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make an appropriation for roadway and related infrastructure improvements required because of construction activity at Ellsworth Air Force Base and to declare an emergency.

South Dakota is providing $8 million to the Ellsworth Development Authority to pay for road improvements and infrastructure upgrades needed because of construction at Ellsworth Air Force Base. The money can be used for road repairs, widening, safety improvements, engineering studies, and related work to handle the impacts of the base construction activity. The authority must report annually on how the funds are spent and cannot use more than 3 percent of the money for administrative costs.

make an appropriation for county rural access infrastructure and to declare an emergency.

South Dakota is appropriating $5 million to help counties improve rural roads by funding the inventory and repair of small structures (like bridges and culverts) on township and county secondary roads. The money will be distributed to each county based on how many of these small structures it has compared to the statewide total, and counties must use the funds according to existing rural access infrastructure rules. Any money not spent by June 30, 2031 will be returned to the state.

revise provisions for the acquisition of highway easements and rights of way.

This bill clarifies the process for the South Dakota Department of Transportation to acquire land for borrow pits (areas where material is extracted for road construction) by requiring the department to file notice with landowners and the county register of deeds before proceeding with acquisition. The notice must describe the purpose of the acquisition, the property involved, and confirm that fair compensation will be negotiated with the landowner and anyone else with a financial interest in the property.

create the county and township infrastructure fund for the accounting, safekeeping, and allocation of unobligated rural access infrastructure fund moneys.

This bill creates a new state fund to collect unused rural infrastructure money from counties every three years and redistribute it back to counties that need it. Currently, counties can only use rural access infrastructure funds for specific road and bridge projects, and this bill requires them to send any unspent money to the state instead of keeping it. The Department of Revenue will manage this statewide fund and distribute the collected money to counties based on a formula in existing law.

authorize the assumption of certain responsibilities and the waiver of sovereign immunity in connection with certain actions under federal environmental law.

South Dakota's Department of Transportation may now take over certain federal environmental review responsibilities for highway projects from the federal government under federal law. By doing so, the state waives its legal immunity from being sued in federal court over how it handles these environmental duties. The state also agrees to pay any damages, attorney fees, and court costs if it loses a lawsuit related to these environmental responsibilities, using money from the state highway fund.

revise procurement for highway construction contracts.

This bill exempts highway construction contracts handled by the Department of Transportation from having to follow South Dakota's standard competitive bidding and procurement rules. It also exempts utility contracts that are bid alongside these highway projects from the same procurement requirements. The change simplifies the procurement process for highway projects by allowing the Department of Transportation to use its own contracting procedures instead of the state's general purchasing requirements.