Upon receiving a proposal for an amendment to the Constitution, whether initiated by petition or proposed by a joint resolution of the Legislature, the secretary of state shall determine if the proposal embraces more than one subject in violation of S.D. Const., Art. XXIII, § 1, and if it is a revision under S.D. Const., Art. XXIII, § 2.

If the secretary of state determines that the proposal complies with the single subject requirement and is not a revision, the secretary of state shall provide written certification to the sponsors, the attorney general, and the director of the Legislative Research Council that the proposal embraces only one subject and would be an amendment to the Constitution under S.D. Const., Art. XXIII, § 1, if approved by the voters. The secretary of state shall publish on the secretary of state’s website notice of this certification not more than fifteen working days following receipt of the proposal.

Terms Used In South Dakota Codified Laws 12-13-26.1

  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Joint resolution: A legislative measure which requires the approval of both chambers.
  • written: include typewriting and typewritten, printing and printed, except in the case of signatures, and where the words are used by way of contrast to typewriting and printing. See South Dakota Codified Laws 2-14-2

The secretary of state may not certify the proposal if it embraces more than one subject in violation of S.D. Const., Art. XXIII, § 1. The secretary of state may not certify the proposal if it is a revision under S.D. Const., Art. XXIII, § 2. If the secretary of state determines that the proposal embraces more than one subject or is a revision, the secretary of state shall provide written notice to the sponsors explaining the reason the proposal is not certified and shall publish the notice on the secretary of state’s website, not more than fifteen working days following receipt of the proposal. The sponsors of an initiated amendment may amend the initiated amendment to the Constitution in accordance with the secretary of state’s explanation and resubmit the amended initiated amendment to the Constitution to the director of the Legislative Research Council for review under § 12-13-25.

For purposes of this section, the sponsors of a constitutional amendment proposed by a joint resolution of the Legislature are the presiding officers of the Legislature.

Source: SL 2021, ch 64, § 3, eff. Mar. 18, 2021; SL 2023, ch 48, § 1.

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