South Dakota law currently defines "community safety zones" as 500-foot areas around certain facilities to restrict where sex offenders can live, including day care centers and family day cares. This bill adds licensed and registered child care programs to that list of protected facilities, expanding the locations where sex offenders are prohibited from establishing residences. The change strengthens protections for children in organized child care settings by treating these programs the same as existing day care facilities under state sex offender residency restrictions.
This bill does not directly amend codified state law.
The amendment reformats the community safety zone definition from a general description into a structured list of specific facility types—including licensed day care centers, group family day care homes, registered family day cares, schools, parks, pools, and shelters—making the child care program protections more explicit and enforceable. This change STRENGTHENS the bill's original purpose by clarifying exactly which child care facilities trigger the five-hundred-foot residency restriction for registered sex offenders.
Signed by the Governor S.J. 549
Delivered to the Governor S.J. 520
Signed by the Speaker H.J. 553
Signed by the President S.J. 505
House of Representatives Do Pass Passed, YEAS 65, NAYS 2. H.J. 523
Judiciary Certified uncontested, placed on consent
Judiciary Do Pass Passed, YEAS 12, NAYS 0.
Judiciary Scheduled for hearing
House of Representatives Referred to House Judiciary H.J. 262
First Reading House H.J. 238
Senate Do Pass Passed, YEAS 33, NAYS 1. S.J. 184
Judiciary Do Pass Passed, YEAS 4, NAYS 3. S.J. 11
Judiciary Scheduled for hearing
Senate Referred to Senate Judiciary S.J. 92
First Reading Senate S.J. 82
Prime sponsor · Rep.
R
Prime sponsor · Sen.
R
Judiciary — Do Pass
Do Pass
Judiciary — Do Pass