2021 South Dakota Codified Laws
Title 38 - Agriculture and Horticulture
Chapter 35 - Industrial Hemp
Section 38-35-5 - Criminal background check--Denial of license for conviction--Licensure exemption.
38-35-5. Criminal background check--Denial of license for conviction--Licensure exemption.
Each applicant for any license under this chapter, key participant, and landowner, if the applicant is the lessee, shall submit to a state and federal criminal background investigation by means of fingerprint checks by the Division of Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Upon application for a license, the department shall submit the completed fingerprint cards to the division. Upon completion of the criminal background check, the division shall forward to the department all information obtained as a result of the criminal background check. This information shall be obtained prior to licensure of the applicant. All costs or fees associated with the criminal background checks are the responsibility of the applicant. Information provided to the department under this section is confidential, is not public record, and is exempt from the provisions of chapter 1-27. However, the department may share this information with law enforcement and the Department of Public Safety. Failure to submit to or cooperate with a criminal background check is grounds for denial or revocation of a license. The secretary may deny licensure if any applicant, key participant, or landowner has been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony relating to a controlled substance or marijuana under state or federal law within the previous ten years. Licensure under this chapter is not required for employees of the state of South Dakota when performing official duties. Any person who has previously submitted a fingerprint card to the Division of Criminal Investigation as part of an application under the hemp program is not required to resubmit a fingerprint card but shall authorize the use of the previously submitted fingerprints for an updated state and federal background check. All costs or fees associated with the criminal background checks are the responsibility of the applicant.
Source: SL 2020, ch 176, § 5, eff. Mar. 27, 2020; SL 2021, ch 182, § 3, eff. Mar. 25, 2021.
