HOT TAKE: Senate Bill 12 sailed through a panel of lawmakers today. SB12 is legislation that would limit the amount of money that can be loaned to a state political action committee per year. Many in the grassroots movement believe this to be a retaliation bill to block Toby Doeden from using personal funds to launch a 2026 bid for Gov. The bill in original form targeted Doeden, but an amendment submitted by Rep Spencer Gosch grew the impact
GRASSROOTS intent is to KILL this BILL. More to follow.
Via The Dakota Scout Lawmakers target rivals in campaign finance measure
Lawmakers target rivals in campaign finance measure
Toby Doeden, Rep. Dusty Johnson could see campaign contributions change
PIERRE — A bill that would have hindered one of the men thought to be plotting a run for governor in 2026 now could hamstring two potential candidates.
A panel of House lawmakers gave near unanimous clearance to Senate Bill 12 Monday morning, legislation that would limit the amount of money that can be loaned to a state political action committee per year.
Sen. Michael Rohl, a Brown County resident, brought the proposal as part of his own package of election integrity bills. Rohl says SB 12 is intended to help stop a “loophole from becoming a pathway” — allowing loans to be given and then forgiven without financial limits. His constituent, businessman Toby Doeden, drew scrutiny last year when he loaned $100,000 to his Dakota First Action PAC. The contribution was inadvertently reported as a donation at first, well over the $10,000 limit per year currently allowed by South Dakota law. An amended campaign finance report corrected the filing to note that it was in fact, a loan.
“In South Dakota law currently we say that you’re allowed to donate $1,000 to a legislative candidate, $4,000 to a statewide candidate and $10,000 to a PAC,” Rohl told the House State Affairs Committee. “Unfortunately the way our laws are currently constructed, you are allowed to loan that money and later forgive it in an unlimited capacity.”
Brian Lewis, a lobbyist for Dakota First Action, contended that the legislation was brought purely out of spite for Doeden, who supported dozens of legislative candidates. He also fought the passage of Amendment H, which would have eliminated partisan primaries. Citing the landmark Citizens United v. FEC U.S. Supreme Court case that enabled corporations and other outside groups to spend unlimited money on elections, Lewis argued that money is speech — and thus protected by the First Amendment.
“We had millions of dollars, a record amount, flood South Dakota from out of state in order to try and rewrite our Constitution permanently by abusing our referendum process,” Lewis told the committee, referring to the handful of ballot initiatives South Dakotans rejected in November. “And our response to the glaring flaws that were opened up by all of this was to try and close the alleged ‘loophole’ that has nothing to do with the genuine problem that we have here.”
But the committee was not content to kibosh just Doeden’s future monetary influence in politics. An amendment to the bill by Glenham lawmaker Spencer Gosch was unanimously added on, preventing federal campaign committee’s from contributing more than $10,000 dollars per year as well. That could be a headache for Congressman and fellow potential 2026 gubernatorial candidate Dusty Johnson, who is sitting on roughly $5.5 million in federal campaign reserves that he can currently transfer without limits to a state campaign committee.
If unimpeded by state law, Johnson will likely follow in the footsteps of former Rep. and Gov. Kristi Noem, who used millions from her federal congressional account for her 2018 governor’s race.
“We are talking about campaign finance, contribution limits, and transfers,” Gosch said, defending suggestions that his amendment could cause the measure to violate the state’s single-subject law. “We are still pretty tight right now… We have been much looser with our multi-subject issues.”
The amended version of the legislation passed the committee 12-1. Rep. Brandei Schaefbauer was the lone no vote.
“I just wanted it to die,” Schaefbauer told The Dakota Scout. “I think it is a vindictive bill.”
Should SB 12 be signed into law as it is written now, it would go into effect this summer on July 1. Both Doeden and Johnson could move money around as they see fit under current law until that time approaches. But before the bill could reach Gov. Larry Rhoden’s desk now for consideration, it will have to be agreed to with the amendment by the Senate. Or, the Legislature could choose to go to a conference committee — a six-member meeting of three House and Senate members — because it passed each legislative chamber as a different version. Personal allegiances to either two potential gubernatorial candidates could spell trouble for its prospects.
Rohl currently has three bills related to electioneering that have moved over from the Senate to the House. His Senate Bill 17 got passage from the House State Affairs Committee immediately after SB 12. That would require candidates to file campaign finance reports ahead of primary contests even if they did not have a primary challenge. Currently, only those running in contested June races are required to do so.