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provide for the creation and use of South Dakota educational empowerment accounts.

South Dakota educational empowerment accounts allow parents to request state funding for their school-age children on the condition that the students don't enroll in traditional public school districts or use homeschool notifications during that school year. The money in these accounts can only be used for approved educational purposes, and any remaining funds revert to the state treasury when the student graduates from high school. This creates a new way for families to access education funding outside the traditional public school system.

permit nonaccredited schools to participate in the partners in education tax credit program.

HB 1253 expands South Dakota's Partners in Education tax credit program to allow nonaccredited schools to participate alongside currently eligible accredited schools. This change lets families use educational scholarships funded through the tax credit program to attend a broader range of private schools, including those that haven't received formal accreditation.

amend provisions pertaining to the partners in education tax credit program.

Senate Bill 94 modifies South Dakota's education scholarship tax credit program by adjusting the income eligibility rules and making technical changes to program definitions. The bill allows students who initially qualify based on household income at or below 150% of the free lunch program threshold to remain eligible for three years (or through high school graduation if entering 9th grade), even if their family income later increases. This change makes the scholarship program more stable for qualifying families by guaranteeing continued eligibility during a student's participation.

permit fees to be prorated for alcoholic licenses.

SB193 allows alcoholic beverage license fees to be calculated on a prorated basis rather than charged in full, making it easier for businesses to obtain licenses partway through a licensing period. The bill amends existing fee provisions in state law to permit this partial-year fee structure for new applicants.

establish procedures for the imposition of fines and probation against medical cannabis establishments, increase the allowable fee for a medical cannabis establishment registration certificate, and direct the Department of Health to promulgate rules to increase the fee for a registration certificate.

SB 43 increases the registration fees that medical cannabis businesses must pay to operate in South Dakota and gives the Department of Health authority to raise these fees further through new rules. The bill also establishes new procedures allowing the state to impose fines and probation against cannabis establishments that violate regulations. Several outdated provisions related to medical cannabis oversight are repealed as part of this update to the regulatory framework.