FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024

Contact: Tony Mangan, Communications Director, 605-773-6878

PIERRE.S.D.  – The first bill in the South Dakota Attorney General’s legislative package was unanimously approved Thursday by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Senate Bill 24 would increase the maximum user fee for a participant voluntarily agreeing to wear a drug patch under the 24/7 sobriety program. The new patches cost more than current fee of $50 due to the increased cost of fentanyl testing. This proposal would raise the fee to no more than $70 for each drug patch that is attached, to be paid for by the participant.

“In 2023, more than 10 pounds of fentanyl was seized in South Dakota resulting in 284 arrests,” said Attorney General Marty Jackley. “Two milligrams of fentanyl is lethal, which means we seized enough fentanyl to cause the potential death of 2,418,450 individuals or 2.73 times the population of the state of South Dakota. Fentanyl testing will better protect the public, and the increased fee would be paid for by the participants and not the taxpayers.”

The bill now moves to the Senate floor for further discussion.

Final committee action was deferred on two other Attorney General bills -- Senate Bill 25 which would revise provisions regarding possessing, manufacturing, or distributing child pornography, and Senate Bill 27 which would modify the criteria for removal from the sex offender registry.

“We had good discussion on both bills with the committee, and we anticipate final passage in the next few weeks,” said Attorney General Jackley.

Two other Attorney General bills will be heard in other committees.

House Bill 1028, which would classify Xylazine as a Schedule III controlled substance, is scheduled to be heard at a later date by the House Health and Human Services Committee. House Bill 1028 is co-sponsored by the state Department of Health.

Senate Bill 26, which would increase the membership of the Open Meeting Commission, has been referred to the Senate State Affairs Committee. No hearing date has yet been scheduled.

All of the Attorney General bills can be found here: https://atg.sd.gov/OurOffice/Media/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?id=2488#gsc.tab=0

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