HB 1188; Another legislative assault on citizen’s right to petition their government

Pretty soon this is how we will petition local government

 

HB 1188: FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to require that five percent of the qualified electors in one-half of the counties sign initiative and referendum petitions.
Presented by:    Representative Noel Hamiel (Aurora & Davison counties)
Proponents:    Yvonne Taylor, SD Municipal League (If citizens keep trying to protect their land and homes, how will cities ever grow?)
        Thomas Barnett Jr.,SD State Bar 
        Al Kurtenbach, SDSU Growth Partners (Whose growth?  Probably not those troublemaker citizens who want to stop oil processing plants and such.)
        Steve Willard, SD Broadcasters Association
        Bob Wilcox, SD Association of County Commissioners (Remember how county commissioners have foolishly called confined animal feeding operations, coal power plants, and    

                                oil refineries “economic development?”)
        Michael Held, SD Farm Bureau (‘Nuff said.)

  The bill passed the House:

        Yeas 39, Nays 27, Excused 4, Absent 0
     Yeas: Bolin; Boomgarden; Brunner; Carson; Cronin; Deadrick; Dreyer; Faehn; Gosch; Greenfield; Hamiel; Hoffman; Hunt; Jensen; Juhnke; Kirkeby; Kopp; Lederman; Lust; McLaughlin; Moser; Noem; Novstrup (David); Olson (Betty); Olson (Ryan); Peters; Pitts; Rausch; Romkema; Schlekeway; Sly; Solum; Steele; Turbiville; Van Gerpen; Vanneman; Verchio; Wink; Speaker Rave
     Nays:  Blake; Burg; Curd; Cutler; Elliott; Engels; Fargen; Feickert; Feinstein; Frerichs; Gibson; Hunhoff (Bernie); Kirschman; Lange; Lucas; Nygaard; Putnam; Rounds; Russell; Schrempp; Solberg; Sorenson; Street; Thompson; Tidemann; Vanderlinde; Wismer
     Excused: Dennert; Iron Cloud III; Killer; Krebs