State of South Dakota  
EIGHTY-SEVENTH SESSION
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY, 2012  

466T0281   SENATE BILL   NO.  155  

Introduced by:    Senators Tieszen, Kraus, and Rampelberg and Representatives Hoffman, Elliott, Haggar, Kopp, Liss, Magstadt, Nelson (Stace), Olson (Betty), Schaefer, Van Gerpen, and Verchio
 

        FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to prohibit the employment of unauthorized aliens and to provide penalties therefor.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA:
    Section 1. That Title 22 be amended by adding thereto a NEW SECTION IN A NEW CHAPTER to read as follows:
    No person, employer, or business entity may knowingly and intentionally employ, hire for employment, or continue to employ an unauthorized alien to perform work within the state of South Dakota.
    Section 2. That Title 22 be amended by adding thereto a NEW SECTION IN A NEW CHAPTER to read as follows:
    For the purposes of this Act, an unauthorized alien is any person:
            (1)    Who does not have the legal right or authorization under federal law to work in the United States; and
            (2)    Who does not have in his or her physical possession at the time of his or her hiring

a document issued by a federal agency which authorizes him or her to work.
    Section 3. That Title 22 be amended by adding thereto a NEW SECTION IN A NEW CHAPTER to read as follows:

    It is an affirmative defense to a violation of section 1 of this Act that the person, employer, or business entity confirmed the legal work status of the applicant, hireling, or employee through the E-verify program and has retained documentation substantiating that fact.
    Section 4. That Title 22 be amended by adding thereto a NEW SECTION IN A NEW CHAPTER to read as follows:
    No general contractor is in violation of section 1 of this Act solely because a subcontractor or independent contractor violates section 1 of this Act.
    Section 5. That Title 22 be amended by adding thereto a NEW SECTION IN A NEW CHAPTER to read as follows:
    The first violation of section 1 of this Act is a Class 2 misdemeanor, but, upon conviction, is punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars rather than a jail sentence, regardless of the number of unauthorized aliens with respect to whom the violation occurred. Any person who has been previously convicted for a violation of section 1 of this Act and who thereafter violates section 1 of this Act, is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. Any such subsequent violation constitutes a separate offense with respect to each unauthorized alien.