9-35-1. Street lighting--Utility poles, pipes, and other facilities in public places--Rate regulation--Municipally owned utilities. Every municipality may regulate and provide for the lighting of streets, laying of gas or water pipes, and erection of lampposts, electric towers, and apparatus in connection therewith; to fix and determine the charges for telephone and telephone service connections subject to the powers of the Public Utilities Commission; to regulate the placement of water pipelines, the erection of poles for telegraph, telephone, or electric wires in the public grounds, streets, or alleys, and the placing of wire thereon and to require the removal thereof from such places and to require the placing of such wires under ground; and to grant and regulate rights and franchises for such purposes. However, no franchise or any franchise election may be required of any public utility which has been assigned a service area pursuant to § 49-34A-44, telephone company subject to chapter 49-31, or a rural water system. Municipally owned electric utilities may regulate the sale and use of electric power and energy and fix and determine their own rates therefor provided that nothing contained herein may be construed to prevent a municipality from forming its own electric system.

Source: SL 1890, ch 37, art V, § 1, subdiv 13; RPolC 1903, § 1229, subdiv 13; SL 1913, ch 119, § 53, subdiv 13; RC 1919, § 6169 (18); SL 1921, ch 307; SDC 1939, § 45.0201 (78); SL 1975, ch 283, § 57; SL 1976, ch 296, § 29; SL 1978, ch 65; SL 1985, ch 65.