John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight
South Dakota’s top law enforcement official wants lawmakers to stiffen penalties for selling drugs in prison and making deepfake pornography, to create consumer protections for DNA data, and to give internet crime investigators swifter access to suspects’ user data.
Those bills are among the 10 proposed by Attorney General Marty Jackley for the 2026 legislative session that begins Tuesday at the Capitol in Pierre.
In a news release Wednesday, Jackley said the package “focuses on many issues this office has dealt with in the past year” and that he looks forward to “working with the governor and legislators during the session on these important opportunities to protect South Dakota.”
Lawmakers have endorsed most of Jackley’s proposals during each legislative session since his ascent to a second stint as attorney general in the 2022 general election.
Some proposals have seen tweaks, however, including one in 2025 that attempted to affix felony penalties for the failure of state employee supervisors to report employee misconduct. Lawmakers passed that bill, but ultimately opted for misdemeanor penalties.
Here are summaries of this year’s proposals.
Senate Bill 17: Foreign political donations
This bill would bar political candidates in South Dakota from accepting donations from foreign nationals. It aims to amend an existing law that prohibits campaign contributions from states, state agencies, foreign governments, federal agencies or the federal government. One violation could net a year in jail and a $2,000 fine. Two or more violations in a single year could draw up to two years in prison.
Senate Bill 41: Deepfakes
This bill targets “deepfake” pornography, created with digital technology to resemble a real person without that person’s consent. The bill would amend an existing law, adding a definition of “digitally fabricated material” and making it a crime to “create, disclose, disseminate, distribute, or sell” such material when it depicts a nonconsenting person in a “state of nudity,” or engaged in any manner of sexual act.
Senate Bill 42: Prison drugs
Currently, possession of controlled substances in prison — by inmates or staff members — is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. This bill would up the penalty to a maximum of 15 years. The bill would also update the state’s drug ingestion statutes to make it a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, for an inmate or parolee to fail a drug test for controlled substances. Ingestion of a controlled substance was a felony for everyone until last year, when lawmakers voted to make first- and second-offense ingestion a misdemeanor. Jackley opposed that move.
Senate Bill 43: Digital currency seizures
Currently, law enforcement is empowered to seize money and property with suspected ties to felony crimes during criminal investigations. This bill would add “digital currency” like Bitcoin to law enforcement’s list of assets seizable during criminal investigations.
Senate Bill 44: Internet crimes
This bill would let the attorney general or a designee ask a Hughes County judge to subpoena information on internet users suspected of crimes against children or human trafficking. Hughes County judges would be able to issue those subpoenas regardless of where a crime took place, where the suspect’s internet service provider might be located, or where the subpoena would be enforced. The multi-agency Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force is headquartered in Pierre, which is in Hughes County.
Senate Bill 45: Marijuana-like intoxicants
Selling products made with the marijuana-like intoxicant known as delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (Delta-9 THC-A on product labels) to anyone younger than 21 could draw up to two years in prison under the terms of this bill. Buying THC-A products for or sharing them with a person under 21 would also be forbidden. Other products containing pot-like compounds, including Delta-8 THC or THC-O, are already covered by the provisions of the law SB 45 seeks to amend.
Senate Bill 46: Public meeting agendas
This bill would require agendas for open public meetings to list every item to be discussed. Each agenda item would also need to be “described in sufficient detail to reasonably inform the public of any official business or public policy intended to be considered at the meeting.” Violations would be punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine.
Senate Bill 47: Closed sessions of public meetings
This bill would revise the rules for closed-door executive sessions during public meetings. It would add a handful of items, such as discussions of cybersecurity and talk of ammunition locations, to the list of acceptable reasons to go into executive session. The bill would also require that votes to enter an executive session and the section of law justifying the session be logged in the meeting minutes. Violations could draw up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine.
Senate Bill 48: Advance meeting notices
This bill would “clarify” that agendas for public meetings of state agencies or commissions must be posted online 72 hours in advance of a meeting, not counting Saturdays, Sundays or legal holidays. Current law requires a 72-hour notice at the “principal office of the board, commission, or department holding the meeting” but doesn’t specify the timing for posting an online agenda. Violations of the law could draw up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine.
Senate Bill 49: DNA data
This one is designed to protect consumer privacy as it relates to DNA data. It says that any person or organization that collects DNA has to spell out privacy policies and tell consumers upfront if their DNA will be shared with any partner organization. It would be illegal to share or sell DNA data to others without the express consent of the person who provided it, unless the data is “de-identified” and shared for research purposes alone. DNA collectors would also be required to let people access their own data and delete it upon request. Violations could draw civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation. The rules wouldn’t apply for colleges, research institutions or forensic laboratories, or to data collected for medical purposes.