PIERRE, S.D. (SDBA) — A hog-housed House bill causes an uproar in the legislature Tuesday.
HB1140 started as a “zombie” or vehicle bill to be used at the end of the session if needed.
On Monday, the Senate amended the bill, which now would allow cities and counties not to put citizen-initiated measures on the ballot if the governing body believes the measure violates state or federal law.
The hog house is aimed at petition drives in counties that would require them to hand count ballots.
The bill passed the Senate 27 to 6 without a hearing and then went to the House without a committee hearing. Hog housing or amending vehicle bills can circumvent the normal committee process under legislative rules.
Nearly all legislation goes through committee hearings with public testimony before going to the floor of the House or Senate.
Opponents said the bill was not just a bad idea but was part of a bad process.
Republican Rep. Jon Hansen from Dell Rapids attempted to prevent the House from concurring in the Senate’s changes and not appointing a conference committee.
Hansen said it gives county officials a veto over citizen’s local initiatives. Further, he said a court could sever unlawful or unconstitutional portions of an initiated measure from the legal parts.
But Hansen wasn’t finished.
He said he didn’t know the original bill would be amended.
However, Republican Assistant Majority Leader Taylor Rehfeldt from Sioux Falls said the legislature should address the problem since it arose during the legislative session.
Republican Rep. Roger Chase from Huron agreed with Rehfeldt.
Republican Rep. Scott Odenbach from Spearfish said the bill was a “backlash” against the local hand-counting movement.
Hansen’s motion to not concur and to not appoint a conference committee failed on a rare tie–35 to 35.
After the motion to not concur and not have a conference committee failed on the tie vote, Republican Majority Leader Will Mortenson from Fort Pierre moved not to concur but to appoint a conference committee. That motion passed 38 to 32.
House conferees are Republican Representatives Rebecca Reimer from Chamberlain, Chase, and Sue Peterson from Sioux Falls.