make an appropriation for the payment of extraordinary litigation expenses and to declare an emergency.
SB 55 appropriates $650,000 from South Dakota's general fund to the state's "extraordinary litigation fund" to cover eligible legal costs under § 1-33-8.11. The bill directly affects the state government, specifically the Bureau of Human Resources and Administration, which will approve payments for these expenses. It declares an emergency to allow immediate funding, with unspent funds reverting per standard state procedures. The bill provides no new legal requirements but allocates existing funds for ongoing litigation costs.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Feb 2026
House Passage
Feb 2026
Signed into Law
Mar 2026
Introduced Jan 13, 2026
Signed Mar 3, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Introduced
→
Enrolled
·
3 edits
·
Feb 23, 2026
MINOR
The document transitioned from a browser compatibility error page to the full enrolled text of Senate Bill 55, which appropriates $650,000 for extraordinary litigation expenses. The bill now includes formal legislative formatting, emergency declaration language, and official certification signatures indicating it has passed both chambers and received gubernatorial approval. This represents the final enrolled version ready for implementation rather than the initial introduction stage.
Scope change
The bill's substantive scope remains unchanged - it still appropriates $650,000 for extraordinary litigation expenses from the general fund to the extraordinary litigation fund. The change is purely procedural, moving from draft/introduction format to the final enrolled version with all required signatures and certification.
TECHNICAL
Added full enrolled bill formatting including session information (101st Legislative Session), bill number (SB 55), and official certification signatures from Senate leadership and Governor
Removed browser compatibility warnings and navigation elements from the initial webpage version
TIMELINE
Added emergency declaration language stating the Act is in full force and effect from passage and approval, with dated certification for 2026
Floor votes · Senate Feb 17, 2026 · House Feb 20, 2026
How they voted
34–0
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 35
Feb 17, 2026
D
Democratic3
100% Yea
R
Republican32
96% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
12
Key actions
7
Committee
2
Mar 3, 2026
Signed into law
Signed by the Governor on 2026-03-03 S.J. 438
executive
Feb 24, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by the Speaker H.J. 435
lower
Feb 23, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by the President S.J. 365
lower
Feb 20, 2026
Lower · Passed
House of Representatives Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 62, NAYS 5 H.J. 394
lower
Feb 19, 2026
Lower · Passed
House of Representatives Deferred to another day , Passed, H.J. 372
lower
Feb 18, 2026
Introduced
First read in House and referral to committee waived pursuant to JR 6D-1 H.J. 356
lower
Feb 17, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 34, NAYS 0 S.J. 274
upper
Feb 11, 2026
Upper · Passed
Committee on Appropriations Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 16, NAYS 0 J.J. 21
upper
Jan 21, 2026
Committee
Referred to , Passed, Joint Committee on Appropriations S.J. 74
upper
Jan 13, 2026
Introduced
First read in Senate and referred to Senate Committee on Appropriations S.J. 11
upper
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
No sponsor information available.
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