HJR5001 — proposing and submitting to the voters at the next general election an amendment to the Constitution of the State of South Dakota, requiring a declaration of necessity and clarifying public use of private property taken or damaged by eminent domain.
What changed between bill versions as it moved through the Legislature.
The amendment STRENGTHENS the bill's protections against eminent domain abuse by adding a requirement that the state must make a public declaration establishing the necessity for taking private property, and it NARROWS the prohibition by removing "purpose" and "utility" from the banned transfer categories, focusing solely on whether there is a legitimate public use. This shifts the bill from a blanket ban on economic development takings toward a more nuanced standard that requires government to justify the taking while preserving some flexibility in defining what constitutes legitimate public use.
The amendment significantly **narrows** the restriction on eminent domain by inserting the word "solely," which means private property can still be transferred to non-governmental entities for economic development if there is *any* public use component, rather than an outright prohibition. This changes the bill from a blanket ban on economic development takings to a more limited restriction that only applies when economic development is the *sole* purpose.
The amendment significantly NARROWS the bill's scope by removing the outright prohibition on transferring private property to non-governmental entities for economic development, and instead adds clarifying language that "public use" cannot be justified merely by increases in tax base, revenues, employment, or economic health. This shifts from a broad ban on certain eminent domain takings to a more limited clarification of what constitutes legitimate "public use" under existing constitutional protections.