HB 1023 South Dakota House · 2026 Regular Session

establish requirements and liability protection for registered nurses and licensed practical nurses serving on ambulance crews.

This bill (HB 1023) allows registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) to serve on ambulance crews in South Dakota under specific conditions. It requires nurses to demonstrate competence in emergency care skills to medical or program directors before working on ambulances, and mandates that their care must stay within their license scope and be supervised. The bill also provides liability protection for RNs and LPNs for routine ambulance care, shielding them from most civil lawsuits unless the care involved gross negligence or willful misconduct. This directly affects ambulance services seeking to employ nurses and the nurses themselves who wish to provide emergency care on ambulances.

Issues: ✓ Healthcare

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Jan 2026

House Passage

Jan 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

Signed into Law

Feb 2026

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Signed Feb 9, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

House Health and Human Services Engrossed → Enrolled · 4 edits · Feb 2, 2026

MODERATE

This bill establishes legal requirements and liability protections for registered nurses and licensed practical nurses serving on ambulance crews in South Dakota. The changes add new definitions for ambulance-related terms, modify staffing requirements for ambulance runs to include nurses, and create liability protections for nurses providing emergency care under medical supervision.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of ambulance crew requirements to include nurses as qualified personnel and adds liability protection for nurses serving in this capacity.

DEFINITION

Added new definitions for 'Ambulance,' 'Ambulance service,' 'Department,' 'Medical director,' and 'Program director' to clarify roles and responsibilities in the chapter.

REQUIREMENT

Modified ambulance run staffing requirements to allow registered nurses or licensed practical nurses authorized by the Act to serve as qualified personnel alongside emergency medical technicians.

ELIGIBILITY

Added eligibility requirements for nurses to serve on ambulance crews, requiring demonstration of competence in emergency care skills, equipment, and medications approved by medical or program directors.

LIABILITY

Added liability protection for nurses serving on ambulance crews, limiting civil damages liability to cases involving gross negligence or willful misconduct inconsistent with training.

Floor votes · Senate Jan 29, 2026

How they voted

33–0

Passed · 2 other

Total votes 35

Jan 29, 2026

D Democratic3

3 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican32

30 Yea 2

93% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Feb 9, 2026

Signed into law

Signed by the Governor on 2026-02-09 H.J. 254

executive

Feb 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by the President S.J. 171

upper

Feb 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by the Speaker H.J. 199

upper

Jan 29, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate Do Pass Amended , Passed, YEAS 33, NAYS 0 S.J. 144

upper

Jan 29, 2026

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (33-0-2)

senate

Jan 28, 2026

Upper · Passed

Certified uncontested, placed on consent , Passed, S.J. 5

upper

Jan 28, 2026

Upper · Passed

Health and Human Services Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 7, NAYS 0 S.J. 5

upper

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

First read in Senate and referred to Senate Health and Human Services S.J. 92

upper

Jan 22, 2026

Lower · Passed

House of Representatives Do Pass Amended , Passed, YEAS 67, NAYS 0 H.J. 115

lower

Jan 20, 2026

Lower · Passed

Certified uncontested, placed on consent , Passed,

lower

Jan 20, 2026

Lower · Passed

Health and Human Services Do Pass Amended , Passed, YEAS 13, NAYS 0

lower

Jan 20, 2026

Introduced

Health and Human Services Motion to amend , Passed, Amendment 1023A

lower

Jan 13, 2026

Introduced

First read in House and referred to House Health and Human Services H.J. 12

lower

9 primary · 0 co-sponsors