HB 1175 South Dakota House · 2026 Regular Session

revise provisions related to Division of Criminal Investigation cooperation with Indian tribes.

HB 1175 revises South Dakota law to clarify that the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe (and other Indian tribes) can request background checks through the Division of Criminal Investigation for specific tribal positions. It directly affects tribal members seeking roles as tribal council members, judges, conservation officers, educators, child protection workers, and others listed in the bill. The key mechanism requires tribes to submit applicants' fingerprints to the state division, which then forwards them to the FBI for a national check if no state-level disqualifications exist, with tribes or applicants covering processing fees.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House Passage
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Mar 2026
Introduced Jan 28, 2026 Signed Mar 30, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Enrolled · 3 edits · Mar 9, 2026
MINOR
This bill enrolls House Bill 1175, which authorizes the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation to provide national criminal history records to Indian tribes for specific tribal positions. The legislation allows tribes to request background checks for individuals seeking roles such as tribal council members, judges, conservation officers, gaming licensees, and foster parents. This change strengthens tribal sovereignty by ensuring that critical tribal leadership and community service roles are filled by individuals with clean criminal records.
Scope change
The bill expands the scope of background checks available to Indian tribes, specifically authorizing checks for ten distinct categories of tribal employees and officials that were previously not explicitly covered in this manner.
ELIGIBILITY

Added authority for the Division of Criminal Investigation to obtain criminal history records for ten specific tribal positions, including tribal council members, judges, conservation officers, gaming licensees, and foster parents.

REQUIREMENT

Established a requirement that requesting tribes must submit completed fingerprint cards and pay all associated processing fees to the Division of Criminal Investigation or the FBI.

TECHNICAL

The document format changed from a browser error page to the final enrolled legislative text, indicating the bill has passed both houses and been signed by the Governor.

Floor votes · House Feb 10, 2026

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
14
Key actions
9
Committee
2
Mar 30, 2026
Signed into law
Signed by the Governor on 2026-03-30 H.J. 579
executive
Mar 10, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by the President S.J. 512
upper
Mar 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by the Speaker H.J. 542
upper
Mar 5, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 34, NAYS 0 S.J. 481
upper
Mar 3, 2026
Upper · Passed
Certified uncontested, placed on consent , Passed, S.J. 35
upper
Mar 3, 2026
Upper · Passed
Judiciary Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 7, NAYS 0 S.J. 35
upper
Feb 11, 2026
Introduced
First read in Senate and referred to Senate Judiciary S.J. 248
upper
Feb 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
House of Representatives Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 66, NAYS 0 H.J. 279
lower
Feb 9, 2026
Lower · Passed
Certified uncontested, placed on consent , Passed, H.J. 19
lower
Feb 9, 2026
Lower · Passed
Judiciary Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 12, NAYS 0 H.J. 19
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Introduced
First read in House and referred to House Judiciary H.J. 164
lower
7 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors