14-03-2025
SD's 100th legislative session is in the books. Here's what bills lived and died in 2025
PIERRE — The 100th annual convention of lawmakers, which concluded Thursday, was laden with political and historical subtext.
A Republican supermajority, emboldened by President Donald Trump and led by a lieutenant governor who took over the state's highest office for former Gov. Kristi Noem early in the session, pushed a gamut of conservative legislation.
That included bills affecting gun rights, voting, education, property rights and policies involving transgender people. Democrats brought proposals aimed at child care, deepfake technology and repealing capital punishment.
Meanwhile, South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden had his own wins and losses, with a temporary property tax fix earning legislative support and a property rights-focused Republican body shooting down a proposed prison project.
The South Dakota Legislature processed 489 bills, 44 commemorations and 38 various resolutions during its 38-day run.
Here's a look at some of the major bills that made it to the governor's desk — and those that didn't — this year.
Lawmakers passed House Bill 1052, a bill prohibiting companies from using eminent domain to acquire land for the construction of pipelines carrying "carbon oxide."
This restriction prevents Summit Carbon Solutions, an Ames, Iowa-based developer with plans to build an $8.9 billion liquid carbon dioxide pipeline, from using eminent domain — the right to take private property for public uses, with compensation — in South Dakota.
Rhoden signed the bill March 6.
More: Rhoden sides with landowners, signs bill blocking CO2 developers from using eminent domain
The bill's success is a reversal of the Legislature's attitude toward carbon dioxide pipeline projects from just one year ago. State lawmakers had passed Senate Bill 201, legislation that would have eased the way for Summit Carbon's plans in South Dakota. But the law was challenged through the state's referral process, and voters overturned the bill during the 2024 general election.
A number of South Dakotans launched and won political campaigns, while ousting several incumbents, on a property rights platform. This grew the support for an eminent domain reform bill in the Legislature.
Lawmakers found themselves divided on a years-long plan to build a $825 million modern prison facility on Lincoln County farmland.
The bill would have moved about $182 million from the state's general fund to an incarceration construction fund, an appropriation meant to fill a funding gap for the state Department of Corrections project.
After the bill died on a 34-35 vote, there was an attempt to shuffle $148 million to the prison fund for future use, but that also was narrowly rejected.
Rhoden later created a prison project task force to reassess the state's plans and possibly consider new locations for the facility.
The task force meets April 2 and has until July 15 to make its recommendations.
South Dakota's property tax payments have climbed by hundreds of millions of dollars over the last decade, according to state Department of Revenue data, and homeowners are taking the brunt.
In response, Rhoden pushed Senate Bill 216, which aimed to cap individual taxing districts and school capital aid budgets from increasing property taxes due to capital growth or construction by more than 2% through 2031. It also would have limited cities' and counties' yearly property tax increases at 3% even if assessments rise above that level.
An iteration of Rhoden's bill passed the Senate but died in the House after needing just one vote to clear the chamber. An amended version later raised the property tax growth in the state to 3% across the board over the next five years, which Rhoden signed Thursday.
Lawmakers brought more than 20 bills on property tax this session, with Rhoden's the only one to be made law.
Rhoden vetoed an amended House Bill 1132, a proposed child care law that would have raised the federal poverty line for child care eligibility from 209% to 300% explicitly for people who work at least 30 hours per week at a licensed school daycare program, center or family home providing child care.
The South Dakota governor wrote in a Wednesday statement that his reasoning for blocking the legislation was because it would "shift South Dakota's child care assistance program away from its core mission." He also explained he killed the bill over its fiscal aspects, since it lacked an appropriation to cover the cost of the program's expansion.
This was the first bill Rhoden vetoed as governor of South Dakota.
Erin Healy, House Minority Leader, called Rhoden's argument that the state would have to increase its budget "premature," as the state does not have a waiting list for child care assistance.
Several bills pitched by Attorney General Marty Jackley that centered on whistleblowing, government corruption and certain crimes were mostly well-received by the Legislature and passed with few changes.
Some of the legislation was drafted as a response to alleged embezzlement and corruption crimes committed by former state employees, including one case where an employee purportedly circumvented her workplace's oversight measures to defraud the state's Child Protective Services program for $1.8 million.
More: Attorney General Jackley submits seven bills for 2025 legislative session: What are they?
Here's a list of those bills:
SB 58 revises provisions related to human trafficking, prohibits the obstruction of human trafficking enforcement.
SB 59 revises provisions relating to the delivery, possession with intent to deliver, and possession of unauthorized articles in a state correctional facility.
SB 60 expands the access and investigatory authority of the state auditor.
SB 61 modifies the authority of the Board of Internal Control.
SB 62 establishes mandatory reporting requirements related to improper governmental conduct and crime.
SB 63 establishes protections for state employees who report improper governmental conduct and crime.
The nine state House and Senate Democrats found a number of their bills jettisoned by the state's Republican supermajority, and there were several bills related to social issues that proved a thorn for the party, particularly in comparison to previous years.
Senate Minority Leader Liz Larson of Sioux Falls managed to steer a bill on deepfakes, or AI-manipulated media that can be used to generate edited and false images of real people, to Rhoden's desk.
The bill makes it a class 1 misdemeanor to disseminate a deepfake to influence an election in the state.
Rhoden had yet to sign it as of Thursday.
Here are some other Democrat-led bills that passed the Legislature and were signed by the governor or still await his signature.
HB 1072 modernizes provisions relating to water development districts.
HB 1074 modifies the individuals eligible to sign an affidavit of homelessness for purposes of obtaining a free copy of a birth certificate.
HB 1075 modifies the persons eligible to sign an affidavit for proof of homelessness for purposes of waiving the fee for a non-driver identification card.
HB 1099 modifies the community paramedic endorsement.
HB 1196 updates the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act to include provisions related to virtual currency and notice requirements.
SB 170 authorizes the South Dakota State Brand Board to enter a memorandum of understanding with any Indian tribe for the investigation of cattle theft.
SB 193 allows an applicant to have an interpreter present during the driving portion of a driver license exam.
The 100th legislative session was one that saw a few bills targeted at policies affecting transgender South Dakotans.
This included a "bathroom bill" that prohibits transgender people from using a bathroom that does not match their biological sex, which Rhoden signed into law.
More: SD lawmaker has 'no regrets' over demotion for bill targeting Huron schools, trans youth
A similar but unsuccessful bill that would have required that birth certificates and certain official documents reflect biological sex was short a single vote of securing a majority.
Rep. Phil Jensen, R-Rapid City, also introduced a bill to defund the Huron School District over a transgender bathroom policy, but he pulled the bill after backlash within the state and Legislature.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota Legislature: Bills that passed, failed during 2025 session
