Media Coverage: Legislature Sustains Governor’s Veto of HB 1169

“State Sen. Michael Rohl, R-Aberdeen, speaks on the South Dakota Senate floor on March 3, 2025. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)”

Rohl spoke in opposition to House Bill 1169, stating: “You can’t say you’re a Constitutionalist if you’re just going to enforce the parts of the Constitution that you personally agree with. That’s not a Constitutionalist. A Constitutionalist is somebody that actually supports the Constitution even when it doesn’t exactly line up with exactly what they want. This is the citizens’ ability to be able to change that, to be able to have their input in that. At the end of the day, the people of South Dakota support their right to change their Constitution, if they wish to do so."

On Tuesday, March 25th, Governor Rhoden vetoed House Bill 1169, a deeply flawed bill that would have implemented a geographic distribution requirement of signatures on proposed amendments to the South Dakota Constitution. Read Governor Rhoden’s statement on the veto here.

On Veto Day, March 31, the House voted 50 to 18 in support of overriding the veto while the Senate voted 16 to 16. Overriding the veto would have required two-thirds support in each chamber. Due to the outcome of the vote in the Senate, Governor Rhoden’s veto has been sustained.

Check out the media coverage from Veto Day below:

South Dakota Public Broadcasting
3/31/25: Legislature upholds governor’s veto on petition gathering bill

”Matthew Schweich is the President of the Voter Defense Association of South Dakota, an organization who opposed the bill. He called it a win for voters.

‘This is a major victory for the ballot initiative process in South Dakota,’ Schweich said. ‘We once again thank Gov. Rhoden for exercising his veto authority against HB 1169 and we thank those legislators who voted to respect his decision.’

He said he believes a large reason the veto upheld is because voters called Gov. Rhoden and legislators to oppose it.”

The Dakota Scout
3/31/25: South Dakota senators uphold ballot measure status quo, Gov. Larry Rhoden’s veto

Dakota News Now
3/31/25: Senate lawmakers uphold Governor’s veto on ballot initiative bill

South Dakota Searchlight
3/31/25: Legislature sustains veto of geographic signature requirement for constitutional amendment petitions

Keloland
3/31/25: Senate nixes House attempt to override HB 1169 veto

KXLG
3/31/25: South Dakota Legislature Fails to Override Veto on Amendment Proposal Bill

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