PIERRE, S.D. (SDBA) — The South Dakota Legislature failed today (Monday) to override Governor Larry Rhoden’s veto of House Bill 1169, a measure that would have changed how citizens propose amendments to the state constitution.
While the House voted 50-18 to override the veto, reaching the required two-thirds majority, the Senate deadlocked 16-16, falling short of the votes needed to override. The governor’s veto was sustained with a tie vote in the Senate.
The bill would have required petition signatures from all 35 state Senate districts to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot. Petitioners would have needed signatures equal to at least 5 percent of the votes cast for governor in each district during the last election.
“Please support this. Please give rural South Dakota a voice,” said Sen. Tom Pischke, R-Dell Rapids.
Governor Rhoden vetoed the bill on March 28, expressing concerns about its constitutionality.
“I am concerned that this bill will not withstand scrutiny in the courts. This bill attempts to change the South Dakota Constitution in statute, and I believe that approach is to be misguided,” Rhoden wrote in his veto message.
The bill sparked intense debate between lawmakers representing rural and urban areas.
Rep. Rebecca Reimer, R-Chamberlain, who introduced the bill, argued it would give voice to rural areas often overlooked in the petition process.
“Many of my constituents and many of yours live in towns even smaller, in smaller towns and on farms and on ranches. And I submit to you that many of our constituents have never been approached by petition circulators,” Reimer said.
Rep. Kadyn Wittman, D-Sioux Falls, highlighted opposition to the bill.
“We saw a great many issues with this specific piece of legislation, and we attempted to raise red flags and yet six no votes,” Wittman said. “I would request all of you to support the governor’s veto today.”
Sen. Steve Kolbeck, R-Sioux Falls, argued the bill was unfair. When passed in the House, there were only six no votes, five of them by Democrats.
“You cannot value one voter signature over another. Just because the 5 percent here or 5 percent there, they can get the signatures in Rapid City and Sioux Falls, those voters have rights,” Kolbeck said.
Pischke defended the bill by citing Article 23, Section 1 of the state constitution, which uses the words “at least 10%” for required signatures.
“This is constitutional because the ‘at least’ would be the minimum. It’s the basement. It’s the floor,” Pischke argued.
The governor’s veto stands with the Senate’s tie vote, and House Bill 1169 will not become law.
Today is the 38th and final day of the 2025 South Dakota Legislative session.
