Smoking ban referral to be on ballot

Publication Date: 2009-07-07

• Publication:Hot Springs Star

South Dakota Secretary of State Chris Nelson confirmed last Thursday that sufficient signatures had been collected and submitted to refer a law banning smoking to the November 2010 ballot.

Both the S.D. House and Senate passed HB 1240 by a wide margins and Governor Mike Rounds signed the bill into law on March 30. HB 1240 "prohibits smoking or carrying lighted tobacco products in certain places and to require certain persons to inform violators of the prohibition."

Petitions were circulated soon after the governor signed the bill, referring the decision to a public vote. According to Nelson, 16,776 signatures were required for referral.

Citizens for Individual Freedoms spearheaded the petition campaign and turned in more than 25,000 signatures early last week.

"The petition has enough signatures to put the measure on the 2010 ballot," Nelson said in an e-mail from Pierre.

The law was set to go into effect on July 1, 90 days after it was signed into law. Now, the issue will be placed on the general election ballot in November of 2010, when voters will have the opportunity to decide whether to allow the law to take effect.