South Dakota Attorney General Jackley Says Will Vote “No” on RL 21 Carbon Pipeline Ballot Initiative

South Dakota Attorney General Martin Jackley speaks at Watertown, SD Chamber of Commerce Forum (Oct. 1, 2024)

During an Oct. 1 forum hosted by the Watertown, SD Chamber of Commerce and streamed via Facebook Live, South Dakota Attorney General Martin Jackley spoke about the various initiatives on the November ballot, and inferred that he will Vote “No” on Referred Law 21 — on the same side as landowners who are fighting against eminent domain for Summit’s proposed carbon pipeline.

During his public remarks at the forum, where he reiterated several times that he himself is a landowner, SD AG Jackley stated: “I’ll just be up front with you. I’m probably voting for [ballot measures] “E” and “F”, and I’m voting against the rest, that’s just my personal feelings.”

South Dakota landowners fighting Summit’s proposed multi-state CO2 pipeline gathered enough signatures this year to mount a ballot challenge to a new, Summit-friendly and lobbied for law (SB201), passed with the help of its allies in the State Legislature, which would strip any local control from county and local governments.

While the law’s Summit-friendly backers have framed SB201 as a “Landowner’s Bill of Rights,” the law is a Trojan Horse that upon inspection is clearly a “Summit bill of Rights,” that would block counties from enforcing duly enacted commonsense and legally enforceable ordinances to protect their communities from the dangers and negative impacts from CO2 pipeline leaks and ruptures.

Landowners and communities across the Midwest who are fighting eminent domain and dangerous CO2 pipelines are urging South Dakotans to Vote NO on Referred Law 21, to protect local control, and protect South Dakotans.