CHAPTER 198
(SB 89)
Firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition manufactured
and retained in South Dakota exempt from federal regulation.
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to exempt from federal regulation any firearm, firearm
accessory, or ammunition manufactured and retained in South Dakota.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA:
Section 1. Terms used in this Act mean:
(1) "Firearm accessory," any item that is used in conjunction with or mounted upon a
firearm but is not essential to the basic function of a firearm, including any telescopic
or laser sight, magazine, flash or sound suppressor, folding or aftermarket stock and
grip, speed loader, ammunition carrier, or light for target illumination;
(2) "Generic and insignificant part," any firearm part, including a spring, screw, nut, and
pin;
(3) "Manufactured," any firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition which has been
created from basic materials for functional usefulness, including forging, casting,
machining, or other processes for working materials.
Section 2. Any firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition that is manufactured
commercially or privately in South Dakota and that remains within the borders of South Dakota
is not subject to federal law or federal regulation, including registration, under the authority of
Congress to regulate interstate commerce. It is declared by the Legislature that those items have
not traveled in interstate commerce. This section applies to any firearm, firearm accessory, and
ammunition that is manufactured in South Dakota from basic materials and that can be
manufactured without the inclusion of any significant parts imported from another state. Any
generic and insignificant part that has other manufacturing or consumer product application is
not a firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition, and importation of such parts into South
Dakota and incorporation into a firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition manufactured in
South Dakota does not subject the firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition to federal
regulation. It is declared by the Legislature that any basic material, such as unmachined steel and
unshaped wood, is not a firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition and is not subject to
congressional authority to regulate any firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition under
interstate commerce as if it was actually a firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition. The
authority of Congress to regulate interstate commerce in basic material does not include
authority to regulate any firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition made in South Dakota from
such basic material. Any firearm accessory that is imported into South Dakota from another
state and that is subject to federal regulation as being in interstate commerce does not subject
a firearm to federal regulation under interstate commerce because it is attached to or used in
conjunction with a firearm in South Dakota.
Section 3. The provisions of section 2 of this Act do not apply to:
(1) A firearm that cannot be carried and used by one person;
(2) A firearm that has a bore diameter greater than one and one-half inches and that uses
smokeless powder, not black powder, as a propellant;
(3) Ammunition with a projectile that explodes using an explosion of chemical energy
after the projectile leaves the firearm; or
(4) A firearm that discharges two or more projectiles with one activation of the trigger
or other firing device.
Section 4. A firearm manufactured or sold in South Dakota pursuant to this Act shall have
the words, Made in South Dakota, clearly stamped on a central metallic part, such as the
receiver or frame.
Section 5. The provisions of this Act apply to any firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition
that is manufactured and retained in South Dakota after July 1, 2010.
Signed March 11, 2010