The South Dakota House of Representatives reportedly rejected the changes Governor Kristi Noem indicated on South Dakota House Bill 1217, otherwise known as the Fairness In Women's Sports Bill, over "style and form."
The Blaze said this leaves Noem with no choice but to either sign the bill or veto it outrightly, pertaining to South Dakota's Constitution which states that, "if the Governor certifies that the bill conforms with the Governor's specific recommendations, the bill shall become law. If the Governor fails to certify the bill, it shall be returned to the Legislature as a vetoed bill."
Noem who vetoed the bill two weeks ago over "style and form" by indicating the need to remove colleges in its scope and pointing on "the vague language" in its content in terms of civil liability. Noem also revealed her actions were aimed in to strengthen the bill in line with her launching of the Defend Title IX Now coalition.
The Blaze said lawmakers from the House of Representatives voted 67-2 against the changes Noem recommended in the bill, which prevents transgenders to participate or compete in female sports on the grounds of having a level playing field since biological males are naturally stronger than biological females.
Several lawmakers found Noem's use of her veto power as an "unconstitutional abuse of her executive power" when she sent the bill back over "style and form." While other legislators pointed out that the changes Noem wanted didn't actually pertain to what "style" or "form" meant legally, which is a "correction in grammatical errors or the like" unlike the "substantial changes" she wanted to have in the said bill.
The Blaze cited Representative Rhonda Milstead in stating in an interview with KELO-TV that the changes Noem indicated were "not appropriate for the executive branch."
As per The Blaze, Noem needed "a simple majority of the state House and then the state Senate to certify her proposed revisions" but only two Representatives actually voted for her suggested changes. The bill will now be sent back to the governor.
The Blaze revealed that the governor's office previously stated that a special session of the legislature will be called for to draft a new bill should her changes on the bill be rejected.
"If the legislature declines to accept her Style and Form, Governor Noem is proposing that they suspend the rules and pass her recommended changes as a new bill, or she can call them back into special session to accomplish the same goal with a simple majority," South Dakota Communications Director Ian Fury told The Blaze in an interview.
In the Journal of the House of Representatives for their ninety sixth session, it contained a copy of Noem's letter to the legislators and the specific changes she wanted in it. The Journal also indicated that the legislators reviewed the said recommendations but a majority voted against it while one member of the House was absent.
Noem announced in a series via Twitter immediately after the House Representatives rejected her suggested changes that she will be signing two different bills to protect female sports.
"Only girls should play girls' sports. Given the legislature's failure to accept my proposed revisions to HB 1217, I am immediately signing two executive orders to address this issue: one to protect fairness in K-12 athletics, and another to do so in college athletics," she said.
She added that she will indeed "schedule a special legislative session" come "late May or early June" to "address this important issue."
