Data center laws in South Dakota

Rules in South Dakota

• H.B. 1038 Statute

  Allow the Public Utilities Commission to assess actual costs to data centers that are customers of public utilities.

  Passed passed March 30, 2026. 2026 Regular Session. This status is read from the bill's own record, not written here.

  H.B. 1038 of the 2026 Regular Session was signed on March 30, 2026. The legislature titles it: Allow the Public Utilities Commission to assess actual costs to data centers that are customers of public utilities.

  What it requires

  The act lets the Public Utilities Commission charge a customer of a public utility the actual costs of processing a request to approve a contract with deviations, or another electric service agreement, for serving a data center with a peak demand of ten megawatts or greater. The money goes to the gross receipts tax fund.

  The act lets the Public Utilities Commission charge a customer of a public utility the actual costs of processing a request to approve a contract with deviations, or another electric service agreement, for serving a data center with a peak demand of ten megawatts or greater. The money goes to the gross receipts tax fund. The charge is the commission's to make or not, and the act puts no other duty on anyone.

  Describes the act as enacted.

  The text: sdlegislature.gov (opens in a new tab) primary source

  Last verified September 20, 2026.

• S.B. 135 Statute

  Protect residents from increased utility costs and utility shortages caused by data centers and clarify authority to regulate data centers.

  Passed passed March 30, 2026. 2026 Regular Session. This status is read from the bill's own record, not written here.

  S.B. 135 of the 2026 Regular Session was signed on March 30, 2026. The legislature titles it: Protect residents from increased utility costs and utility shortages caused by data centers and clarify authority to regulate data centers.

  What it requires

  The act, which names itself the Data Center Bill of Rights for Citizens, reaches a data center with a peak demand of ten megawatts or greater.

  The act, which names itself the Data Center Bill of Rights for Citizens, reaches a data center with a peak demand of ten megawatts or greater. A provider of electricity must keep separate terms and conditions for serving one, and those terms must require the data center to reimburse the provider for every cost fairly attributed to it, including costs incurred to serve it if it later leaves the system or materially cuts its load. Before it begins operating, the operator must give each local water provider in the area notice of its projected water consumption; each provider determines in writing whether that is compatible with the local supply, the operator presents those determinations to the Board of Water Management, and the board issues a public written statement once every provider has said yes. Whatever that statement says, the data center may not consume more of the local supply than the board's order allows after residential and essential public services are allocated, and it must send the board a report on its water use twice a year, certifying compliance, which the board publishes. The state may not preempt a county, a municipality or another political subdivision from adopting ordinances limiting, prohibiting or otherwise regulating the construction, development or operation of data centers.

  Describes the act as enacted.

  The text: sdlegislature.gov (opens in a new tab) primary source

  Last verified September 20, 2026.