SB1 updates the state's adoption of federal motor carrier safety and hazardous materials regulations to include all changes made through January 1, 2025. It clarifies that most federal trucking rules apply to both interstate and intrastate operations. It also sets minimum driver age requirements—21 for interstate, hazardous materials, and large passenger vehicles, and 18 for others.
The South Dakota State Senate passed SB1 on January 22, 2025 by a vote of 35 to 0. We have assigned pluses to the nays because this bill surrenders state sovereignty to federal bureaucrats. By aligning state policy with regulations from the U.S. Department of Transportation, it interferes in the free market by setting age limits, and invites federal control over private industry. Such overreach infringes on the 10th Amendment’s protection of state sovereignty, the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of individual rights, and the God-given rights to “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” States must resist by nullifying these unconstitutional mandates.
