Title 7, COUNTIES

If a petition to initiate is filed with the auditor, the auditor shall present it to the board of county commissioners at its next regular or special meeting. The board shall submit it to a vote of the voters in the manner prescribed for a referendum within sixty days after the f…

No initiated ordinance or resolution is effective unless approved by a majority of the votes cast for and against the ordinance or resolution. If approved, the ordinance or resolution is effective the day following the completion of the canvass of the election returns. Source: SL…

Any ordinance or resolution adopted by a board of county commissioners may be referred to a vote of the qualified voters of the county by the filing of a petition signed by five percent of the registered voters in the county, based upon the total number of registered voters at th…

Any legislative decision of a board of county commissioners is subject to the referendum process. A legislative decision is one that enacts a permanent law or lays down a rule of conduct or course of policy for the guidance of citizens or their officers. Any matter of a permanent…

A petition to refer an ordinance or resolution subject to referendum may be filed with the auditor within twenty days after publication of the ordinance or resolution in the last to publish official county newspaper. The filing of the petition requires the submission of the ordin…

If the matter intended to be covered by a referendum petition is the whole of any ordinance or resolution, the petition shall contain the title of such ordinance or the subject of such resolution, and the date of its passage, but if only a portion of such ordinance or resolution …

Voters signing a referendum petition shall comply with the requirements of § 7-18A-11 , and it shall be verified in accordance with § 7-18A-12 . Source: SL 1975, ch 82 , § 28.

If the validation process of a petition indicates that a sufficient number of qualified electors have signed the petition, the county auditor shall certify that the petition has been signed by the required number of qualified electors and shall place the proposed measure on the b…

A special election shall be held within sixty days after the filing of a petition under § 7-18A-15 . However, if the petition is filed within three months prior to a primary, general, or statewide special election, the ordinance or resolution may be submitted at the primary, gene…

Each county may enact, amend, and repeal such ordinances and resolutions as may be proper and necessary to carry into effect the powers granted to it by law and provide for the enforcement of each violation of any ordinance by means of any or all of the following: (1) A fine not …

The auditor shall have the entire referred ordinance or resolution published once a week for two successive weeks immediately preceding the election. Such publication shall include a notice stating the day of election on which the ordinance or resolution will be submitted to the …

The auditor shall have ballots printed for the vote upon the referred ordinance or resolution and have them distributed as other official ballots are distributed. Such ballots shall conform as near as may be to the law governing the submission of questions by the Legislature, exc…

No referred ordinance or resolution is effective unless approved by a majority of the votes cast for and against the ordinance or resolution. If approved, the ordinance or resolution is effective the day following the completion of the canvass of the election returns. Source: SL …

The auditor shall preserve all petitions invoking the referendum for at least two years. The petitions shall be open to public inspection upon reasonable request. Source: SL 1975, ch 82 , § 33.

No question contained in a referred or initiated ordinance or resolution may be voted upon again within one year from the date of the election thereon. Source: SL 1975, ch 82 , § 34.

After an ordinance takes effect, the auditor shall record it with a certificate of the date of its publication in a book to be known as the "Ordinance Book" and shall file the affidavit of publication with the original ordinance. Source: SL 1975, ch 82 , § 11.

If a county posts the ordinance book or any part of the book on the county's official website, the county shall ensure the most current version of the ordinance book or any part of the book is posted. Source: SL 2019, ch 50 , § 1.

Every county shall have power to compile its ordinances without revision or amendment, not more often than once in five years, for publication in book form. The compilation shall be effective without the publication required for ordinances. Source: SL 1975, ch 82 , § 12.

Each board, not more often than once every five years, may appoint a committee of one or more competent persons to prepare and submit for its consideration an ordinance which revises the ordinances of the county. Source: SL 1975, ch 82 , § 14.

Upon the adoption of an ordinance in revision by the board, the auditor shall publish a notice, once each week for two successive weeks, that an ordinance in revision was adopted. Twenty days after the completed publication of the notice, unless the referendum shall have been inv…

An ordinance shall embrace only one subject, which shall be expressed in its title. Source: SL 1975, ch 82 , § 5.

An original ordinance or resolution, the record in the ordinance book or a certified copy thereof, or any compilation or revision of ordinances purporting to be printed under the authority of a board are admissible in evidence without further proof. Source: SL 1975, ch 82 , § 16.

In any action or proceeding instituted pursuant to an ordinance or resolution passed pursuant to this chapter, it shall not be required to show compliance with the provisions of this chapter as to the passage or publication of any ordinance or resolution unless the same be contro…

Actions for violations of county ordinances shall be civil cases and the county shall be the plaintiff. The actions shall be commenced by the filing of a complaint and the response thereto shall be by oral plea or written answer. Conduct for the trials of violation of county ordi…

In the prosecution for the violation of any county ordinance which authorizes a penalty of a jail sentence, the county shall prove the defendant guilty of the violation of the ordinance beyond a reasonable doubt. Source: SL 1975, ch 82 , § 3.

In any action or proceeding brought in magistrate court for the violation of an ordinance or resolution passed pursuant to this chapter, the defendant shall have the right to appeal the verdict to the circuit court and the right to a trial de novo and a jury trial in the circuit …

All fines, penalties, and forfeitures collected for violations of a county ordinance, resolution, or charter shall be distributed in accordance with § 16-2-34 . Source: SL 1975, ch 82 , § 4; SL 1984, ch 12 , § 7.

No county may pass an ordinance that restricts or prohibits, or imposes any tax, licensure requirement, or licensure fee on the possession, storage, transportation, purchase, sale, transfer, ownership, manufacture, or repair of firearms or ammunition or their components. Any ordi…

Any county may, by ordinance, require any person over eighteen years of age seeking employment with the county to submit to a state and federal criminal background investigation by means of fingerprint checks by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation and the Federal …

A county may not adopt, enforce, or maintain an ordinance, order, or rule for the purpose of making payments to an individual under a guaranteed income program. If a county fails to comply with the order, the attorney general must bring an action in the name of the state for inju…

The style of all ordinances shall be as follows: "An ordinance ________ (inserting the title)" followed by: "Be it ordained by ________ county," followed by the substance of the ordinance. Source: SL 1975, ch 82 , § 6.

The title of all ordinances shall be read twice with at least five days intervening between the first and second reading. Any ordinance shall be signed by the chairman of the board or the acting chairman, filed with the county auditor and published once. However, an ordinance inc…

The vote on all ordinances on the second reading shall be taken by yeas and nays and entered in the minutes of the meeting. Source: SL 1975, ch 82 , § 8.

A resolution may be passed after one reading. It shall be recorded at length in the minutes of the meeting at which it is passed, with a statement of the number of votes for and against the same. It shall be published in full as part of the minutes of the board. Source: SL 1975, …

Except such resolutions or ordinances as may be necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the county government and its existing public institutions; which provide for an election or hearing on an improvement or assessment; or …

The right to propose ordinances and resolutions for the government of a county shall rest with five percent of the registered voters in the county, based upon the total number of registered voters at the last preceding general election. Source: SL 1975, ch 82 , § 19; SL 1987, ch …