Executive Proclamations

In early English history laws were to some extent made by proclamation, which were usually allowed the force of statutes. In modern South Dakota, Executive Proclamations are typically issued by the Governor to reflect on important occasions or to commemorate events.

However, under South Dakota law, there are still occasions where they are used as instruments of state and serve a very specific purpose. According to the state constitution, the Governor must issue a proclamation to set the date of and calling for a special election when there’s a vacancy in Congress. Or, if the State Capitol was threatened or under attack, an executive proclamation would be required to move the State Capitol on a temporary basis.

You’ll also find that the Governor calls special sessions of the legislature by proclamation. When counties are dissolved or named, typically the Governor issues a proclamation. And when the state accepts jurisdiction of a criminal offense or civil causes of action in a tribal area, a gubernatorial proclamation must be issued.

Recognizing that proclamations are an important part of the historic record, we are placing these documents on-line for public review and retrieval.

Executive Proclamation for October 5, 2020 Special Legislative Session

Executive Proclamations may be searched by the title, name or a word, as well as by date filed. Please enter the date as YYYYMMDD. The date can be limited to the year only (YYYY), month and year (YYYYMM), or a specific date (YYYYMMDD).