South Dakota / State / 2026 Session
Ch. 16, L. 2026 (Senate Bill 132) Made consultation with the Veterans Council mandatory and quarterly, and opened its membership
No change to benefits Changes how the department consults the Veterans Council; no benefit changes.
Amended 1-46A-5 so the Department of Veterans Affairs shall, rather than may, consult the South Dakota Veterans Council, changed the interval to quarterly, and added an express duty on the council to provide recommendations on budgets, legislation, policies and programs affecting veterans and their dependents. Membership was restated as one representative each of the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, National American Indian Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Vietnam Veterans of America chapters 1054 and 959, and any congressionally chartered veterans organisation invited to join by a unanimous vote of the representatives. National American Indian Veterans was not on the previous list. Tracked because the council is the body 3-3-9 uses to distribute the veterans preference materials and the body 33A-5-14 makes report annually on the cemetery endowment.
Progress
Path to law: Bill in a two-chamber legislature
- Introduced Done,
- In committee Done, Senate Military and Veterans Affairs
- Passed one chamber Done, Senate, 33-0
- Passed both chambers Done, House passed it amended 65-1 on 2026-03-03; Senate concurred 34-0
- Signed by the governor Done,
- In effect Done,
Sponsors
- Keri Weems
- Larry Zikmund
- Bobbi Andera
- Roger DeGroot
- Randy Deibert
- Eric Emery
- Tim Goodwin
- Joy Hohn
- Amber Hulse
- Travis Ismay
- Trish Ladner
- Scott Moore
- Lauren Nelson
- Peri Pourier
- Kathy Rice
- William Shorma
- John Shubeck
- Jamie Smith
- Nicole Uhre-Balk
- Glen Vilhauer
- Brandon Wipf
What it touches
- SDCL § 1-46A-5
Catalog entries (2)
Official record
Read Ch. 16, L. 2026 (Senate Bill 132) on the jurisdiction's own record