25.113.18 100th Legislative Session 1169
2025 South Dakota Legislature
House Bill 1169
ENROLLED
AN ACT
ENTITLED An Act to modify the signature requirement for a petition to initiate a
constitutional amendment.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA:
Section 1. That § 2-1-1 be AMENDED:
2-1-1. A measure proposed by initiative may be presented only by a petition
signed by at least five percent of the qualified electors of the state.
An amendment to the South Dakota Constitution proposed by initiative may be
presented only by a petition signed by qualified voters from each senatorial district, equal
in number to at least five percent of the total votes cast for Governor in the senatorial
district at the last gubernatorial election, provided that the total number of signatures on
the petition equals at least ten percent of the total votes cast for Governor in the last
gubernatorial election.
Section 2. That § 2-1-1.1 be AMENDED:
2-1-1.1. A petition sponsor shall file, in a physical and electronic format, a petition
for an initiated amendment to the South Dakota Constitution, as it is to be circulated, with
the secretary of state before the petition may be circulated and at least one year before
the next general election at which the initiated amendment to the constitution is proposed
to be submitted to the voters. The petition must:
(1) Contain the full text of the initiated amendment in fourteen-point font;
(2) Designate the date of the general election at which the initiated amendment is to
be submitted;
(3) Contain the title and explanation as prepared by the attorney general;
(4) Be accompanied by a notarized affidavit form signed by each person who is a
petition sponsor that includes the name and address of each petition sponsor; and
(5) Be accompanied by a statement of organization as provided in § 12-27-6. 25.113.18 2 1169
HB1169 ENROLLED
Each petition circulator shall provide to each individual who signs the petition a
circulator handout containing the title and explanation of the initiated amendment to the
Constitution as prepared by the attorney general; any fiscal note prepared pursuant to
§ 2-9-30; the name, phone number, and email address of each petition sponsor; and a
statement indicating whether the petition circulator is a volunteer or paid circulator and,
if a paid circulator, the amount the circulator is being paid. The secretary of state must
approve the circulator handout for each initiated amendment to the Constitution before
the petition is circulated.
A petition for an initiated amendment to the constitution may not be circulated
more than twenty-four months before the general election that was designated pursuant
to subdivision (1). Each sheet of the petition must indicate the senatorial district where
the signatures were collected and may contain only signatures from that senatorial district.
A sworn affidavit, signed by at least two-thirds of the petition sponsors, stating that the
documents filed constitute the entire petition and to the best of the knowledge of the
sponsors contains a sufficient number of signatures, must also be filed with the secretary
of state. The initiated amendment petition signatures must be filed with the secretary of
state by the first Tuesday in May of a general election year for the initiated amendment
to qualify for submission to the voters at the next general election.
The State Board of Elections shall promulgate rules, pursuant to chapter 1-26,
prescribing the form of the affidavit and the requirements of the petition not otherwise
specified by this section. 25.113.18 3 1169
HB1169 ENROLLED
An Act to modify the signature requirement for a petition to initiate a constitutional
amendment.
I certify that the attached Act originated in
the:
House as Bill No. 1169
Chief Clerk
Speaker of the House
Attest:
Chief Clerk
President of the Senate
Attest:
Secretary of the Senate
House Bill No. 1169
File No. ____
Chapter No. ______
Received at this Executive Office
this _____ day of _____________,
2025 at ____________M.
By
for the Governor
The attached Act is hereby
approved this ________ day of
______________, A.D., 2025
Governor
STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA ,
ss.
Office of the Secretary of State
Filed ____________, 2025
at _________ o'clock __M.
Secretary of State
By
Asst. Secretary of State