December 16, 1980
The Honorable Alice Kundert
Secretary of State
State Capitol
Pierre, South Dakota 57501
Official Opinion No. 80-76
County central committees
Dear Miss Kundert:
You have requested an official opinion from this office in regard to the following factual situation:
FACTS:
The 1980 South Dakota Legislature amended SDCL 12-5-14 regarding the composition of county central committees to include: 'the state committeemen and committeewomen; the county chairman, vice-chairman, and secretary- treasurer or secretary and treasurer; and the elected public officers who reside in the county,' . . . (Emphasis added.)
SDCL 3-1-2 states that: 'Except as otherwise expressly provided, all state, district, and county officers shall qualify and enter upon the duties of their office on the first Monday of January succeeding their election or within twenty days thereafter.'
SDCL 7-7-1 states that: 'Except when otherwise expressly provided, the regular term of office for all county officers, when elected for a full term, shall commence on the first Monday in January next succeeding their election, except the office of county auditor, the term of which shall begin on the first Monday of March next succeeding his election. . . .'
As adopted November, 1980, pursuant to Chapter 4, Laws of 1980, Article III, Section 7, the South Dakota Constitution states that: 'The Legislature shall meet at the seat of government on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of January at 12 o'clock m. and at no other time except as provided by this Constitution.'
Based on the above facts, you have asked the following questions:
QUESTIONS:
1. Who constitutes the 'elected public officers who reside in the county'? Does it include municipal, township, school board and any other local officer not elected on a partisan ballot? Does it include legislators and county officials, i.e., county auditor, treasurer, etc., who were defeated at the primary election or general election or who did not run for reelection? Does it include elected officers like a U.S. Senator, Governor, Secretary of State, etc.? Does it include the county auditors whose term starts the first Monday of March? Does it include an individual who ran as a nonincumbent but lost the primary or general election?
2. If state, district, and county officers are defined as those 'elected public officers who reside in the county,' when do they become members of the county central committee? Do they become members upon their official election to office or on January 1 or upon the beginning of their term, or upon taking the oath of office?
3. Do the elected county officials, i.e., county treasurer, etc., take office on the first Monday of January and the legislators take office the first Tuesday after the first Monday of January?
IN RE QUESTION NO. 1:
SDCL 2-14-11 provides:
Provisions contained in any title, part, or chapter of the code of laws enacted by § 2-16-13 may be construed and considered in the light of such arrangement and such position in any case where such arrangement or such position tends to show the intended purpose and effect thereof.
SDCL 2-14-4 provides:
Whenever the meaning of a word or phrase is defined in any statute such definition is applicable to the same word or phrase wherever it occurs except where a contrary intention plainly appears.
SDCL 22-1-2(37) provides:
'Public officer,' an individual who holds a position in the state government or in any of its political subdivisions, by election or appointment, for a definite period, whose duties are fixed by law, and who is invested with some portion of the sovereign functions of government.
In view of § 2-14-11 and the placement of SDCL 12-5-14 in the SDCL Chapter entitled 'Political Parties and Party Affairs,' it is my opinion that only those elected public officers who were elected with a party designation are eligible to serve on the county central committee of their party. This means that municipal, township, school district officers, etc., who are not elected on a partisan ballot are not eligible to serve on the county central committee.
Moreover, in view of the definition in § 22-1-2(37) of public officer as 'an individual who holds a position in the state government or in any of its political subdivisions,' it is my opinion that United States Congressmen and United States Senators are not eligible to serve on county central committees.
It is further my opinion that 'an individual who holds a position in the state government or in any of its political subdivisions' includes county officers, state legislators, and the state constitutional officers, and, therefore, those persons are members of the county central committee of their party. Of course, those persons must be elected and can only serve in the county where they reside.
IN RE QUESTION NO. 2:
Insofar as § 22-1-2(37) defines a public officer as 'an individual who holds a position in state government or in any of its political subdivisions' (emphasis added) and as one 'who is invested with some portion of the sovereign functions of government,' it is my opinion that mere election is not enough but rather only those persons serving in the capacity of a public official are eligible for membership on a county central committee.
Therefore, a public official is not a member of a party central committee at the time of his election but only after his term has begun and he has taken his oath of office.
IN RE QUESTION NO. 3:
Pursuant to SDCL §§ 3-1-2 and 7-7-1, except for the county auditor who takes office in March, the terms of all county officers commence on the first Monday in January (§ 7-7-1), and all county officers shall qualify for office and enter upon their duties of the first Monday in January or within twenty days thereafter.
With regard to state legislators, they take office at the time of taking their oath which, according to § 3-1-2, must fall on the first Monday in January or within twenty days thereafter.
Respectfully submitted,
Mark V. Meierhenry
Attorney General
