This bill amends South Dakota's liquor licensing laws, specifically addressing renewal fee requirements for on-sale liquor licensees whose business premises have been annexed into a first-class municipality. The bill modifies Section 35-4-2 to allow the municipal governing body to set the renewal fee for the first renewal of an on-sale license after annexation to be equal to the fee for the most recent on-sale liquor license issued by the municipality. Additionally, it stipulates that the increased renewal fee cannot be imposed on any licensee who initially paid a fee that was not less than what the first-class municipality was charging for an on-sale license.

Furthermore, the bill amends Section 35-4-13 to clarify that if an on-sale licensee's premises are transferred due to annexation, they may continue to operate until their license expires. Upon expiration, the renewal application cannot be denied based on the number of existing on-sale licenses exceeding the limitations set forth in the chapter. For subsequent renewals, the renewal fee must not exceed fifteen hundred dollars, as established in subdivision 35-4-2(4).

Statutes affected:
Introduced, 01/29/2025: 35-4-2, 35-4-13
Senate Local Government Engrossed, 02/07/2025: 35-4-2, 35-4-13