Sen. Brandon Wipf

Maddy summarySB 205 revises drone registration fees in South Dakota, charging 1.5% of purchase price for agricultural drones and 2% for all other drones. The collected fees fund a new "drone aviation fund" administered by the Board of Technical Education to support drone training grants at state technical colleges. This bill directly affects drone owners (especially agricultural users) by changing their registration tax rates and creating a dedicated funding source for drone industry workforce development. The fund will receive all drone registration fees and interest, with expenditures requiring annual budget approval. The bill does not apply to small unmanned aircraft systems covered under federal regulations.

Maddy summaryHB 1034 would increase fees for vehicle decals and license plates mailed directly to owners. Specifically, it raises the fee to $2.50 per decal set and $12 per license plate set when mailed. This change directly affects South Dakota vehicle owners who choose to have their decals or plates sent by mail instead of picking them up in person. The bill amends existing law to implement these higher mailing fees, which apply only to mail-delivered items, not in-person transactions. The policy change is limited to the fee structure for mailed vehicle registration materials.

Maddy summaryHB 1080 allows veteran business owners to display military specialty plates on noncommercial vehicles (like personal cars or vans) registered to their business, provided the veteran is listed as an additional owner on the vehicle's title. It also limits the veteran's personal liability for damages from accidents involving these business vehicles. The bill requires the veteran to meet standard military plate eligibility and vehicle registration rules, with a $10 additional fee for the specialty plates. This directly affects veteran business owners who operate noncommercial vehicles under their business registration.

Maddy summaryHB 1272, introduced by Representative DeGroot, proposes amending South Dakota's vehicle title laws to require "a snow bear" to be titled and licensed. The bill attempts to add "snow bear" to the definitions in vehicle code (§ 32-3-1), treating it as a vehicle subject to title and licensing requirements. This appears to be an error or non-sequitur, as "snow bear" is not a recognized vehicle type and bears are living animals, not vehicles. The bill does not describe any actual policy mechanism or affect any real-world entity, as it conflates biological animals with vehicle regulations. This appears to be a drafting mistake rather than a substantive legislative proposal.

Maddy summarySenate Bill 97 adjusts property tax revenue limits for South Dakota taxing districts and school districts. For school districts, it changes the annual revenue increase cap from "lesser of 3% or index factor" to a flat 3% over the prior year's revenue, effective 2021. For general taxing districts, it adds a specific 3.5% cap on revenue increases above normal limits for taxes payable in 2027-2031. The bill also clarifies that property improvements to owner-occupied homes increasing value by 40% or less do not count toward the revenue limit. These changes directly affect local governments and school districts managing property tax revenue.

Maddy summaryHB 1117 modifies the reporting requirements for the Governor's Office of Economic Development regarding certain awards and grants from South Dakota's "Employer's Investment in South Dakota's Future Fund." The bill changes the frequency of the report from "biannual" to "twice each year," requiring the office to submit the same detailed report to specified legislative committees twice yearly instead of less frequently. The report must include recipient names, locations, funding purposes, economic impact measures, job creation numbers, fund balances, and status updates for awards/grants made over the past 20 years. This change affects the Governor's Office of Economic Development by altering how often it must provide these transparency reports to legislative committees. The bill does not alter the content or scope of the required information.

Maddy summarySB 4 revises South Dakota's rules for security deposits in rental housing, directly affecting landlords and tenants. It requires landlords to return full deposits within 21 days of lease end or provide a written explanation for withholding, limited to unpaid rent, damages beyond normal wear and tear, or costs to restore the property. Landlords must also give tenants an itemized accounting of withheld amounts within 45 days of request. Failure to comply results in forfeiting all rights to withhold the deposit and potential $200 punitive damages for bad-faith retention.

Maddy summarySouth Dakota's SB 12 allows qualifying veterans with certain disabilities (like loss of use of both lower extremities) or their unremarried surviving spouses to request refunds for property taxes paid in the previous four years if they missed the application deadline for an existing property tax exemption. The bill amends tax exemption rules to permit petitions to county commissioners for these refunds, which the commissioners may approve or deny at their discretion. It directly affects veterans and surviving spouses who previously paid taxes they might have qualified to avoid. The refund mechanism applies only to taxes paid in the four years prior to the petition, not future exemptions.

Maddy summarySB 2 amends South Dakota law to clarify that firearm silencers (devices reducing gunshot noise) are not classified as "controlled weapons." This change removes silencers from the category of weapons subject to strict state regulations, such as special permits or licensing requirements. The bill directly affects gun owners, manufacturers, and sellers of silencers in South Dakota by eliminating these regulatory barriers. The key mechanism is an amendment to the definitions section of the state's criminal code (§ 22-1-2), specifically excluding silencers from the definition of "controlled weapon."

Maddy summarySB 5 requires South Dakota to clearly disclose on ballots whether a proposed constitutional amendment or law was initiated by the Legislature or by a citizen petition. The bill amends election laws to mandate that ballot titles for both types of measures must include a specific disclosure: "proposed by the Legislature" for legislative proposals, and "proposed by a citizen-initiated petition" for initiative measures. This disclosure must appear directly after the title and before the attorney general's explanation and fiscal note on the ballot. The law applies to all ballot questions submitted for voter approval, ensuring voters can immediately see the origin of each measure.