SB 5 South Dakota Senate · 2026 Regular Session

require the disclosure of whether a ballot question was proposed by initiative or by the Legislature.

SB 5 requires South Dakota to clearly disclose on ballots whether a proposed constitutional amendment or law was initiated by the Legislature or by a citizen petition. The bill amends election laws to mandate that ballot titles for both types of measures must include a specific disclosure: "proposed by the Legislature" for legislative proposals, and "proposed by a citizen-initiated petition" for initiative measures. This disclosure must appear directly after the title and before the attorney general's explanation and fiscal note on the ballot. The law applies to all ballot questions submitted for voter approval, ensuring voters can immediately see the origin of each measure.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Jan 2026
Senate Passage
Jan 2026
House Passage
Jan 2026
Signed into Law
Feb 2026
Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Signed Feb 6, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Enrolled · 3 edits · Jan 28, 2026
MINOR
This bill updates South Dakota's election disclosure laws to ensure voters know whether a ballot question was proposed by the Legislature or by citizens. It mandates that the Attorney General include a specific 'source disclosure' on all ballots, alongside the explanation and fiscal note. The changes apply to both legislative amendments and citizen-initiated measures, requiring the Attorney General to prepare and post draft statements for public comment before finalizing the ballot language.
Scope change
The bill expands the scope of ballot disclosure requirements to explicitly mandate a statement identifying the origin of the measure (Legislature vs. Initiative) for all constitutional amendments and referred laws.
REQUIREMENT

Added a mandatory 'source disclosure' on ballots stating whether a measure was proposed by the Legislature or by a citizen-initiated petition.

Added specific recitation text for citizen-initiated measures instructing voters to 'Vote Yes to adopt the initiated measure' and 'Vote No to leave South Dakota law as it is'.

TIMELINE

Modified the process for citizen-initiated measures to require the Attorney General to post a draft statement for public comment and accept revisions before the final ballot language is released.

Floor votes · Senate Jan 20, 2026 · House Jan 27, 2026

How they voted

320
Passed · 3 other
Total votes 35
Jan 20, 2026
D Democratic3
3 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican32
29 Yea 3
90% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
14
Key actions
8
Committee
3
Feb 6, 2026
Signed into law
Signed by the Governor on 2026-02-06 S.J. 206
executive
Jan 29, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by the Speaker H.J. 185
upper
Jan 28, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by the President S.J. 134
upper
Jan 27, 2026
Upper · Passed
House of Representatives Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 64, NAYS 1 H.J. 157
upper
Jan 26, 2026
Upper · Passed
State Affairs Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 13, NAYS 0 H.J. 3
upper
Jan 22, 2026
Committee
Referred to House State Affairs H.J. 114
upper
Jan 20, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 32, NAYS 0 S.J. 67
upper
Jan 16, 2026
Upper · Passed
Certified uncontested, placed on consent , Passed, S.J. 1
upper
Jan 16, 2026
Upper · Passed
State Affairs Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 8, NAYS 0 S.J. 1
upper
Jan 13, 2026
Introduced
First read in Senate and referred to Senate State Affairs S.J. 15
upper
17 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors