The State House of Representatives is sending the Senate a bill that places a 100-thousand dollar cap on out of state money for ballot question committees.
The House voted 50 to 18 in favor of the bill.
Most of the concern about H-B 1074 is whether it restricts free speech.
The bill’s sponsor State Representative Spencer Gosch says the measure protects South Dakota voters’ speech…
“Let’s make this a country issue. Who is to say… is it wrong for Iran to come in and try to tell us how to run our laws and to do things? All the sudden that’s a bad thing, but now it’s okay for someone from Boston or New York to come into South Dakota and tell us how to do things. We should allow them rights. We should allot them rights to free speech to do that," Gosch says. "I disagree…”
Critics of the bill say the move will draw lawsuits, and that costs South Dakotans money.
Speaker of the House Mark Mickelson says the governor is willing to fund litigation for the cap on out-of-state money.
House Passes Bill To Limit Out Of State Money From Ballot Measure Committees
