FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:    Monday, June 05, 2017

CONTACT:  Sara Rabern (605) 773-3215

PIERRE, S.D. - South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced today an Attorney General Explanation for a proposed constitutional amendment has been filed with the Secretary of State. This statement will appear on a petition that will be circulated by the sponsor of the amendment.  If the sponsor obtains a sufficient number of signatures (27,741) by November 6, 2017, as certified by the Secretary of State, the amendment will be placed on the ballot for the November 2018 general election.

The amendment is entitled “An initiated amendment to the South Dakota Constitution regarding initiated and referred measures.”

Under South Dakota law, the Attorney General is responsible for preparing explanations for proposed initiated measures, referred laws, and South Dakota Constitutional Amendments. Specifically, the explanation includes a title, an objective, clear and simple summary of the purpose and effect of the proposed amendment and a description of the legal consequences. The Attorney General Explanation is not a statement either for or against the proposed amendment.

Attorney General’s Statement for Initiated Constitutional Amendment (regarding initiated and referred measures)

To date the Attorney General has released Attorney General Explanations for the following:

1. An initiated measure requiring students to use rooms designated for the same biological sex, and requiring public schools to provide a reasonable accommodation for students whose gender identity is not the same as their biological sex

2. An initiated measure authorizing a South Dakota-licensed physician to prescribe drugs that a terminally ill patient may take for the purpose of ending life

3. An initiated measure to legalize marijuana for medical use

4. An initiated measure to legalize certain amounts of marijuana, drugs made from marijuana, and drug paraphernalia, and to regulate and tax marijuana establishments

5. An initiated measure requiring people to use certain rooms designated for the same biological sex 

6. An initiated measure to legalize all quantities of marijuana

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