The South Dakota bill to prohibit breed discriminatory laws in the state, SB 75, passed the full House.
The vote was 41-28, for the bill. SB 75 now moves to the Governor’s desk. The Governor can either sign the bill or veto it. If he signs it, the South Dakota will become the 18th state to outlaw breed discrimination on the state level.
This bill was passed through the process at an incredible speed. SB 75 had its first reading on January 23rd. The bill received a favorable vote by the Senate committee of 6-1 on January 31st and was moved to the full Senate.
The February 4th vote by the full Senate was very close. The bill barely passed with 19 votes for and 16 against. There was a lot of talk of opposition to the premise of the bill, but as we have seen in the past, there were some whose issue was states power versus municipal rights to self governance.
The bill comfortably passed the House committee on February 27th with a 10 to 3 vote for the bill to be moved to the full House. On March 4th, the bill had its final House vote of 41-28.
The text of the bill is very simple.
“Section 1. That chapter 40-34 be amended by adding thereto a NEW SECTION to read as follows: No local government, as defined in § 6-1-12, may enact, maintain, or enforce any ordinance, policy, resolution, or other enactment that is specific as to the breed or perceived breed of a dog. This section does not impair the right of any local government unit to enact, maintain, or enforce any form of regulation that applies to all dogs.”
It appears that this bill may nullify existing ordinances. The fact that it specifics that a municipality may not maintain or enforce a breed discriminatory law points to a retro active application.
We will not know for sure until the bill is signed and applied. Some times the language is too vague to really know the intent of the legislators until the issue of existing ordinance is raised after the bill comes into effect.
Fred M. Kray
krisdiaz9
Stop BSL 