Title 9, MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT

If a municipality submits a question to the electors at the next general election pursuant to § 9-20-11 , the municipality shall pay the additional election cost related to the municipal question. The cost shall be agreed upon by the county auditor and the municipal finance offic…

The auditor or clerk shall cause the entire referred ordinance or resolution to be published once a week for two successive weeks immediately preceding the election. Such publication shall include a notice that on the day of election therein stated such ordinance or resolution wi…

The auditor or clerk shall have ballots printed for the vote upon such referred ordinance or resolution and cause the same to be 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 elections provided for in this chapter shall be governed by the provisions of chapter 9-13 except as to the form of the ballots otherwise specifically provided. Source: SL 1899, ch 94 , § 9; RPolC 1903, §§ 1222, 1227; SL 1913, ch 119 , §§ 46, 51; RC 1919, § 6265; SDC 1939, § …

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 or clerk shall preserve all petitions invoking the referendum filed in his office for a period of at least two years, during which time such petitions shall be open to public inspection upon reasonable request. Source: SL 1899, ch 94 , § 7; RPolC 1903, § 1220; SL 1913…

No referred ordinance or resolution may be again voted upon by the government of any municipality within one year from the date of the election thereon. Source: SDC Supp 1960, § 45.1022 as enacted by SL 1961, ch 246 .

The Legislature finds that in making past grants of decision - making authority to municipal governing authorities, its intent was to grant that authority to the governing bodies of municipalities and that such actions, unless otherwise excluded from the referendum and initiative…

Any legislative decision of a governing body 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 or general cha…

A petition to propose an ordinance or resolution shall be filed with the finance officer, containing in proper form the proposed ordinance or resolution. It shall be signed by the required number of the resident registered voters of the municipality. The signer or circulator shal…

The right to initiate an ordinance shall not be applicable to ordinances proposed to nullify the purpose for which bonds have been sold by a municipality pursuant to statutory authority. Source: SL 1961, ch 247 ; SL 1980, ch 66 , § 1.

When a petition to initiate is filed with the finance officer, the finance officer shall present the petition to the governing body at its first ensuing regular or special meeting. The governing body shall submit the petition to a vote of the voters in the manner prescribed for a…

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…

No initiated ordinance or resolution may be amended or repealed by the governing body of a municipality until at least one year has passed from its effective date. Source: SL 1977, ch 72 .

The required number of voters residing in any municipality may file within twenty days after the publication of any ordinance or resolution subject to referendum a petition with the auditor or clerk, requiring the submission of any such ordinance or resolution to a vote of the vo…

If the matter intended to be covered by the 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 resolutio…

The referendum petition shall be signed by at least five percent of the registered voters in the municipality. The percentage shall be based on the number of registered voters of the municipality as recorded by the county auditor on the second Tuesday in January in the year the p…

Any person circulating an initiative or referendum petition shall verify that each person signing the petition is a resident and qualified voter of the municipality. The State Board of Elections shall promulgate rules pursuant to chapter 1-26 prescribing the format for an initiat…