County auditing boards must be appointed to conduct these audits and cannot consist entirely of members from the same political party, with the state reimbursing counties for the full cost of these audits.

provide a penalty for the expenditure of public funds to influence the outcome of an election.

This bill adds a criminal penalty to South Dakota's existing ban on using public funds to influence elections, making violations a Class 1 misdemeanor (the most serious misdemeanor charge). The law already prohibited government agencies and officials from spending taxpayer money to support or oppose candidates or ballot measures, but now violators face potential jail time and fines instead of having no specified penalty.

update a reference to the Internal Revenue Code for purposes of higher education savings plans.

HB1004 updates South Dakota's higher education savings plan rules to reference a current version of the federal Internal Revenue Code, ensuring the state plan stays aligned with current federal tax law. This is a technical update that allows South Dakota residents to take advantage of any new savings opportunities or tax benefits that the federal government has added to these plans. The change ensures South Dakota's plan rules don't become outdated as federal tax law evolves.

revise the qualifications to be a member of a county recount board.

This bill clarifies the membership rules for county recount boards by specifying different composition requirements depending on the type of election being recounted. For general elections and ballot questions, recount boards must include a lawyer from the largest-voting gubernatorial party plus two county voters from the two largest parties; for primary elections and runoffs, all board members must belong to the same political party as the candidates in the race being recounted.

establish a citizen's legal standing to request a writ of mandamus or prohibition.

This bill allows any registered South Dakota voter to sue state or local election officials in court if those officials fail to follow election laws or rules, or if they act without legal authority. Voters have 30 days after an election's official vote count to file these legal challenges, called writs of mandamus (to force officials to do their job) or prohibition (to stop officials from overstepping their authority).

revise provisions pertaining to township eligibility for the rural access infrastructure fund.

SB 145 changes which townships in South Dakota can receive funding from the rural access infrastructure fund by revising the eligibility requirements in state law. The bill modifies §24-11-13 to adjust how townships qualify for these grants, though the specific eligibility changes are not detailed in the provided excerpt.

enhance the penalty for petition circulation perjury.

SB46 creates a new crime called "petition circulation perjury" with enhanced penalties for people who falsely swear that they personally circulated petition signatures for ballot measures. Someone who lies about personally circulating the petition faces the new crime of petition circulation perjury (with an unspecified penalty in the excerpt), while lying about other requirements like being a South Dakota resident or that signers are qualified voters remains a Class 1 misdemeanor.

allow townships to assess up to four dollars per front foot for a township paved road in a paved development and assess properties within three hundred feet of the paved road.

HB 1107 allows townships to charge property owners up to $4 per front foot to help pay for paved roads in developed areas. The assessment can apply to properties within 300 feet of the paved road, even if they don't directly border it.

require the continued maintenance of the official list of candidates prior to an election.

South Dakota's Secretary of State must now maintain and regularly update an official list of candidates for statewide primary, general, and special elections, reflecting any candidates who are newly approved, withdraw, or are removed from the ballot. The list must include each candidate's name, address, county, legislative district (if applicable), and political party, and must be available for public inspection on the Secretary of State's website. This creates a new requirement to keep this candidate information current and publicly accessible throughout the election process.

provide an educational exception to consumption prohibitions for persons over eighteen years of age who are required to taste an alcoholic beverage as part of a course.

SB 108 creates an exception to South Dakota's alcohol consumption laws that allows adults over 18 to taste alcoholic beverages as part of an required educational course. This means students enrolled in programs that teach about alcohol—such as sommelier, brewing, or hospitality courses—can legally sample drinks for educational purposes without violating state drinking prohibitions.

provide a rebuttable presumption in favor of joint physical custody of a minor child.

SB 136 changes South Dakota's child custody law to presume that when parents divorce or separate, they should share physical custody of their children equally unless a court finds good reason not to. This shifts the starting assumption in custody cases so that judges begin with the premise that joint physical custody is in the child's best interest, rather than one parent being the default custodian.

establish the legal standing of the Legislature to bring suit and be a necessary party in actions involving election law violations by public officials.

This bill gives the South Dakota Legislature the legal right to sue state officials—including the Governor and Secretary of State—if they change or ignore election laws without authorization. The Legislature's leaders (the House Speaker and Senate President) can file these lawsuits on behalf of the Legislature if a majority of both chambers requests it, and the Legislature must be included as a party in any lawsuits involving unauthorized changes to election rules.

require the secretary of state to determine if a legislatively proposed constitutional amendment complies with the single subject requirement and is not a constitutional revision.

This bill requires the Secretary of State to review all legislatively proposed constitutional amendments—in addition to voter-initiated ones—to check whether they follow the state constitution's rule that amendments can only address one subject and cannot be a "revision" of the constitution rather than a simple amendment. If the Secretary of State approves the proposal, they must issue a written certification and publish it on their website within 15 working days.

clarify registration and residence requirements for voting at a township meeting.

HB 1148 clarifies who can vote at township meetings by requiring voters to be registered and actually live in the township (with exceptions for college students who previously lived there and military members stationed elsewhere). The bill also changes how voting eligibility challenges are handled at township meetings—instead of following the same process as general elections, officials now require the challenged person to sign an affidavit about their residency, with false statements being a Class 2 misdemeanor.

revise provisions related to residency for voter registration.

HB1232 updates South Dakota's voter registration rules by establishing clearer standards for what counts as "residency" for voting purposes, replacing vague language with specific criteria such as having a fixed home where you intend to return, not claiming residency solely for tax or insurance reasons, and maintaining sleeping accommodations at that location. The bill also creates a new appeals process allowing people denied voter registration based on residency to challenge the decision before a hearing examiner, and includes special provisions for homeless individuals to register using alternative addresses like shelters or public spaces.

facilitate the process of establishing election precincts and polling places by counties.

This bill requires county commissioners to review and update their election precincts and polling places after each legislative redistricting to ensure they align with new district boundaries. It also adds a principle to state redistricting law stating that legislative districts should respect election precinct boundaries whenever possible, unless doing so would violate equal protection requirements or prevent districts from being convenient, contiguous, and compact.

establish and modify provisions related to initiated petitions.

authorize legislative intervention into certain cases pertaining to election law.

This bill allows South Dakota's Legislature to intervene directly in court cases challenging election laws (Title 12 statutes). Anyone suing over election law must notify the Legislature within 14 days, and the Legislature can then join the case and block state officials from settling it without legislative approval. This prevents the Governor or Secretary of State from resolving election law disputes on their own without the Legislature's consent.

prohibit ranked-choice voting.

South Dakota would prohibit ranked-choice voting in all elections, preventing the State Board of Elections and local governments from adopting a system where voters rank candidates by preference and votes are redistributed based on eliminations. This new restriction blocks a voting method where candidates are elected (or eliminated) through multiple rounds of tabulation until someone wins a majority of votes. The law applies to any election for any public office in the state.

repeal the authorized forfeiture of property used in the illegal capture of fish.

HB1018 removes the authority for the state to seize and forfeit equipment and property used to illegally catch fish. Currently, South Dakota law allows law enforcement to confiscate boats, nets, and other gear used in unlawful fishing; this bill eliminates that penalty option.

clarify the convening of recount boards for primary elections.

This bill clarifies when recount boards must meet after someone requests a recount in a primary election. Instead of requiring the board to always convene on the second Monday after filing (or the next day if that's a holiday), the bill allows the judge overseeing the recount to pick an alternative date if needed to avoid conflicts with the election process and ensure witnesses can attend.

revise provisions pertaining to absentee voting at nursing facilities, assisted living centers, or hospitals.

This bill streamlines absentee voting at nursing facilities, assisted living centers, and hospitals by allowing election officials to waive the standard identification and affidavit requirements when voters complete a combined ballot application and return envelope at these facilities. The change makes it easier for residents at these locations to vote without needing separate identification documents, while maintaining the existing requirement that counties notify political parties when they conduct absentee voting at these facilities.

modify the requirements for eligibility to vote by absentee ballot.

South Dakota is modifying when absentee voting periods begin, with different timelines for different voters. Most voters (those absent from their county or unable to vote due to disability, illness, religious observance, school attendance, or work) can begin voting absentee 30 days before an election, while military and overseas voters get an earlier start at 46 days before the election. This change tightens the absentee voting window for most South Dakotans while preserving the longer period for uniformed services and overseas voters under federal law.

make an appropriation for the revised construction costs of the bioproducts facility in Brookings, and to declare an emergency.

HB 1030 provides additional state funding to cover increased construction costs for a bioproducts facility being built in Brookings. The bill declares this appropriation an emergency, allowing the money to be spent immediately without waiting for the normal budget process.

modify provisions for a statewide runoff election.

This bill shortens the time between South Dakota's primary election and a runoff election from ten weeks to six weeks when no candidate receives at least 35% of the vote in races for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, or Governor with three or more candidates. The bill also clarifies that if there's a tie for second place in the primary, all tied candidates advance to the runoff along with the first-place finisher, and allows hand-counted ballots instead of electronic systems in runoff elections that don't include federal races.

revise requirements to relocate a county seat.

This bill makes it harder to relocate a county seat by increasing the petition requirement from 15% to 40% of registered voters. It also adds new requirements that the petition must specify which municipality is proposed as the new county seat and must include a statement addressing the timeline and estimated costs of the relocation.

revise certain provisions relating to voter registration.

SB 140 updates South Dakota's voter registration language to use gender-neutral terms (such as "the person" instead of "he") and clarifies that people can register to vote if they will have voter qualifications by the next election. The bill also updates references to federal absentee voting laws to reflect current U.S. Code sections and their effective dates.

revise the process for nominating candidates for lieutenant governor and to make related technical changes.

Under this bill, gubernatorial candidates will now directly select their own lieutenant governor running mates and certify the choice to the state by the second Tuesday in August of an election year, rather than having parties nominate lieutenant governor candidates at state conventions. If a lieutenant governor candidate withdraws, the governor candidate must find a replacement by the same deadline, or the governor candidate won't be allowed on the general election ballot. The bill also removes lieutenant governor (along with attorney general and secretary of state) from the list of offices nominated at state party conventions.

provide for the recall of school board members.

South Dakota school board members can now be recalled by voters through a petition process established in this new law. A recall petition must describe specific grounds for removal (such as misconduct, incompetence, or corruption), be signed by at least 15 percent of registered voters in the school district, and be filed with the school district's business manager. The State Board of Elections will set rules for how recall petitions are formatted and processed.

require a percentage of signatures on a petition to initiate a constitutional amendment to be obtained from each legislative district.

This bill makes it harder to propose constitutional amendments by initiative by requiring that signatures come from multiple legislative districts—no single district can provide more than one thirty-fifth of the required signatures. Previously, there was no geographic distribution requirement, allowing supporters to concentrate their signature-gathering efforts in a few areas. The bill keeps the existing requirement of 10 percent of gubernatorial votes but adds this new geographic constraint.