by Benjamin Chase
of the Plainsman
HURON –– South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley is in his fourth term as the state’s top law enforcement official, and it’s hard to imagine having a more productive legislative session than he had in what may be his last in the position.
“I had 10 bills (that the legislature passed during the 2026 session),” Jackley explained. “Election integrity was one subset, government transparency with open meeting laws were three more in another subset, and I had six core public safety bills.”
Two of those bills dealt with artificial intelligence and the ability to create AI-generated pornography with the technology, one on administrative subpoenas on enforcement, and one dealt directly with the material when used by “bad actors.”
“We had seen this coming a couple of years ago,” Jackley recounted. “I, as attorney general, brought the AI legislation on child pornography. What we didn’t see coming was the use of AI against adults.”
He continued, “I’ve always been supportive of AI. I’m an electrical engineer. I appreciate all that it can do for us, but when it’s in the hands of the wrong people, they’re using it inappropriately and they’re hurting people and especially hurting our young people.”
That led to Senate Bill 79 in 2024, which amended multiple parts of the statutes on child pornography in the state to include language regarding artificial intelligence-generated images and videos.
“This year, we expanded it to protect all South Dakotans, including adults, against the inappropriate use of AI to harm them,” he stated. “We’ve been seeing cases across the nation and here in South Dakota where bad actors go on social media and pull pictures. I felt we needed protections.”
South Dakota legislators were able to do something that Congress to this point has been unable to do, which is agree on the enforcement and regulation of the AI industry.
“Nationally, in Washington, they’re going to have to have a uniform policy on AI. A 50-state patchwork isn’t going to work for business development and economic drivers,” Jackley observed. “On the criminal law side, however, states have an ability and a responsibility to protect our citizens.”
Jackley expressed that the bills brought forward in the state will not stifle any business development because of the specificity of the laws against the “worst of the worst.”
Jackley also identified the way the state works in Pierre as a benefit in addressing subjects like AI.
“We balance our budget. Anything we are fighting for goes through hearings,” he clarified. “You don’t have an appropriations process like that in Washington. You often times see them trying to throw everything in one bill, so you’re forced to say yes or no to 50 different topics.”
Jackley then referenced the single subject matter law in the state that forces each subject to be reviewed individually without being attached to an unrelated piece of legislation.
Working on subjects that were bipartisan led to support for Jackley’s bills this session from all areas of the legislature.
“I felt that this year with the ten bills that I brought. If you look, most of those bills passed unanimously – Democrats, moderate Republicans, and conservatives all voted yes,” he said.
In his current term, Jackley has seen the Open Meeting Commission rejuvenated after falling off while he was out of office.
“The first three terms I was Attorney General, I saw an Open Meeting Commission that was proactive and responsive,” Jackley noted. “When I came back for my fourth term as Attorney General, I found an Open Meeting Commission that was not meeting and had vacancies.”
Jackley stated that as the commission met, it saw areas where the government could be more transparent. That commission led to legislation that Jackley has supported in the last few years with the legislature.
Finally, Jackley addressed the election integrity focus of his legislation this year, but he wanted to clarify that it wasn’t because there were bad elections being run in South Dakota.
“In South Dakota, our auditors run the elections, and our auditors do a tremendous job,” Jackley expressed. “What the legislature has tried to do is to increase participation in the election process, so they put certain things in place for that.”
Jackley explained that his bills this year focused on foreign national involvement in funding elections. He expressed that auditors are an important part of the election process, and he stated that legislators should be sure to reference auditors when discussing election legislation moving forward.
“As Attorney General, I appreciate what the legislature did for public safety, government transparency, and election integrity,” Jackley concluded. “All my ten bills went through, with some good changes to them, and that’s part of the process. I always look forward to working with the legislature to make our laws more clear and fair.”
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