Dana Ferguson

dferguson@argusleader.com

PIERRE -- Opponents of legislative efforts to eliminate a voter-approved ethics law on Wednesday night took up a new chant; veto 1069.

It was a last-ditch effort to save the extensive voter-approved campaign finance and ethics law set in statute as Initiated Measure 22.

The new call came in response to the South Dakota Senate's 27-8 vote, which advanced House Bill 1069 to Gov. Dennis Daugaard's desk. If approved, it would strike the voter-approved law that calls for establishing an independent state ethics commission, setting strict new limits on gifts to lawmakers, and creating publicly financed campaign credits.

Daugaard has said he'll sign the repeal bill.

Supporters of the repeal effort said Initiated Measure 22 was constitutionally murky and should be repealed and replaced with pieces that more clearly reflect the will of the voters. Opponents said repealing the measure could call into question the value of voter-approved initiatives and without a replacement, there was no guarantee that voters' will would be fulfilled.

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Ahead of the nearly two-hour debate on the bill, a group of about 35 opponents gathered at the Statehouse and paid for a small airplane to circle the building on a loop carrying a banner that said, "Shame on you! Support our vote!"

And they continued voicing their frustration after lawmakers cast their votes chanting "respect our vote" and "remember in November" from the Senate galleries.

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William and Virginia Krebs made the drive Wednesday from Rapid City to defend Initiated Measure 22. They said the senators' decision to repeal the law was troubling as it signaled to voters that their opinions didn't matter.

"If you overturn the will of the people on this it means the our whole process of initiatives is really lost," William Krebs said. "The initiated measure process started in South Dakota and now it's in danger here."

That's what the chamber's six Democrats along with Republican Sens. Lance Russell, R-Hot Springs, and Stace Nelson, R-Fulton, argued on the Senate floor. They said without any replacements approved in the Legislature, there was no guarantee that voters would see any part of the proposal they supported restored in South Dakota law.

And by setting a precedent of uprooting voter-approved initiatives, the Legislature was becoming the corrupt body it was made out to be in campaigns for IM-22, they said.

"This repeal sends the message that we do not trust them to make decisions on ballot measures," Sen. Billie Sutton, D-Burke, said. "The bottom line is will we ignore the will of the people?"

Republican lawmakers, who've come under scrutiny as they tried to rapidly roll-back the ethics law, said they plan to replace the law with a patchwork of bills aimed at addressing lobbying gift limits, establishing a government accountability board and revising campaign finance limits. Many took a chance Wednesday to tell voters about the proposals they hope to bring.

"Every legislator in here is committed to replacing the good parts of IM-22," said Sen. Al Novstrup, R-Aberdeen.

And others took time Wednesday to lash back at the IM-22 campaign that painted them as corrupt, self-dealing politicians.

"I've not known anybody to accept a bribe, I've not known anybody to offer a bribe. In South Dakota, while we're not infallible, that has never been a concern," said Sen. Brock Greenfield, R-Clark. "There are no gold watches, there are no bags of cash."

Follow Dana Ferguson on Twitter @bydanaferguson, call (605) 370-2493 or email dferguson@argusleader.com

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