Daugaard signs bill eliminating voter-approved ethics law
PIERRE -- Gov. Dennis Daugaard on Thursday signed House Bill 1069, effectively repealing a voter-approved campaign finance and ethics law set into statute as Initiated Measure 22.
Because the bill contains an emergency clause, it will take effect immediately. That means the law that calls for establishing an independent state ethics commission, setting strict new limits on gifts to lawmakers, and creating publicly financed campaign credits became history in South Dakota.
“The circuit court enjoined Initiated Measure 22, finding it unconstitutional ‘beyond a reasonable doubt.’ It has not been in effect, and it is extremely unlikely that it would ever come into effect,” Daugaard said in a statement. “For that reason, it makes sense to repeal this unconstitutional measure."
MORE: How lawmakers voted on ethics law repeal
Opponents of the repeal rallied at the Capitol Wednesday ahead of the Senate's vote on House Bill 1069. They, along with Democrats in the Statehouse and a handful of Republicans, argued that lawmakers should respect the will of the voters and set up replacements before erasing the law.
Republican legislators have filed a host of proposals aimed at replacing pieces of the extensive law. And Daugaard said Thursday that he would work with them to enact them.
SEE ALSO: S.D. Senate strikes voter-approved ethics law
Doug Kronaizl, spokesman for Represent South Dakota, said he wasn't surprised at the Republican governor's decision, nor at the Legislature's vote to drop the law. He said his group would continue monitoring the efforts to pick up pieces of Initiated Measure 22.
"We're going to work with the few replacements that were provided and make sure that they don't get watered down," Kronaizl said.
Kronaizl said he wasn't aware of pending legal challenges to the repeal bill's emergency clause or to its multiple subjects.
A Hughes County judge enjoined Initiated Measure 22 in November, saying it seemed unconstitutional. Now that the law is off the books, that challenge and pending litigation could also be dropped.
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