PIERRE, S.D.(DRGNews)- Supporters want to give South Dakota voters the chance to “clarify” whether or not the state should have the option of adding a work requirement for able bodied individuals who receive Medicaid….while opponents say such requirements are not effective and they would constitute an expansion of government control.

The state Senate State passed SJR 501 on a 28-4 vote Thursday.

Resolution sponsor, Republican Rep. Tony Venhuizen of Sioux Falls, said he doesn’t think voters understood that the constitutional amendment they passed in 2022 to expand Medicaid did not have a work requirement for non-disabled people. He, and other proponents, argued that the proposed change would not mandate a work requirement, but would provide the option to add it– if the federal government and the state legislature approved it in the future.

Senate Minority Leader Senator Reynold Nesiba from Sioux Falls is adamantly against the work requirement option.

House Minority Leader Representative Oren Lesmeister from Parade is also opposed to the possibility of adding a work requirement for able-bodied Medicaid recipients.

The resolution now goes to the House for further consideration.