31-26-1. Application to board of county commissioners to erect poles and wires or to bury cable for electricity and telephone--Period covered by application--Regulation by Legislature.The board of county commissioners, upon written application designating the particular highway the use of which is desired, may grant to any person engaged in the manufacture or sale of electric light and power, or any municipality authorized by law to purchase electric current, or any person authorized by law to purchase such current from such municipality, or any person engaged in, or about to engage in, the furnishing of telephone service, the right to erect and maintain poles and wires or to bury underground cable for the purpose of conducting electricity for lighting, heating, and power purposes, together with stay wires and braces, and for the purpose of furnishing telephone service, in and along any public highway in its county for a period not to exceed twenty years, subject to the conditions set forth in this chapter and such further reasonable regulations as the Legislature may hereafter prescribe. highway in its county for a period not to exceed twenty years, subject to the conditions set forth in this chapter and such further reasonable regulations as the Legislature may hereafter prescribe. Source: SDC 1939, §28.1001; SL 1939, ch 108; SL 1953, ch 149, §1; SL 1953, ch 150; SL 2003, ch 159, §1.
South Dakota Legal Code