SB 81 South Dakota Senate · 2026 Regular Session

clarify the prohibition on injuring or harassing a service animal.

SB 81 clarifies South Dakota's law against harming service animals by specifying that it is illegal to maliciously beat, injure, harass, or interfere with a service animal that is controlled by a person with a disability and wearing a harness or control device. The bill directly affects individuals with disabilities who rely on service animals and anyone who might harass or harm such animals. It explicitly defines "service animal" as a dog trained to perform tasks directly related to a person's disability (per federal guidelines), excluding emotional support, comfort, or crime deterrent effects. The law makes it a Class 2 misdemeanor to violate these provisions.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
House Passage
Feb 2026
Signed into Law
Mar 2026
Introduced Jan 14, 2026 Signed Mar 9, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Enrolled · 2 edits · Mar 1, 2026
MINOR
This bill clarifies the legal definition of a service animal in South Dakota by referencing federal regulations and explicitly excluding emotional support animals from the protection. The change ensures that only dogs trained to perform specific tasks for individuals with disabilities are protected under the law, rather than any dog providing comfort or companionship.
Scope change
The bill narrows the scope of protection to only trained service dogs that perform tasks directly related to a disability, excluding emotional support animals and dogs whose presence alone provides comfort.
DEFINITION

Added a specific definition of 'service animal' that references 28 C.F.R. § 36.104 and clarifies that emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship do not constitute work or tasks.

REQUIREMENT

Added a reference to federal regulations (28 C.F.R. § 36.104) with a specific effective date of January 1, 2026, to align state law with federal standards.

Floor votes · Senate Jan 28, 2026 · House Feb 26, 2026

How they voted

340
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 35
Jan 28, 2026
D Democratic3
3 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican32
31 Yea 1
96% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
15
Key actions
9
Committee
3
Mar 9, 2026
Signed into law
Signed by the Governor on 2026-03-09 S.J. 488
executive
Mar 3, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by the Speaker H.J. 493
upper
Mar 2, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by the President S.J. 434
upper
Feb 26, 2026
Upper · Passed
House of Representatives Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 66, NAYS 0 H.J. 457
upper
Feb 25, 2026
Upper · Passed
Certified uncontested, placed on consent , Passed, H.J. 29
upper
Feb 25, 2026
Upper · Passed
Judiciary Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 12, NAYS 0 H.J. 29
upper
Feb 2, 2026
Committee
Referred to House Judiciary H.J. 194
upper
Jan 28, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 34, NAYS 0 S.J. 131
upper
Jan 27, 2026
Upper · Passed
Certified uncontested, placed on consent , Passed, S.J. 7
upper
Jan 27, 2026
Upper · Passed
Judiciary Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 7, NAYS 0 S.J. 7
upper
Jan 14, 2026
Introduced
First read in Senate and referred to Senate Judiciary S.J. 34
upper
17 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors