Dakotans for Health and the State of South Dakota faced off in federal court Monday as U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler heard arguments over the constitutionality of 2025 House Bill 1184, a new law that would move up the deadline for submitting signed statewide initiative petitions from the first Tuesday in May to the first Tuesday in February.
Dakotans for Health, a ballot question committee led by Sioux Falls businessman and activist Rick Weiland, is seeking an injunction against HB 1184, contending that taking three months of election-year circulation time away from initiative supporters suppresses core political speech and contradicts the standing precedent of a 2021 ruling from South Dakota’s federal court that petition deadlines more than six months earlier than the election violate the First Amendment. The state contends that the 2021 ruling applies only to the 12-month deadline overturned in that earlier case and that initiative opponents need more time to challenge petitions in court and present their arguments before the election.
The plaintiffs, represented by Rapid City attorney James D. Leach, presented testimony from Weiland and expert witness Cory Allen Heidelberger. The state, represented by Assistant Attorney General Grant Flynn, presented testimony from Deputy Director of the Division of Elections Christine Lehrkamp and the prime sponsor of HB 1184, frequent and longtime ballot question opponent and Speaker of the House Jon Hansen (R-25/Dell Rapids). After seven hours of testimony and argument, Judge Theeler granted the state’s request to continue the hearing on Friday, August 8, 9–11 a.m., to allow the state to present testimony from one more witness, Rapid City lawyer Sara Frankenstein, who was unavailable for Monday’s hearing. Frankenstein and Hansen represented anti-abortion group Life Defense Fund in its unsuccessful legal challenge against Dakotans for Health’s 2024 initiative petition for Amendment G, an abortion-rights measure that South Dakota voters rejected at the 2024 general election.
With a ruling postponed until after the August 8 hearing, HB 1184 will take effect July 1, making the deadline for submitting signed petitions for initiatives for the 2026 election February 3, 2026. After Frankenstein’s expected August 8 testimony, if Judge Theeler rules in Dakotans for Health’s favor, the deadline will return to May 5, 2026.