The group sponsoring a constitutional amendment to expand South Dakota abortion rights said it will likely file a lawsuit if legislators pass a bill allowing petitioners to withdraw signatures that have already been certified for the ballot.
South Dakota News Watch on Monday reported that House Bill 1244 would change South Dakota’s ballot initiative process, by allowing an individual who signed a petition to withdraw their signature by sending a written notification to the Secretary of State’s office. This could occur even after the petition effort has been validated.
After the summer 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturned the nearly 50 year old right for people to have an abortion, South Dakota passed one of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in the nation. In a 2022 poll of registered voters co-sponsored by South Dakota News Watch, 65 percent of respondents said they support having a statewide referendum to determine South Dakota’s laws regarding abortion.
Bill sponsor Republican Representative Jon Hansen has sparred regularly with Dakotans for Health executive director Rick Weiland, in a high-stakes battle between strongly held pro-life positions in conservative South Dakota. The outcome has the potential to alter long-established state protections for citizens to initiate laws through petition-generated ballot measures.
If successful, the legislation would make South Dakota one of five states – along with California, Idaho, Utah and Washington – with a codified process for revocation of petition signatures.
In other news, the federal government says it’s concerned that Iowa is not processing food assistance applications fast enough.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Department Secretary Tom Vilsack sent a letter to the governors of Iowa and Nebraska, plus 42 other states urging them to improve the efficiency of their SNAP benefits program.
The letter states that Iowa has an application processing timeliness rate for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program of just under 83 percent, which is well below the feds’ acceptable performance rate of 95 percent.
Luke Elzinga, of the Des Moines Area Religious Council, said delays in getting SNAP benefits can be detrimental to those who need them.
A spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services says it continues to review and make improvements to the process for reviewing SNAP applications. South Dakota was among the few states not getting a USDA letter.
Additionally, a former teacher at an Iowa middle school is charged with assault, after he allegedly pinned a student against a wall and then slapped him in the face last week.
The Marshalltown Times Republican reports the alleged assault happened last week at Miller Middle School in the Marshalltown School District. Police said a 13-year old student reported he was in Paul Miller’s class when the student moved his desk, apparently against Miller’s wishes.
The student described that Miller pushed the desk against the student’s stomach, pinning him against a wall for at least 30 seconds. Police said that after the student was able to free himself from the desk, Miller slapped him in the face.
According to a police report, Miller admitted to assaulting the student to school administrators. He submitted his resignation that same day, and was arrested and charged with Assault Causing Bodily Injury two days ago.
