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Attorney General Marty Jackley

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Attorney General’s Office Releases Explanation for Draft Constitutional Amendment Proposed by Sioux Falls Man

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025

Contact: Tony Mangan, Communications Director, 605-773-6878 

PIERRE, S.D. – An explanation for a draft constitutional amendment, proposed by Rick Weiland of Sioux Falls, that would require legislative changes for voter-approved initiated measures for seven years after approval to be approved by a three-fourths vote of the Legislature and also require approval of the voters, has been submitted for public review by the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office. 

Attorney General Marty Jackley takes no position on any such proposal for purposes of the ballot explanation. He has provided a fair and neutral explanation on the proposed constitutional amendment to help assist the voters. 

This proposed constitutional amendment would restrict the Legislature’s ability to change or repeal voter-approved measures seven years after the measure takes effect. During that seven-year period, the Legislature can still approve legislation that would either change or repeal laws approve by initiated measure, but such action would have to be passed by three-fourths of all members in each legislative chamber and also be approved by voters at the next general election.

The ballot explanation can be found here.

State law requires the Attorney General draft a title and explanation for each initiated measure, initiated constitutional amendment, constitutional amendment proposed by the Legislature, or referred measure that may appear on an election ballot. The Attorney General's explanation is meant to be an "objective, clear, and simple summary" intended to "educate the voters of the purpose and effect of the proposed" measure, as well as identify the "legal consequences" of each measure.

Once the Attorney General has filed and posted the draft explanation, the public has 10 days to provide written comment. The explanation was filed Feb. 20, 2025 (Thursday) and the deadline for comments on this explanation is Sunday, March 2 at the close of business in Pierre, South Dakota. The final explanation is due to the Secretary of State on Wednesday, March 12.

Current law requires 35,017 valid petition signatures for the measure to qualify for the 2026 general election ballot. 

To file written comments on a draft Attorney General’s explanation please use one of the following methods below. Copies of all received comments will be posted on this website. https://atg.sd.gov/Legal/ballotexplanations.aspx#gsc.tab=0

Comments may be submitted via mail, or through hand delivery, to the Attorney General’s Office at: 

Office of the Attorney General
Ballot Comment
1302 E. Hwy. 14, Suite 1
Pierre, SD 57501

Comments that are hand delivered must be received by the close of business in Pierre, South Dakota, by Friday, February 28.

Comments may also be emailed to ATGballotcomments@state.sd.us by Sunday, March 2.  Comments should be clearly expressed in the body of the email. The Attorney General’s Office will not open attachments in an effort to prevent malware or other digital threats. Please include your name and contact information when submitting your comment. The title of the comment must be included in the subject line of the email.

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