Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota has vetoed Senate Bill 151, which would have automatically removed simple marijuana charges and convictions from public background records if a violation happened more than five years ago.
Old marijuana charges on criminal background checks will have to stay there for at least another year.
Bill 151 also stipulated someone with a pot charge would have to have fulfilled their sentencing and probation requirements and have no subsequent arrests.
In a letter to the Legislature announcing her veto, the governor said SB 151 would allow someone convicted of marijuana charges to conceal their criminal history.
“It also essentially codifies a convicted person’s ability to be dishonest about their previous arrest and conviction by not requiring disclosure of the prior drug conviction,” Noem wrote.
Because of the bill’s narrow passage in both the House and Senate, the bill’s prime sponsor, Sen. Mike Rohl, R-Aberdeen, doesn’t anticipate having two-thirds support in the Legislature to override the governor’s veto.
“I’ll still pitch it, but I might not even be able to get it out of the Senate,” Rohl told the Argus Leader. “And that’s disappointing because of the improvement that this would make in people’s lives.”
