HB1184 Court Fight Set — First Amendment Rights on the Line
- Dakotans For Health
- 12 hours ago
- 3 min read
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Press Office
Dakotans for Health
605-610-8146
SOUTH DAKOTA’S CONTINUAL ATTACK ON FIRST AMENDMENT: UNCONSTITUTIONAL, UNAMERICAN, AND UNDENIABLE
June 20, 2025
Sioux Falls, SD... “Let’s be clear. The South Dakota Legislature in passing House Bill 1184 earlier this year — continued with their blatant, calculated, and unconstitutional assault on one of the most sacred rights we hold as Americans: the right of the people to speak, organize, and petition their government,” stated Rick Weiland, Chair and co-founder of Dakotans for Health.
“We’ve seen power grabs before. We’ve seen legislative overreach. But what we are witnessing here is something even more cynical. After losing in both the District Court and the Eighth Circuit — after judges affirmed that deadlines set a full year before an election violate the Constitution — these lawmakers went right back to the drawing board, not to protect the Constitution, but to try to dodge it,” Weiland continued.
United States District Court Judge Charles Kornmann ruled in 2021 in SD Voice v. Noem that "a filing deadline (for initiated laws) of six months before the election at which the initiative would receive a vote is the constitutional limit for how remote a deadline may be set from the election."
“That’s not a suggestion. That’s the law. That’s the standard. And the Eighth Circuit extended the ruling to cover both initiated laws and constitutional amendments,” Weiland continued.
HB1184 moves the deadline for turning in both citizen-initiated laws and constitutional amendments back from the first Tuesday in May to the first Tuesday in February of the year of the general election, removing three critical months of petition circulation. “Why? Because suddenly, and suspiciously, they discovered a new state interest in completing petition challenges before the election — an argument they never made when they had their day in court. That is not just dishonest. It is disqualifying,” Weiland stated.
The State already allows petition challenges after elections.
The law itself, SDCL § 2-1-18, says the State has no role in these challenges.
And even if there were a legitimate interest, it’s impossible to guarantee resolution before an election due to likely Supreme Court appeals.
“This isn’t about the process. It’s about power. It’s about keeping citizens from organizing, from speaking, from being heard. It’s about silencing the grassroots in the crucial months before an election when democracy is supposed to come alive,” stated Weiland. “And let’s be absolutely clear: petition circulation is core political speech. The Supreme Court has said so. The Eighth Circuit has said so. And no amount of political tap dancing can change that.”
To every South Dakotan who believes in the right to petition, to speak, to organize, and to be heard: We see what’s happening. We will not be silenced. And we will fight — in the courts, in the streets, and at the ballot box — to preserve your first amendment rights and restore the rule of law.
Because when politicians fear the people, they attack the process. But in this country, and in this state, the people will always have the last word,” Weiland concluded.
Background:
On behalf of Dakotans for Health and Rick Weiland, Attorney Jim Leach filed a Motion for Preliminary and Permanent Injunction with the United States District Court, District of South Dakota, Western Division on April 1, 2025.
Despite recent State efforts to delay the hearing, which U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler denied, the evidentiary hearing will proceed on Monday, June 23, 2025, as scheduled.
House Speaker and announced candidate for Governor, Jon Hansen, will attend the hearing and is expected to testify.
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About Dakotans for Health:
Dakotans for Health is a grassroots organization focused on healthcare and protecting the democratic process. The organization was instrumental in the successful 2022 campaign to expand Medicaid coverage to 52,000 low-income South Dakotans. Dakotans for Health will continue its efforts to ensure our neighbors have access to the care they need, no matter who they are, what they look like, or how much money they have.
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