Championed by Representative Bartels, House Bill 1050 passed unanimously and was “unofficially” signed into law on March 7, 2019. This bill makes it a felony to possess skimming and re-encoding devices in the state of South Dakota. It was made official on Tuesday, March 19, 2019.

 

House Bill 1050 revised the law in two important ways:

1. HB 1050 adds “computer chip” to the info-tech so an individual cannot “access, read, obtain, memorize, or store, temporarily or permanently” from a payment device or card without prior authorization. Prior to this bill, the statute forbid only tampering with the magnetic strip.

 

2. HB 1050 makes “owning or possessing a re-encoder or scanning device with the intent to unauthorizedly obtain or alter information on a payment card a Class 6 felony.” The majority of credit card misconduct was are already a Class 6 felony, but prior to this bill, possession of a scanner or re-encoder with criminal intent was only a Class 1 misdemeanor.

 

“Technology is always evolving, for better or worse, making it more important than ever to identify and eliminate gaps in security that expose sensitive information. Our independent community bankers, businesses, and consumers alike face this challenge on a daily basis, yet protection and justice under previous state law fell short for violators,” said Megan Olson, president and CEO of the ICBSD.

 

For this reason, the Independent Community Bankers of South Dakota (ICBSD) pushed to shift the emphasis from use of these devices to possession of these devices. To no surprise, this bill was supported by many including the South Dakota Bankers Association, the South Dakota Retailers Association, and AARP.

 

 

The ICBSD works toward ensuring independent community banking remains great. They give their members have a strong voice in the state and federal legislative processes. Members of their organization are empowered to advocate for change and keep independent community banks alive and thriving.