HB 1067 South Dakota House · 2025 Regular Session

define the term "must."

HB 1067 is a procedural bill that seeks to define the term "must" within South Dakota state laws and regulations. The legislation would establish a specific legal interpretation for this word to ensure consistency across various statutes. This clarification primarily affects state agencies, courts, and legal professionals who apply these laws. The bill aims to reduce ambiguity in legal documents by providing a standardized definition for this common term.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Feb 2025

House Passage

Mar 2025

Senate Passage

Feb 2025

Signed into Law

Mar 2025

Introduced Jan 17, 2025 Signed Mar 13, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Enrolled · 1 edit · Mar 3, 2025

MINOR

This bill formally defines the legal term 'must' in South Dakota state law to ensure it is interpreted as a mandatory directive without discretion. The change clarifies that 'must' and 'shall' carry the same mandatory weight in legal documents, preventing ambiguity in how laws are enforced. This provides consistency and clarity for courts, agencies, and citizens interpreting state statutes.

Scope change

The bill applies statewide to all South Dakota Codified Laws and does not alter the scope of applicability beyond clarifying existing legal terminology.

DEFINITION

Added a formal definition for the term 'must' in § 2-14-2.1 to establish it as a mandatory directive without discretion, aligning it with the existing definition of 'shall'.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 27, 2025 · House Jan 27, 2025

How they voted

22–11

Passed · 2 other

Total votes 35

Feb 27, 2025

D Democratic3

2 Yea 1 Nay

66% Yea

R Republican32

20 Yea 10 Nay 2

62% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 13, 2025

Signed into law

Signed by the Governor on 2025-03-13 H.J. 542

executive

Mar 4, 2025

Lower · Passed

Signed by the President S.J. 443

lower

Mar 3, 2025

Lower · Passed

Signed by the Speaker H.J. 443

lower

Feb 27, 2025

Lower · Passed

Senate Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 22, NAYS 11 S.J. 409

lower

Feb 26, 2025

Lower · Passed

State Affairs Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 7, NAYS 1

lower

Feb 3, 2025

Committee

Referred to S.J. 153

lower

Jan 27, 2025

Lower · Passed

House of Representatives Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 66, NAYS 2 H.J. 124

lower

Jan 24, 2025

Lower · Passed

Judiciary Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 13, NAYS 0

lower

Jan 17, 2025

Introduced

First read in House and referred to H.J. 37

lower

11 primary · 0 co-sponsors