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
34–0
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 35
Jan 28, 2026
D
Democratic3
100% Yea
R
Republican32
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
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Bobbi Andera
RRepublican
P
Brandon Wipf
RRepublican
P
Carl Perry
RRepublican
P
Curt Voight
RRepublican
P
Heather Baxter
RRepublican
P
John Carley
RRepublican
P
John Shubeck
RRepublican
P
Kathy Rice
RRepublican
P
Larry Zikmund
RRepublican
P
Logan Manhart
RRepublican
P
Phil Jensen
RRepublican
P
Rebecca Reimer
RRepublican
P
Scott Moore
RRepublican
P
Taffy Howard
RRepublican
P
Tamara Grove
RRepublican
P
Tim Goodwin
RRepublican
P
Tom Pischke
RRepublican
Ask Maddy
·
AI policy assistant
Ask Maddy about SB 81
Scope: SD
Hi! I can help you understand SB 81. What would you like to know?
Try one of these
i
Maddy answers using official bill text and legislative records. Always verify before sharing.
Sources cited inline