In March 2008, South Dakota enacted legislation mandating the use of high-performance building standards in new state construction and renovations. This policy requires that new and renovated state buildings achieve the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Silver rating, a two-globe rating under the Green Building Initiative's (GBI) Green Globe rating system, or a comparable numeric rating from another accredited sustainable building certification program. The law applies to all new construction projects and renovations by state agencies, departments, or institutions that cost more than $1,000,000 or include more than 10,000 square feet of space. The standard only applies to buildings with heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems.

The Office of the State Engineer may issue a waiver to this requirement if:

- The building will have minimal human occupancy;

- The increased capital cost will not be recouped within 15 years from decreased operational costs;

- The standard would conflict with existing historic properties laws;

- The square footage of a renovation project is less than 50% of the total square footage of the building; or

- The South Dakota Bureau of Administration (BOA) determines that the standard is impractical for a given project.

The BOA must adopt rules for determining compliance and issuing waivers under the standard. Any waivers issued by the BOA must be reported annually to the state legislature.

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