South Dakota Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in South Dakota, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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When voters in a South Dakota civil township want to split their township into two new townships, what role does the county commission play, and can the county commission redraw the boundaries of the new townships?
The county commission's role is limited. The commission holds a hearing, notifies voters, and acts in a supervisory capacity. The voters of the affected township make the final decision on whether to …
When a county union is certified as the exclusive bargaining representative for highway department employees, is the county commission's mandatory duty to negotiate salaries with the union an unconstitutional delegation of the commission's legislative authority over county compensation?
No. Janklow concluded SDCL chapter 3-18 is constitutional. The county commission's duty to negotiate does not transfer its decision-making authority. Under SDCL 3-18-7 and 3-18-8 the county commission…
If a small incorporated town sits inside a larger township, can the county commissioners combine the town and the surrounding township into a single election precinct with one polling place, and does that require a 75% voter petition?
Yes, and no petition is needed. SDC 16.0801 made it the County Commission's mandatory duty to establish and adjust election precincts each year (with limited statutory exceptions). The 75% petition in…
When South Dakota voters were going to vote on whether to incorporate a new sanitary district in the 1960s, who could vote, how was the voter list built, and could ballots be cast absentee?
Only qualified electors who actually resided inside the proposed district could vote (landowners alone could not). The 'voter list' was the census taken under SDC 1960 Supp. 45.3803, not the regular v…
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Attorney general opinions in South Dakota are written by the South Dakota Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.