Government & Elections

Changes the rules for putting local government decisions to a public vote.

This bill extends the time period for filing referendum petitions against local government ordinances and resolutions from 20 days to 45 days. It applies to county, municipal, and school district ordinances/resolutions. The bill also standardizes the signature requirement at 5% of registered voters and updates publication timing requirements to align with the new 45-day referendum period.

Requires state agencies to check with aviation officials before buying or selling state aircraft.

This bill requires state agencies to consult with the Aeronautics Commission when purchasing, transferring, or disposing of state-owned and operated aircraft, including unmanned aircraft systems. The commission must provide advice and expertise in the form of a written report to the Governor and the requesting agency.

Changes how casino revenue is distributed.

This bill modifies the distribution formula for gaming revenues from the Gaming Commission fund. It changes the percentage allocation to the state general fund (decreasing from 70% to 20% over time from 2026-2029) and to the City of Deadwood's historic restoration fund (increasing from 10% to 60% over the same period). The percentages for municipalities and school districts in Lawrence County remain unchanged at 10% each.

Creates a fund to reduce homeowner property taxes.

This bill adds a general statement that 'The Legislature shall promote the future success and development of South Dakota' to state law. It appears to be purely aspirational language with no substantive legal changes, requirements, or mandates.

Addresses various issues facing South Dakota.

This bill creates a non-substantive statement that 'The Legislature shall address issues facing South Dakota.' It appears to be either a placeholder bill or potentially defective legislation with no actual legal effect or requirements.

Changes the duties of Electoral College members from South Dakota.

This bill modernizes South Dakota's presidential elector procedures by: (1) updating notification timing and language requirements for electors; (2) creating detailed vacancy filling procedures when electors fail to appear; (3) requiring electors to pledge to vote for the candidates who won the state's popular vote; (4) establishing that an elector's office becomes vacant if they attempt to vote for different candidates than those who won the state (faithless elector prevention); (5) providing exceptions if a winning candidate dies or becomes disabled between election and Electoral College meeting; and (6) reorganizing the statutory chapter structure.

Changes ballot requirements for certain elections.

This bill consolidates ballot requirements for primary elections by eliminating separate ballots for precinct committee positions and judicial candidates, instead requiring all candidates to be placed on the official primary election ballot. It removes requirements for separate 'nonpolitical judiciary ballots' and separate ballots for precinct committeeman/committeewoman positions, streamlining the ballot process under State Board of Elections oversight.

Requires public access to ballot images and voting machine records.

This bill makes cast vote records and ballot images from automatic tabulating equipment public records under South Dakota's open records law. It establishes privacy protections by prohibiting release of records that could identify voters, contain timing/order information, or come from small precincts (under 100 ballots) unless properly redacted and combined with other precincts. The jurisdiction conducting the election bears all costs for producing, storing, and releasing these records.

urging collaboration to reduce hunger and food waste in this state under the protections of the 1996 Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act.

Creates a general framework to address state issues.

This bill adds the statement 'The Legislature shall address issues facing South Dakota' to state law while removing all other substantive content from what appears to have been a previous bill.

Changes the reasons someone can challenge another person's right to vote.

This bill amends the grounds for challenging a voter's eligibility to vote. It adds United States citizenship as a third basis for challenging voter eligibility (in addition to the existing grounds of voting/registering in another state and state residency). The bill also makes minor grammatical changes to clarify that applications can 'only challenge' rather than 'challenge only' these specific voter qualifications.

Allows using confirmation letters to verify voter registration.

This bill modifies voter registration confirmation procedures by allowing county auditors to use either confirmation letters or postcards (instead of just postcards) to verify voter registration information. It updates the procedures for when acknowledgement notices or address verification requests are returned as undeliverable, restructures the instructions provided to voters, and changes language from 'shall' to 'must' throughout. The bill becomes effective December 1, 2026.

Establishes programs to support South Dakota's growth and development.

This bill adds a general aspirational statement that 'The Legislature shall promote the future success and development of South Dakota' to state law. It contains no substantive legal requirements, regulatory changes, or enforcement mechanisms - just a broad policy declaration.

Bans state employees from donating to certain political committees.

This bill prohibits candidate campaign committees and political action committees affiliated with state officials from accepting contributions from certain high-level employees who work under those officials. The prohibited contributors include department/agency heads, highest paid non-head employees in departments/agencies, and employees who report directly to the official. State officials covered include Governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, attorney general, commissioner of school and public lands, and legislators. The bill takes effect January 1, 2027.

Expands who can use the state's cybersecurity protection services.

This bill expands South Dakota's cybersecurity services initiative by changing the eligible entities from just counties and municipalities to also include nonprofit utilities and utilities operated by political subdivisions. The bill maintains the $7 million appropriation to the Attorney General's office but broadens the scope of who can receive cybersecurity infrastructure and technology protection services.

Bans data centers from keeping certain agreements secret.

This bill prohibits state agencies and political subdivisions from entering into confidential or nondisclosure agreements with non-governmental entities, private persons, or public-private businesses concerning data center construction, development, or location. It requires that any such agreements be treated as public records.

Updates rules for how city governments operate.

This bill revises municipal government procedures including: clarifying the process for filling mayoral vacancies through aldermen appointment; establishing succession rules for mayor pro tempore positions; updating eligibility requirements for municipal officers to require 3-month residency and qualified voter status; revising appointment procedures for municipal officers; updating oath and bonding requirements for appointed officers; and clarifying when vacancies occur and removal procedures for municipal officers.

Changes the timeline for counting votes after an election.

This bill changes the timing requirements for election canvasses. It sets the local election canvass to occur at 9 a.m. on the first Tuesday following the election (instead of within six calendar days), and sets the state canvass to occur at 9 a.m. central time on the second Tuesday following the election (instead of within seven days). It also makes minor administrative language changes regarding who conducts the canvass and adjournment procedures.

Requires interpreters for people who need them in state agency hearings.

This bill requires state agencies to provide interpreter or translator services for parties who need language assistance in administrative contested case proceedings. The agency conducting the proceeding must procure and pay for these services from their operating budget. Additionally, the prevailing party in such proceedings can recover their own interpreter/translator costs that weren't covered by the agency.

Changes when cities can hold their elections.

This bill makes technical amendments to municipal election procedures by changing terminology from 'annual municipal elections' to 'regular municipal elections' throughout various statutes. It also makes minor procedural changes to election timing requirements, allows boards of trustees to extend terms from 3 to 4 years for even-year elections, and updates language for filling municipal office vacancies including mayors and aldermen.

Extends deadline for Cultural Heritage Center renovation funds.

This bill extends the reversion date for unused appropriated funds from June 30, 2026 to June 30, 2028 for moneys allocated to the Department of Education to improve and renovate the Cultural Heritage Center. The bill is effective beginning June 29, 2026.

Changes rules for submitting candidate petitions.

This bill modifies filing deadlines and procedures for nominating petitions across multiple election contexts. It changes municipal candidate filing deadlines from 70 days before election to specific dates (second Tuesday of March for June elections, second Tuesday of August for November elections), extends registered mail receipt deadlines to March 31st and August 31st respectively, modifies candidate withdrawal procedures, updates primary election petition filing deadlines from last Tuesday of March to second Tuesday of March, and adjusts school board candidate petition filing requirements.

Creates a task force to study how AI affects the state.

This bill creates a taskforce to study the impact of artificial intelligence systems on South Dakota. The taskforce includes 17 members from various industries (healthcare, banking, retail, manufacturing, technology), education, government officials, and appointees from the Governor, Supreme Court Chief Justice, and Board of Regents. The taskforce must report findings and recommendations by December 1, 2028, and is dissolved after delivering the report. The Act becomes effective January 1, 2027.

urging the people of the state of South Dakota to seek the Lord Most High for His healing presence and mercy upon South Dakota.

Updates rules about public access to government records.

This bill makes minor technical updates to South Dakota's open records law, including grammatical changes (replacing 'which' with 'that'), punctuation corrections, reorganizing text structure for clarity, and updating federal statute citations with effective dates. The substantive exemptions from open records disclosure remain unchanged - the bill only improves readability and organization of existing exemptions.

Changes rules about what government records can be made public.

This bill modifies public access to voter registration records by expanding privacy protections for certain officials. It adds new protections for personally identifiable information (home addresses, phone numbers, and personal email addresses) for elected/appointed statewide, legislative, and federal officials, current and retired judges, and law enforcement officers. The bill restructures existing privacy protections that previously only applied to judicial officers' home addresses and extends these protections to both current county records and the statewide historical archive maintained by the Secretary of State. It also includes a provision stating that violations do not create a private right of action.

honoring the life and achievements of the late Charlie Kirk.