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26.479.19 101st Legislative Session 70
2026 South Dakota Legislature
Senate Bill 70
Introduced by: The Chair of the Committee on Transportation at the request of the Department of Transportation
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An Act to revise the duties of the Transportation Commission to include 1
responsibilities of the South Dakota Railroad Board and the South Dakota 2
Aeronautics Commission. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA: 4
Section 1. That § 1-44-4 be AMENDED: 5
1-44-4. There is created the Transportation Commission within the Department 6
of Transportation. The Transportation Commission consists of nine members. The 7
Governor shall appoint the members. All members are full voting members of the 8
commission. Not all members of the commission may be from the same political party. No 9
two members may, at the same time, be a resident residents of the same county. At least 10
two members shall have experience in the use or operation of rail service. At least two 11
members shall have experience in aeronautics. 12
Section 2. That § 1-44-11 be AMENDED: 13
1-44-11. The Department of Transportation shall, under the direction and control 14
of the secretary of transportation, perform all the functions of the Aeronautics 15
Transportation Commission relating to aeronautics, aircraft, and aviation, except: 16
(1) Advisory functions, as defined in § 1-32-1, with respect to programs associated 17
with the commission; 18
(2) Special budgetary functions, as defined in § 1-32-1, provided for by §§ 50-2-12, 19
50-7-10, and 50-7-15 to 50-7-19, inclusive, section 6 of this Act and chapter 20
chapters 50-4 and 50-7; and 21
(3) Quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial functions, as defined in § 1-32-1, provided for 22
by chapters 50-2 1-44, 50-5, 50-9, 50-10, 50-11, and 50-12. 23
Section 3. That § 1-44-20 be AMENDED: 24
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1-44-20. The Department of Transportation, with the approval of the South 1
Dakota State Railroad Board Transportation Commission and the written consent of the 2
Governor, may enter into agreements, contracts, leases (as lessor or lessee ), or other 3
arrangements with any corporation, partnership, individual, agency, or authority, on such 4
terms and conditions as the department shall determine, including providing for the 5
acquisition, operation, maintenance, and improvement of public rail lines, and the 6
acquisition and disposition of any and all rights-of-way, land, facilities, fixtures and 7
appurtenant structures, services and equipment, determined by the department to be 8
necessary or appropriate. 9
Section 4. That § 1-44-27 be AMENDED: 10
1-44-27. The Department of Transportation shall obtain the approval of the 11
Railroad Board Transportation Commission in the matters of operation, management, 12
finance, marketing, and development of rail service over all properties and facilities 13
acquired, leased, or controlled by the state. 14
Section 5. That § 1-44-30 be AMENDED: 15
1-44-30. Pursuant to chapter 1-26, the railroad board Transportation Commission 16
shall adopt and publish rules to implement § 1-44-29. The railroad board Transportation 17
Commission may, by board resolution, implement the provisions of § 1-44-28 and need 18
not implement such provisions pursuant to §§ 1-26-4 to 1-26-14, inclusive. 19
Section 6. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 1-44: 20
The Transportation Commission shall approve the expenditure and disbursement 21
of grants or moneys appropriated and available for matching purposes, and for the 22
planning, construction, development, operation, and maintenance of airport facilities. The 23
Transportation Commission may approve expenditures from the state aeronautics fund to 24
support the advancement of aviation and aviation commerce within the state. 25
Section 7. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 1-44: 26
The Transportation Commission shall promulgate rules in accordance with chapter 27
1-26 that are consistent with federal law and regulations governing aeronautics. 28
Section 8. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 1-44: 29
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Any person adversely affected by an act, ruling, or decision of the Transportation 1
Commission regarding operating licenses for airports may appeal the act, ruling, or 2
decision, in accordance with chapter 1-26. 3
Section 9. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 1-44: 4
Moneys received from other state agencies by the Department of Transportation 5
for the use of its state aircraft, when the aircraft are not being used in the conduct of the 6
necessary activities of the department, must be forwarded by the department to the state 7
treasurer for deposit in an internal service fund to be designated as the special aviation 8
internal service fund. The department may use the fund for maintenance, operating costs, 9
repair, and other expenses associated with the operation of state aircraft. 10
Section 10. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 1-44: 11
The Department of Transportation shall maintain separate accounting for the 12
special aviation internal service fund. 13
Section 11. That § 3-23-10 be AMENDED: 14
3-23-10. The following authorities, boards, or commissions are subject to this 15
chapter: 16
(1) South Dakota Building Authority; 17
(2) Board of Economic Development; 18
(3) South Dakota Housing Development Authority; 19
(4) South Dakota Health and Education Facilities Authority; 20
(5) South Dakota Science and Technology Authority Board of Directors; 21
(6) South Dakota Ellsworth Development Authority; 22
(7) South Dakota Commission on Gaming; 23
(8) South Dakota Lottery Commission; 24
(9) South Dakota State Brand Board; 25
(10) Game, Fish and Parks Commission; 26
(11) South Dakota State Banking Commission; 27
(12) Board of Trustees of the South Dakota Retirement System; 28
(13) Aeronautics Commission; 29
(14) South Dakota State Railroad Board; 30
(15) Transportation Commission; 31
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(16)(14) South Dakota Board of Education Standards; 1
(17)(15) Board of Regents; 2
(18)(16) Board of Pardons and Paroles; 3
(19)(17) Board of Minerals and Environment; 4
(20)(18) Board of Water and Natural Resources; 5
(21)(19) South Dakota Railroad Authority; 6
(22)(20) Board of Water Management Water Management Board; and 7
(23)(21) South Dakota Board of Technical Education. 8
Section 12. That § 4-8-17.1 be AMENDED: 9
4-8-17.1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, taxes, fees, federal funds, 10
and funds moneys from any source that, which are received by the Department of 11
Transportation and the Aeronautics Commission shall , may be expended only when 12
budgeted pursuant to chapter 4-7 and appropriation has been made therefor pursuant to 13
chapter 4-8 and § 31-2-14. 14
Section 13. That § 6-20-1 be AMENDED: 15
6-20-1. Any municipality or county owning and operating an airport which that 16
has been approved by the state Aeronautics Transportation Commission for public use 17
may contract to construct, improve, and equip buildings, hangars, runways, and structures 18
for the improvement of its municipal or county airport. In lieu of issuing general obligation 19
bonds for the projects improvements or financing them, the municipality or county may 20
issue revenue bonds. All revenue bonds shall must be authorized, issued, and sold as 21
provided in chapter 6-8B, except as specifically provided otherwise in this chapter. No 22
election is required for the issuance of revenue bonds under this chapter. 23
Section 14. That § 10-28-21.6 be AMENDED: 24
10-28-21.6. The State Railroad Board Transportation Commission shall, in 25
accordance with chapter 1-26, promulgate rules establishing the form upon which a 26
railroad shall submit verification information for capital expenses being claimed as tax 27
credits authorized by § 10-28-21.2, when the information is to be submitted, and the 28
manner in which the certification is submitted. 29
Section 15. That § 38-21-20 be AMENDED: 30
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38-21-20. If the secretary finds the applicant qualified to apply pesticides in the 1
classifications for which the applicant applied, after such any examinations as the 2
secretary shall require by regulation, and if the applicant applying for a license to engage 3
in aerial application of pesticides has met all the requirements of the Federal Aviation 4
Agency, the Aeronautics Transportation Commission of this state, and any other applicable 5
federal or state laws or regulations to operate the equipment described in the application, 6
the secretary shall issue an applicator's license limited to the classifications for which the 7
applicant is qualified. The secretary may deny any application for any applicator's license 8
if the secretary finds that the applicant has violated any provisions of this chapter. 9
Section 16. That § 49-16B-3 be AMENDED: 10
49-16B-3. There is created the South Dakota Railroad Authority, a body corporate 11
and politic. The governing board of the South Dakota Railroad Authority shall be is 12
comprised of the members of the South Dakota State Railroad Board Transportation 13
Commission, as provided by § 1-44-25 in § 1-44-4. 14
Section 17. That § 49-16B-13.1 be AMENDED: 15
49-16B-13.1. The authority shall receive approval for all proposed expenditures 16
from the South Dakota State Railroad Board Transportation Commission and the 17
Governor. 18
Section 18. That § 49-16C-3 be AMENDED: 19
49-16C-3. The South Dakota State Railroad Board Transportation Commission 20
may, upon the written approval of the Governor, make loans from the railroad trust fund 21
to regional railroad authorities upon such the terms and conditions as the State Railroad 22
Board the Transportation Commission may determine. The South Dakota State Railroad 23
Board Transportation Commission shall adopt rules, pursuant to chapter 1-26 establishing 24
the procedures for loan application applications and approval. 25
Section 19. That § 49-16C-4 be AMENDED: 26
49-16C-4. The South Dakota State Railroad Board Transportation Commission 27
may set, from time to time , the interest rates at which it shall make the loans provided 28
for in § 49-16C-3. In addition to such interest charges, the board commission may make 29
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charge for and collect such costs, fees, and other charges expenses incurred in 1
administering the loan, as the board commission may deem necessary. 2
Section 20. That § 49-16C-5 be AMENDED: 3
49-16C-5. The South Dakota State Railroad Board Transportation Commission 4
may, with the approval of the Governor, expend funds moneys from the railroad trust 5
fund to match federal railroad rehabilitation funds. 6
Section 21. That § 49-16C-7 be AMENDED: 7
49-16C-7. Any funds in the railroad trust fund designated for expenditure by any 8
of the provisions of § 49-16B-13.1, 49-16C-2, 49-16C-3, or 49-16C-5, or 49-16C-6 are 9
hereby continuously appropriated for such purposes. 10
Section 22. That § 50-1-1 be AMENDED: 11
50-1-1. Terms as used in this title mean: 12
(1) "Air traffic control," a service operated by an authority under Federal Aviation 13
Administration oversight to promote the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of air 14
traffic in the United States; 15
(2) "Aircraft," a device that is used, intended to be used, or designed for flight in the 16
air. The term includes any airplane, balloon, drone, glider, and helicopter; 17
(3) "Aircraft dealer," any person, manufacturer, or distributor engaged in the business 18
of buying, selling, exchanging, or acting as a broker for three or more aircraft in 19
any twelve consecutive months, other than a business liquidation of used aircraft; 20
(4) "Airport," any area of land or water used, or intended to be used, for landing and 21
take-off of aircraft, and any appurtenant area, structure, facility, or right of way to 22
facilitate that use; 23
(5) "Airport authority," a government entity created under this chapter for the purpose 24
of acquiring, establishing, contracting, maintaining, improving and operating 25
airports and other navigation facilities; 26
(6) "Airport facility," any property, structure, mechanism, machinery, light, beacon, 27
communicating system, or other equipment or device used as an aid to the safe 28
taking off and landing of aircraft, or the safe and efficient operation or maintenance 29
of an airport; 30
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(7) "Airport hazard," any existing or potential condition that can endanger any airport 1
facility, endanger the life or property of a user of an airport, any airport facility 2
user, or the life or property of any occupant of land in the vicinity of an airport; 3
(8) "Airport sponsor," a public agency, private owner, state entity, or other political 4
subdivision that is associated with a public use airport facility and is a recipient of 5
any federal airport improvement grant; 6
(9) "Anemometer tower," a structure, including any guy wire or accessory facility, on 7
which an anemometer is mounted; 8
(10) "Aviation facility," any facility that supports aviation activities, including any 9
airport, heliport, and navigational aid; 10
(11) "Balloon," an aircraft that is not engine -driven, is lighter than air, and sustains 11
flight through the use of gas buoyancy or an airborne heater; 12
(12) "Commercial purpose," an aviation activity for profit that includes flight instruction, 13
charter, air taxi, or rental , but does not include the substitution of a commercial 14
use stamp for regular aircraft registration for the promotion of a business or other 15
purpose that does not involve aviation; 16
(13) "Commission," the South Dakota Aeronautics Commission Transportation 17
Commission; 18
(14) "Controlled airspace," any airspace of specific and defined classifications and 19
dimensions inside of which air traffic control services are provided; 20
(15) "Department," the Department of Transportation; 21
(16) "Drone," an unmanned aircraft (UA); 22
(17) "Heliport," an area of land, water, or a structural surface, used or intended for use 23
as a landing and take-off area for helicopters; 24
(18) "Military airport," any military air base, air station, airfield, or other area, publicly 25
or privately owned, that is designed, set aside, and operated by the state, a political 26
subdivision of the state, or the United States, for civil or national defense, or for 27
any federal program relating to flight, or for the operation of military aircraft, and 28
used in the interest of the public for those purposes; 29
(19) "Navigational aid," an aviation facility which that is external to an aircraft and is 30
specifically intended to assist a pilot in determining the aircraft's position and safe 31
course; 32
(20) "Obstruction," any structure or obstacle, or use of land, that obstructs an aerial 33
approach of an airport or is otherwise hazardous to the use of an airport by aircraft 34
for landing or taking off; 35
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(21) "Place of business," a permanent enclosed structure at which a permanent business 1
of bartering, trading, or selling aircraft is carried out in good faith. The term does 2
not include any residence, tent, stand, or any other temporary structure; 3
(22) "Prescribed adjusted height," a height adjusted upward seventeen: 4
(a) Seventeen feet for an interstate highway, fifteen; 5
(b) Fifteen feet for any other public road, ten; 6
(c) Ten feet or the height of the highest mobile object that would normally 7
traverse the road, whichever is greater, for a private road , and twenty -8
three; and 9
(d) Twenty-three feet for a railroad; 10
(23) "Private airport," any privately-owned privately owned airport that is available for 11
use only by the owner and the owner's invitees; 12
(24) "Public airport," any airport, whether publicly or privately owned, that is available 13
for use by the public; 14
(25) "Small unmanned aircraft," a UA an unmanned aircraft that weighs not more than 15
fifty-five pounds, (twenty-five kilograms) including everything that is onboard or 16
otherwise attached to the aircraft; 17
(26) "Small unmanned aircraft system" or "sUAS," any small unmanned aircraft and its 18
associated elements , including communication links and the components that 19
control the UA, that are required for the safe and efficient operation of the UA; 20
(27) "Temporary airport," any airport established and set aside for the operation of 21
aircraft for transitory or impermanent purposes; and 22
(28) "Unmanned aircraft" or "UA,", an aircraft operated without the possibility of direct 23
human intervention from within or on the aircraft. 24
Section 23. That § 50-5-1.2 be AMENDED: 25
50-5-1.2. The Aeronautics Commission commission shall promulgate rules, in 26
accordance with chapter 1-26, establishing requirements for the issuance and 27
maintenance of certificates of approval for airports, as prescribed in this chapter. 28
Section 24. That § 1-44-25 be REPEALED. 29
The South Dakota State Railroad Board consists of seven members to be appointed 30
by the Governor. Members shall serve a three -year term. No more than five members 31
may be of the same political party. No person may be appointed to the board who is an 32
elected official of the State of South Dakota or any subdivision thereof. Any member 33
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appointed to fill a vacancy arising from other than the natural expiration of a term shall 1
serve only for the unexpired term, but may be reappointed to a full term. The board shall 2
annually choose from its membership a chair, a vice chair, and a secretary -treasurer. No 3
member may be removed from office except for cause. 4
The terms of members begin on October thirty -first of the calendar year. The 5
appointee's term expires on October thirtieth in the third year of appointment. 6
Any member's term ending June 30, 2013, or thereafter is extended to October 7
thirtieth in the year the term is to expire. 8
Section 25. That § 1-44-26 be REPEALED. 9
At least one member, in the opinion of the Governor, shall be a person experienced 10
in or having a favorable reputation for skill, knowledge, and experience in business 11
management. At least one member, in the opinion of the Governor, shall be a person 12
experienced in or having a favorable reputation for skill, knowledge, and experience in the 13
operation of railroad service. At least one member, in the opinion of the Governor, shall 14
be a person experienced in or having a favorable reputation for skill, knowledge, and 15
experience in private or public finance. At least one member, in the opinion of the 16
Governor, shall be a person experienced in or having a favorable reputation for skill, 17
knowledge, and experience in marketing. At least one member of the commission shall 18
be, in the opinion of the Governor, a person who is a user of rail service. Two members 19
shall be from the public at large. 20
Section 26. That § 49-16C-6 be REPEALED. 21
The South Dakota State Railroad Board may, upon approval of the Governor, 22
expend from the railroad trust fund an amount not to exceed one million dollars to join 23
with other states to preserve the railroad line extending from Jonathan, Minnesota, in a 24
westerly direction through South Dakota to Miles City, Montana. 25
Section 27. That § 50-2-1 be REPEALED. 26
The commission consists of seven persons appointed by the Governor who shall 27
receive the per diem set by § 4-7-10.4 for the time actually spent in the performance of 28
their official duties, together with traveling expenses set by rule of the Board of Finance. 29
At least four members of the commission shall be or have been actively engaged in and 30
have had at least one year of practical experience in civil or military aeronautics. 31
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The term of each member begins on October thirty -first of the calendar year in 1
which the Governor appoints the member, unless otherwise designated by the Governor. 2
The member's term is for three years and expires on October thirtieth in the third year of 3
the member's appointment. 4
Section 28. That § 50-2-1.1 be REPEALED. 5
The commission shall continue within the department, and all its functions shall be 6
performed by the department as provided by § 1-44-11. 7
The commission shall provide advice and expertise to state agencies regarding the 8
purchase, transfer and disposition of state owned and operated aircraft including those 9
owned or operated by any state institution. 10
Section 29. That § 50-2-4 be REPEALED. 11
On or before the thirty -first day of December, in each year, the commission shall 12
make, to the Governor, a full report of its proceedings for the year ending the thirtieth 13
day of June preceding and may submit with the report any recommendations pertaining 14
to the commission's affairs as seem to the commission to be desirable. 15
Section 30. That § 50-2-12 be REPEALED. 16
The commission shall approve the expenditure and disbursement of grants or funds 17
appropriated and available for matching purposes, and for the planning, construction, 18
development, operation, and maintenance of airport facilities. The commission may also 19
approve expenditures from the state aeronautics fund to support the advancement of 20
aviation and aviation commerce within the state. 21
Section 31. That § 50-2-13 be REPEALED. 22
The commission shall promulgate rules in accordance with chapter 1-26 that are 23
consistent with federal law and regulations governing aeronautics. 24
Section 32. That § 50-2-15 be REPEALED. 25
The commission, when its state aircraft are not being used in the conduct of the 26
necessary activities of the department, may operate the aircraft for other departments of 27
this state. The rate of reimbursement to the department shall be set by the Board of 28
Finance, to fully defray the cost and expenses of rendering the service under this section. 29
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Section 33. That § 50-2-16 be REPEALED. 1
The funds received from the other departments of state government by the 2
department shall be deposited in the state treasury in an internal service fund to be 3
designated as the special aviation internal service fund. The department shall use the fund 4
for the maintenance, cost of operation, repair, and other expenses in connection with the 5
operation of its state aircraft. 6
Section 34. That § 50-2-17 be REPEALED. 7
The department shall maintain separate accounting and limit its expenditures from 8
the special aviation internal service fund so as to in no instance use any sum for a purpose 9
other than that for which it has been appropriated. 10
Section 35. That § 50-2-32 be REPEALED. 11
A person may appeal an action of the commission in accordance with chapter 1-12
26. 13