House lawmakers are sending a bill to Gov. Larry Rhoden that reforms the state’s felony ingestion charge.
Current law treats ingestion of a controlled substance a class 6 felony. South Dakota is the only state in the country where ingestion of a controlled substance is a felony.
Proponents say the current law isn’t working and that a felony charge follows someone the rest of their life, making it hard to get a job and housing.
Senate Bill 83 makes it a misdemeanor if someone ingests a controlled substance for the first two offenses in 10 years.
Backers point to drug court and programming as a success.
As of June 30, 2024, there are 231 people in prison with ingestion as their highest charge. State lawmakers are spending millions to build new prisons in Rapid City and possibly the Sioux Falls area in part due to overcrowding at current facilities.
“It really was a right moment. You’re talking about building a prison for 1,500 people. You have our own secretary [of corrections] saying we need to change our sentencing practices," said Republican State Sen. Tamara Grove, the prime sponsor of the bill.
"This is the time.”
The bill barely made it to the House floor. It passed out of a judiciary committee without a recommendation — that meant lawmakers had to approve whether to even vote on the bill.
House lawmakers passed the change 37 to 33. It now heads to Rhoden’s desk for his consideration.
Earlier in the day, Gov. Rhoden signed an executive order convening a task force to look at the need for a new men’s prison. Included in the executive order is an acknowledgement about the need for programming and rehabilitation within the Department of Corrections to reduce recidivism.
