Title 34 — PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY

A health care provider acting in good faith and in accordance with generally accepted health care standards applicable to the health care provider is not subject to civil or criminal liability or to discipline for unprofessional conduct for: (1) Complying with a MOST and assuming…

A patient with decision-making capacity, or in the case that a patient lacks decision-making capacity, the patient's authorized representative, may execute a MOST in the form and manner prescribed by §

A patient's authorized representative may execute a MOST only if the patient lacks decision-making capacity. The patient's lack of decision-making capacity shall be recorded in the patient's medical record. Source: SL 2019, ch 146 , § 3.

The secretary shall develop a standardized form for a MOST and instructions for completion of the form. The secretary shall make the form available to the public on the department's website. A completed form includes: (1) The name and date of birth of the patient; (2) A statement…

An original or a copy of a MOST form completed and signed in accordance with § 34-12H-4 is a valid medical order for scope of treatment unless revoked. Any health care provider who receives a valid MOST shall make the document part of the patient's medical record. Source: SL 2019…

A document executed in another state or jurisdiction that meets the requirements for a valid medical order for scope of treatment in that state or jurisdiction is valid in this state. Source: SL 2019, ch 146 , § 6.

Except as provided in §§ 34-12H-8 to 34-12H-10 , inclusive, any health care provider who has actual knowledge of a patient's MOST shall treat the patient in accordance with the preferences indicated in the MOST. Source: SL 2019, ch 146 , § 7.

If there is a conflict between a patient's MOST and a patient's oral directives or any written directives in an advance health care directive, the health care provider shall treat the patient in accordance with the most recent instruction. Source: SL 2019, ch 146 , § 8.

A patient with decision-making capacity may revoke a MOST at any time by: (1) Destroying or defacing the MOST with the intent to revoke; (2) A written revocation of the MOST, signed and dated by the patient; or (3) An oral expression of the intent to revoke the MOST, in the prese…

All information, interviews, reports, statements, memoranda, or other data procured by the Department of Health, South Dakota State Medical Association, allied medical societies, or in - hospital staff committees of accredited hospitals in the course of a medical study for the pu…

No person may knowingly conduct nontherapeutic research that destroys a human embryo. A violation of this section is a Class 1 misdemeanor. Source: SL 2000, ch 169 , § 1.

No person may knowingly conduct nontherapeutic research that subjects a human embryo to substantial risk of injury or death. No person may sell or transfer a human embryo with the knowledge that the embryo will be subjected to nontherapeutic research. A violation of this section …

No person may use for research purposes cells or tissues that the person knows were obtained by performing the activities described in §§ 34-14-16 and

For purposes of §§ 34-14-16 to 34-14-20 , inclusive, the term, nontherapeutic research, means research that is not intended to help preserve the life and health of the particular embryo subjected to risk. It does not include in vitro fertilization and accompanying embryo transfer…

For purposes of §§ 34-14-16 to 34-14-20 , inclusive, the term, human embryo, means a living organism of the species Homo sapiens at the earliest stages of development (including the single - celled stage) that is not located in a woman's body. Source: SL 2000, ch 169 , § 5.

Definition of terms used in §§ 34-14-21 to

No person may order or perform a predictive genetic test without first obtaining the written, informed consent of the person to be tested. For purposes of this section, written, informed consent consists of a signed writing executed by the person to be tested or the legally autho…

If a person to be tested or the person's legally authorized representative signs a copy of the informed consent form developed pursuant to § 34-14-22 , the person obtaining the informed consent shall give the person to be tested a copy of the signed informed consent form and shal…

Genetic test does not mean a routine physical measurement; a chemical, blood, or urine analysis; a test for drugs or HIV infection; any test commonly accepted in clinical practice; or any test performed due to the presence of signs, symptoms, or other manifestations of a disease,…

If a genetic test, as defined in § 34-14-21 , is required or authorized by state law, or performed in the state, the test shall be performed in a laboratory accredited by the College of American Pathologists, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, or a…

Terms used in §§ 34-14-26 to 34-14-28 , inclusive, mean: (1) "Human cloning," human asexual reproduction accomplished by introducing the nuclear material of a human somatic cell into a fertilized or unfertilized oocyte whose nucleus has been removed or inactivated to produce a li…

No person or entity, public or private, may: (1) Perform or attempt to perform human cloning; (2) Participate in an attempt to perform human cloning; (3) Transfer or receive the product of human cloning; or (4) Transfer or receive, in whole or in part, any oocyte, embryo, fetus, …

Nothing in §§ 34-14-26 to 34-14-28 , inclusive, restricts areas of scientific research not specifically prohibited by §§ 34-14-26 to 34-14-28 , inclusive, including research in the use of nuclear transfer or other cloning techniques to produce molecules, deoxyribonucleic acid, ce…

It is a Class 1 misdemeanor to disclose any information, records, reports, statements, notes, memoranda, or other data obtained for or contained in any medical study for the purpose of reducing morbidity or mortality, except that necessary for the purpose of the specific study. S…

The furnishing of information described in § 34-14-1 in the course of a research project to the Department of Health, South Dakota State Medical Association, or allied medical societies or their authorized representatives, shall not subject any person, hospital, sanitarium, nursi…

No patient, or patient's relatives, or patient's friends named in any medical study, shall be interviewed for the purpose of such study unless consent of the attending physician and surgeon is first obtained. Source: SL 1959, ch 134 , § 4; SDC Supp 1960, § 27.0117.

The public health and welfare depend on the humane use of animals for the diagnosis and treatment of human and animal diseases, the advancement of veterinary, dental, medical, and biological sciences, and the testing and diagnosis, improvement, and standardization of laboratory s…

Every person who intentionally commits any act which grossly endangers the public health is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. Source: PenC 1877, § 742; CL 1887, § 6934; RPenC 1903, § 768; RC 1919, § 4381; SDC 1939, § 13.1501; SL 1977, ch 190 , § 27.

In any county not wholly organized into civil townships the superintendent of the county board of health shall perform all of the duties of the township supervisor within such unorganized territory in respect to dead, putrid, or decaying bodies of any animals, and all expenses in…

If the owner of a dead animal or the township supervisor fails to act as provided in § 34-16-17 within two days after the knowledge of the fact that the dead animal exists, the superintendent of the county board of health shall forthwith cause the body of the dead animal to be bu…

Whenever any such dead body shall be buried or burned by order of the superintendent of the county board of health, such superintendent shall at once inform the state's attorney of the fact of such burning or burial, and the costs and expenses of the same and the giving of notice…

Whenever the owner and the person in charge of any unburied dead animal shall fail to burn or bury or cause the same to be burned or buried, or otherwise dispose of such body or cause the same to be buried in accordance with laws, rules, and regulations as required by §§ 34-16-14…

Nothing contained in this chapter shall be so construed as to affect the powers of the courts to administer the usual legal and equitable remedies in case of nuisances or of improper interference with private rights. Source: SL 1913, ch 109 , § 7; RC 1919, § 7670; SDC 1939, § 27.…

If any nuisance, source of filth, cause of sickness or condition which endangers the public health is found on any property, the county health officer shall, by written notice served personally or by mail upon the property owner, describe the nuisance or condition found to exist …

Any person who releases or spreads any disease germs intending thereby to accomplish the infection of one or more persons or domestic animals is guilty of a Class 2 felony. Source: SL 1923, ch 160 ; SDC 1939, § 13.1504; SL 1977, ch 190 , § 28; SL 2006, ch 130 , § 14. 34-16-3, 34-…

If an owner of property fails to comply with the requirements of a notice served pursuant to § 34-16-19 , the county health officer shall proceed to have the nuisance, source of filth, cause of sickness or condition which endangers the public health removed from the property or a…

Any hearing before the board of county commissioners requested pursuant to § 34-16-19 shall be held during an open session of the board of county commissioners and shall be held no later than forty - five days after filing of the request for hearing. Following hearing, the board …

Each county may establish a county board of health which shall be composed of the state's attorney of the county, who shall be president of the board; a physician, a physician assistant, or certified nurse practitioner who practices in the county, appointed by the Department of H…

The county board of health shall meet at the county seat at such times as the superintendent may designate. The president of the county board of health shall preside at the meetings. Source: SL 2002, ch 168 , § 7.

The superintendent of the county board of health shall have charge of and superintend, subject to the approval of the board, all the matters and things specified in this chapter. In case of immediate danger to the health of persons, the superintendent may act without consultation…

The county board of health, within the territorial limits of its county not included in any first or second class municipality having its own board of health, may remove or cause to be removed any dead, decaying, or putrid body, or any decayed, putrid, or other substance that may…

All members, officers, and employees of the state department and local boards of health shall have the right to enter any building, conveyance, or place where contagion, infection, filth, or other source or cause of preventable disease exists or is reasonably suspected to exist. …

Terms used in this chapter mean: (1) "Campground," a plot of ground for public use upon which two or more campsites are located, established, maintained, advertised, or held out to the public to be a place where camping units can be located and occupied as temporary living quarte…

34-18-2 Secretary responsible for safety and sanitation requirements--Bond not required--Additional compensation not provided. 34-18-3 34-18-3 , 34-18-4. Repealed by SL 1988, ch 278 , §§ 1, 2. 34-18-5

Every owner of a lodging establishment, campground, food service establishment, or mobile food service establishment shall obtain a license before beginning the operation of the establishment or campground. The license must be renewed annually on or before December thirty-first. …

The department shall, in the case of every application for licensure, review and ascertain whether the facts set forth in the application are true. The department shall issue a license to the applicant when it is satisfied that the facts set forth in the application are true. The…

If it is determined that a lodging establishment, campground, food service, or mobile food service establishment has not secured a license pursuant to § 34-18-10 , the secretary shall notify the owner of such establishment. If the owner refuses or fails to comply with the provisi…

Source: SL 1995, ch 194 , § 2; SL 2025, ch 136 , § 2.

A one-time initial license fee of one hundred dollars shall be charged to any new food service establishment, lodging establishment, or campground upon initial licensure. Source: SL 2009, ch 165 , § 4. Effective July 1, 2026

A lodging establishment that has fifteen or fewer sleeping rooms may apply to the department for a permit to use a biological filtration system to filter water in the establishment's water recreational facility. Only an establishment that has been issued a permit under this secti…