PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota lawmakers have advanced a pair of proposals aimed at increasing scrutiny on voter-backed ballot initiatives.
Republican legislators argued that a series of proposals would test the initiatives before they make it on the ballot and help make sure that voter-passed laws will not be gutted.
They say it would help avoid situations where a voter-passed constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana was struck down by a circuit court.
But after years of voters wrestling with the Legislature over ballot-passed laws, advocates for ballot initiatives say the proposals threaten the rights of voters to directly shape their government.
