South Dakota Constitutional Revision Commission records

Collection

Identifier: MS-143

Staff Only

Content Description

This collection contains materials from the South Dakota Constitutional Revision Commission, which was created in 1969 to make a comprehensive study of the state constitution and make recommendations for changes and or simplify wording in the document.

The South Dakota Constitutional Revision Commission papers are divided into two series: Correspondence and Printed Materials.

The Correspondence series contains letters from South Dakota businesses and organizations that either endorsed or disagreed with the proposed amendments regarding labor unions to the state Constitution. There are a few letters exchanged between members of the commission and members of the Legislative Research Council. Incoming and outgoing correspondence are combined in the folders. Incoming and outgoing correspondence for a person or organization with more than 2 letters are contained in one folder; these are listed directly after “General” files.

The Printed Materials series includes agenda items, meeting minutes, commission documents (which are in numerical order but incomplete for the series), and staff working papers. The series also contains testimonials before the Constitutional Revision Commission, misc. newspaper clippings, and ephemera materials.

Dates

Creation: 1970 - 1975
Creation: Majority of material found within 1972 - 1975

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research without restrictions. Researchers are advised to contact the Archives and Special Collections prior to visiting. Advance notice may be needed to retrieve items for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers must obtain a signed Permission to Publish Form if they wish to reproduce, broadcast, or otherwise disseminate information from published and unpublished works held by ASC. Permission to reproduce, broadcast, or otherwise disseminate information materials from ASC does not constitute permission from the holder of copyright or literary rights. The researcher is responsible for securing permission from the copyright holder to publish or reproduce content from materials found in the collections.

Biographical / Historical

The South Dakota Constitutional Revision Commission was created in 1969 to make a comprehensive study of the state Constitution and make recommendations for changes and or simplify wording in the document. The commission consisted of 13 members that were appointed as follows: 1) Three by the presiding officer of the Senate; 2) Three by the presiding officer of the House of Representatives; 3) Three by the Governor, 4) Two by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Dakota, one being an attorney and one being a judge; and, 5) The chairman of the Department of History and Political Science from South Dakota State University and the chairman of the Department of Government at The University of South Dakota. Members of the commission would then elect a chairman, vice-chairman, and other officers. The chairman decided on meeting times and places. Further provisions stated that two or more members for each section could be from the same political party. The Legislative Research Council held the responsibility of serving as secretariat for the commission. Their duties included conducting studies and utilizing outside consults when deemed necessary by the commission. Once the commission completed its designated duties, they were to report their findings, in the form of proposed Constitutional amendments, to the state legislature. The powers, duties, and functions of the commission officially terminated on July 1, 1975.