HJR 5001: 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. - South Dakota

HJR5001C → HJR5001E · 2 edits

MINOR

This bill amendment clarifies the definition of 'public use' in South Dakota's eminent domain provisions, explicitly excluding increases in tax base, tax revenues, employment, or general economic health from qualifying as public use. The change strengthens protections against transferring private property to non-governmental entities for economic development purposes.

Scope change

The amendment expands the scope of protected property by adding specific exclusions to the definition of public use, making it harder for government entities to claim economic benefits as justification for eminent domain takings.

DEFINITION

Added explicit language clarifying that 'public use' does not include increases in tax base, tax revenues, employment, or general economic health, providing clearer boundaries for what constitutes valid public use under eminent domain.

REQUIREMENT

Modified the description of the amendment's purpose to include clarification of public use of private property taken or damaged by eminent domain, expanding the resolution's explanatory scope.

HJR5001B → HJR5001C · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was renamed from Amendment HJR5001B to HJR5001C and updated to reflect it is now a House State Affairs Engrossed Resolution rather than an introduced resolution. The substantive policy language was modified to remove the phrase 'sole purpose' from the prohibition on transferring private property to non-governmental entities for economic development or tax revenue purposes, and to change the public use requirement from 'public use, purpose, or utility' to just 'public use'.

Scope change

The scope of the bill was narrowed slightly by removing the 'sole purpose' language, which means the prohibition now applies to transfers for economic development or tax revenue purposes regardless of whether that is the only purpose, rather than only when it is the sole purpose. The public use requirement was also simplified from three criteria to just one.

DEFINITION

Removed the phrase 'sole purpose' from the prohibition on transferring private property to non-governmental entities for economic development or increased tax revenue, meaning the restriction now applies more broadly to any transfer for those purposes rather than only when it is the exclusive purpose.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the public use requirement from requiring 'public use, purpose, or utility' to just 'public use', simplifying the standard that must be met for eminent domain transfers to non-governmental entities.

TECHNICAL

Updated the document title and amendment designation from HJR5001B (Introduced Resolution) to HJR5001C (House State Affairs Engrossed Resolution), reflecting the bill's progression through the legislative process.

HJR5001A → HJR5001B · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was renumbered from HJR5001A to HJR5001B to reflect its amendment status. The core policy language was expanded to require a public declaration of necessity before eminent domain proceedings can occur, adding a procedural safeguard to the existing prohibition against transferring private property for economic development or tax revenue purposes.

Scope change

The scope of the amendment remains the same regarding which properties and purposes are covered, but the procedural requirements for exercising eminent domain have been expanded.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new requirement that a public declaration establishing the necessity for taking or damaging property must be made before eminent domain proceedings can proceed.

Extended the resolution text to explicitly require a declaration of necessity alongside the existing prohibition on transferring private property for economic development or tax revenue.

TECHNICAL

Updated the bill designation from Amendment HJR5001A to Amendment HJR5001B to reflect the current version of the resolution.

Senate State Affairs Engrossed → HJR5001A · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was renumbered from HJR 5001 to HJR5001A for the 101st Legislative Session and includes substantive language changes to an amendment prohibiting the transfer of private property to non-governmental entities for economic development or tax revenue purposes. The amendment now explicitly states that eminent domain cannot be used for such transfers without a public use purpose, and clarifies that private benefits from improvements cannot be considered when determining compensation.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on amending Article VI, Section 13 of the South Dakota Constitution to restrict eminent domain transfers to private entities for economic development purposes.

REQUIREMENT

Added explicit language prohibiting eminent domain exercise for transferring private property to non-governmental entities solely for economic development or tax revenue without public use, purpose, or utility.

Clarified that any benefit accruing to property owners from private corporation improvements cannot be considered when fixing compensation for taken or damaged property.

TECHNICAL

Corrected grammatical inconsistencies in the amendment text, such as changing 'shall may not' to 'may not' and fixing possessive phrasing in the railroad fee provision.

Added session information and amendment designation (HJR5001A) to the header for the 101st Legislative Session.

House Engrossed → Senate State Affairs Engrossed · 3 edits · Feb 25, 2026

MINOR

This bill amends South Dakota's eminent domain provisions by adding requirements for a public declaration of necessity before private property can be taken or damaged. It also clarifies that certain economic benefits like tax base increases or job creation do not qualify as 'public use' under the amendment.

Scope change

The amendment expands protections for property owners by requiring condemnors to formally declare necessity before taking property and explicitly excludes certain economic benefits from qualifying as public use.

REQUIREMENT

Added requirement that condemnors must make a public declaration establishing the necessity for taking or damaging property before proceeding with eminent domain.

Added language clarifying that benefits accruing to property owners from private corporation improvements cannot be considered when fixing compensation.

DEFINITION

Modified definition of 'public use' to explicitly exclude increases in tax base, tax revenues, employment, or general economic health.

House State Affairs Engrossed → House Engrossed · 3 edits · Jan 27, 2026

MINOR

This document shows the formatting transition of House Joint Resolution 5001 from its working draft to the final engrossed version ready for submission to voters. The substantive policy content of the proposed constitutional amendment remains unchanged, though the document now includes proper legislative headers, session information, and formatting conventions indicating new and deleted language.

TECHNICAL

Added official legislative headers including session number (101st), year (2026), and document type (House Engrossed) to formalize the bill for voter submission.

Removed browser compatibility warnings and technical notes that were present in the working draft version.

Added formatting indicators (underscores for new language, overstrikes for deleted language) to show where the proposed constitutional amendment text differs from the current Article VI, §13.

Introduced → House State Affairs Engrossed · 3 edits · Jan 23, 2026

MINOR

This document shows the formatting changes between the initial introduction and the House State Affairs committee version of HJR 5001. The substantive content of the proposed constitutional amendment remains the same, with no changes to policy, scope, or requirements. The differences are purely presentational, including header information, formatting, and markup notation.

TECHNICAL

Added legislative session information (101st Legislative Session, 2026 South Dakota Legislature) and committee designation (House State Affairs Engrossed) to the header.

Changed browser compatibility warnings from the original website template to legislative document formatting.

Added explanatory notes about markup notation (underscores for new language, overstrikes for deleted language) at the end of the document.

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.

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