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revise the requirements pertaining to average teacher compensation and to establish a minimum teacher salary.
HB1048 establishes a minimum teacher salary requirement for South Dakota schools and revises how the state calculates average teacher compensation used for funding purposes. The bill removes outdated compensation calculation methods while setting a floor below which teacher salaries cannot fall. This change ensures teachers earn at least a baseline amount while updating how the state measures and allocates education funding.
limit reliance upon secondary sources as statements of law.
This bill establishes that legal treatises, scholarly articles, textbooks, and similar secondary sources cannot be treated as authoritative statements of South Dakota law if they conflict with the state constitution, state statutes, court precedents, or common law. Courts and other decision-makers must rely instead on these primary legal sources—the actual constitutional text, laws passed by the legislature, and prior court rulings—rather than what legal experts write about the law. This prevents secondary sources from being used to create, eliminate, or expand legal rights and remedies that aren't already established in those primary sources.
revise a provision related to an action to quiet title to real property.
SB85 updates South Dakota's "quiet title" law—which lets property owners remove disputed claims to their land—by increasing the settlement amount a claimant must offer from $1.25 to $100 before filing suit. If the property owner still refuses to give up their claim and loses in court, they now must pay the winner's costs, disbursements, and reasonable attorney fees instead of a capped amount.
Honoring the Slovek Ranch as the 2023 Leopold Conservation Award recipient.
This is a ceremonial resolution that honors the Slovek Ranch as the 2023 recipient of the Leopold Conservation Award, which recognizes outstanding conservation practices on private land in South Dakota. The resolution does not change any state law, but rather formally acknowledges the ranch's conservation achievements through the state Senate.
Celebrating the sister-state relationship with Taiwan.
This resolution expresses South Dakota's support for establishing a sister-state relationship with Taiwan, acknowledging Taiwan as a valued international partner. The resolution does not change existing state law but rather serves as a formal statement of the legislature's position on fostering diplomatic and cultural ties with Taiwan.
provide for the study of the Community, Hope, Opportunity, Independence, Careers, Empowerment, Success waiver program and to provide an appropriation therefor.
This bill creates funding and directs a study of South Dakota's CHOICES (Community, Hope, Opportunity, Independence, Careers, Empowerment, Success) waiver program, which provides services to people with disabilities. The study will examine how the program is working and whether changes are needed to better serve participants.
prevent a county, township, or municipality from authorizing a guaranteed income program.
SB 115 prohibits counties, townships, and municipalities in South Dakota from creating or operating guaranteed income programs—meaning local governments cannot establish programs that provide regular cash payments to residents. The bill amends state law to explicitly ban this type of local government spending initiative.
extend deadlines for action by the Public Utilities Commission upon the request of any party.
HB1243 expands who can request deadline extensions from the Public Utilities Commission by allowing any party involved in a case (not just the applicant) to ask for more time. The bill modifies an existing law that previously only let applicants request these extensions, making the deadline extension process available to all parties in a Public Utilities Commission proceeding.
Proposing and submitting to the voters at the next general election an amendment to the Constitution of the State of South Dakota, underscoring that an individual must be a citizen of the United States to be eligible to vote.
This resolution asks South Dakota voters to approve a constitutional amendment explicitly stating that only U.S. citizens are eligible to vote in the state. The amendment clarifies voting eligibility requirements in the state constitution and will appear on the next general election ballot for voter approval.
eliminate the right to a preliminary hearing when an offender is charged with a nonviolent felony and when the offender is out of custody.
People charged with non-violent felonies who are out of jail would lose their right to a preliminary hearing under this bill. This means defendants in these cases would skip the early court stage where a judge decides if there's enough evidence to proceed, and go directly toward trial or plea negotiations instead.
rescind rulemaking authority pertaining to the process for publishing required voter registration numbers.
SB 19 removes the Secretary of State's authority to make rules about how voter registration numbers are published to the public. The bill repeals four sections of law related to voter registration procedures and makes changes to how voter registration information is handled in state code. This takes decisions about publishing voter data out of the regulatory process and likely moves them into the legislative realm.
revise provisions related to driving under the influence.
# SB 36 Summary SB 36 significantly revises South Dakota's driving under the influence laws by repealing several existing DUI-related statutes and substantially rewriting others, though the specific details of the changes are not clearly visible in the provided text excerpt. The bill appears to consolidate and modernize DUI provisions across multiple sections of state law, particularly in Chapter 8 where it makes extensive additions to the code.
Recognizing Coach Ben Irlbeck for his coaching success and exemplary service to his community.
SC811 is a ceremonial resolution recognizing Coach Ben Irlbeck for his successful coaching career and contributions to his community—it does not change any state law. This type of bill is purely honorary and simply expresses the South Dakota Senate's appreciation for his service.