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S.D. Codified Laws § 12-13-9

Attorney general's statement regarding constitutional amendment proposed by legislature or referred law

Applied in 6 court decisions — leading case Barnhart v. Herseth (1974)

Most recently applied in South Dakota State Federation of Labor AFL-CIO v. Jackley (July 2010)

Source: SL 1915, ch 181, § 1; RC 1919, § 7216; SL 1921, ch 219; SDC 1939, § 16.1302; SL 1959, ch 99, § 15; SDC Supp 1960, § 16.2215; SDCL §§ 12-13-10, 12-13-12; SL 1971, ch 90, …

How often courts cite this section

1974198019902000201020
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

The attorney general shall deliver a statement for each amendment to the South Dakota Constitution proposed by the Legislature and referred law from an odd year to the secretary of state before the third Tuesday in May, in the year of the election. The attorney general shall deliver a statement for each referred law from an even year to the secretary of state before the second Tuesday in July, in the year of the election. The attorney general's statement must be written by the attorney general and must consist of:

(1) A title, which is a concise statement of the subject of the proposed amendment to the constitution or referred law;

(2) An objective, clear, and simple explanation that:

(a) Educates the voters on the purpose and effect of the proposed amendment to the constitution or referred law; and

(b) Describes the legal consequences of the proposed amendment to the constitution or referred law, including any likely exposure of the state to liability if the proposed amendment to the constitution or referred law is adopted; and

(3) A recitation:

(a) For a proposed amendment to the constitution, stating "Vote 'Yes' to adopt the amendment" and "Vote 'No' to leave the Constitution as it is"; or

(b) For a referred law, stating "Vote 'Yes' to allow the Act of the Legislature to become law" and "Vote 'No' to reject the Act of the Legislature.

The explanation may not exceed two hundred words in length. On the printed ballots, the title of the proposed amendment to the constitution or referred law must be followed by the explanation, the most recent fiscal note prepared pursuant to § 2-9-32 or 2-9-30.2, and the recitation. The title, explanation, fiscal note, and recitation must be printed on the ballot in the order provided by this section.

Official source: South Dakota Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain South Dakota statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.