Scope
South Dakota Senate Bill 135 (2026), the Data Center Bill of Rights for Citizens, requires a provider of electricity to establish and maintain separate terms and conditions for electric service to a data center of 10 megawatts or more so that the data center reimburses costs fairly attributed to it. It also preserves local authority to regulate data centers and requires notice of projected water consumption to local water providers, a written compatibility determination presented to the Board of Water Management, water-use limits set by Board order after residential and essential uses, and semiannual water-use reports.
- Geographic scope
- South Dakota
- Jurisdiction
- State
- Authority type
- Legislature
- Issuing authority
- South Dakota Legislature
Dates
- Adopted
- 24 March 2026
- Effective
- 1 July 2026
- Scheduled expiration
- See completion condition
- Ended
- Not recorded as ended
- Completion condition
- The act states no expiration. Semiannual water reports are recurring deadlines, not end dates.
- Source document
- The source page states no document date
- Last checked
- 23 September 2026 (earlier than tracker date 5 October 2026; not an automatic status change)
Summary
South Dakota's 2026 Senate Bill 135 requires electricity providers to keep separate terms and conditions for data centers with loads of 10 megawatts or more, so the data center pays the costs fairly attributed to its service. The act also preserves local governments' authority to regulate data centers and requires water-use notice and semiannual water-use reports. The Governor signed it on 24 March 2026, and it took effect on 1 July 2026 under SDCL 2-14-16.
What this does not establish
- The effective day is computed from SDCL 2-14-16, not printed in the act.
- The signature date comes from the Legislature's 2026 index.
- Whether providers have filed separate data center terms was not checked.
- Codified as SDCL chapter 49-50 (sections 49-50-1 to 49-50-5), Session Laws 2026, chapter 190.
Unresolved questions
None recorded.
Relationships
Supersession means a later instrument replaces the earlier legal effect. Repeal links identify the repeal instrument and the measure it ends. A later implementation or related letter is not treated as a replacement unless the record says so.
- Related, not a replacement Otter Tail proposed high power compute rate for data center load (Pending proceeding)
- Related, not a replacement Senate Bill 235 (2026) alternative data center bill of rights (Did not pass)
Sources
https://mylrc.sdlegislature.gov/api/Documents/306610.pdf
- South Dakota Legislature, 2026 Index, Bill History Report (SB 135) Governor signature date (Signed by the Governor on March 24, 2026)