South Dakota Budget Balance Amendment, Constitutional Amendment P (2012)

Constitutional Amendment P
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Type:	legislatively-referred constitutional amendment
Constitution:	South Dakota Constitution
Referred by:	South Dakota Legislature
Topic:	State budgets
Status:	a

The South Dakota Budget Balance Amendment, also known as Constitutional Amendment P, was on the November 6, 2012 ballot in the state of South Dakota as a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment, where it was approved. The measure made clear in the South Dakota Constitution that the state budget must be balanced. According to reports, the measure was introduced during 2012 state legislative session. The reason behind the proposal, supporters said, was because the state constitution only implied that the state budget needed to be balanced.

Election results

See also: 2012 ballot measure election results

The following are official election results:

South Dakota Amendment P
Result		Votes	Percentage
a Yes		215,659	64.6%
No		118,165	35.4%

Official results via South Dakota Secretary of State.

Text of measure

The official ballot text read as follows:

Title: An Amendment to the South Dakota Constitution adding balanced budget requirements.

Explanation: While the constitution currently restricts the State from incurring debt, it does not expressly require the State to have a balanced budget. Amendment P requires the Governor to propose a balanced budget. In addition, Amendment P prohibits legislative appropriations from exceeding anticipated revenues and existing available funds. The amendment is not intended to affect other constitutional provisions.

A vote “Yes” will include balanced budget requirements in the Constitution.
A vote “No” will leave the Constitution as it is.

Support

No formal support was identified.

Opposition

No formal opposition was identified.

Path to the ballot

Section 1 of Article XXIII of the South Dakota Constitution says that the South Dakota State Legislature can refer a proposed amendment to the state's voters through a majority vote.

During the week of February 7, 2012, the South Dakota House of Representatives voted 66-3 to approve the measure. Next up was a vote from the South Dakota State Senate, who needed to approve the measure to send it to the ballot, which the chamber did.

See also

• 2012 ballot measures
• South Dakota 2012 ballot measures

External links

• South Dakota Secretary of state ballot question voter guide