2008 election results
These results are based on the Elections Division of South Dakota. [1]
| Small Investors Protection Act | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes or no | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 146,831 | 43.4% | ||
 No | 191,549 | 56.6% | ||
| Total votes | 338,380 | 100% | ||
The South Dakota Small Investors Protection Act is also known as "Initiated Measure 9". This citizen initiated constitutional amendment appeared on the November 4, 2008 general election ballot in South Dakota.
These results are based on the Elections Division of South Dakota. [1]
| Small Investors Protection Act | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes or no | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 146,831 | 43.4% | ||
| No | 191,549 | 56.6% | ||
| Total votes | 338,380 | 100% | ||
Article 4 of South Dakota's Uniform Securities Act of 2002 concerns the state registration requirements and exemptions from them for broker-dealers, agents, investment advisors, investment advisor representatives, and federal covered investment advisors. [2]
This initiative aimed to amend two specific subsections to make broker-dealers, agents, investment advisors, investment advisor representatives, and federal covered investment advisors liable for up to $10,000 in damages for each violation for commercially unreasonable delay in delivery of securities that they have sold; commercially unreasonable delay being defined for the purpose of this law as more than 3 business days. [3] The purpose of this is to prohibit short-selling of securities.
Attorney General's Explanation:
"State and federal law regulates the purchase and sale of stocks and other securities.
A common "stock market" transaction is a "short sale" where, for example, an investor who believes a publicly traded stock is over-priced will borrow that stock from an owner, sell the borrowed stock, and repurchase the stock later at a lower price to repay the loan, thereby making money if the price has fallen. If the price goes up, the investor must repurchase the stock at the higher price to repay the loan, and will lose money. Measure 9 would prohibit short sales.
State law currently does not regulate the time frame for the delivery of securities upon sale. Measure 9 would prohibit anyone from routinely taking longer than three business days to deliver securities they have sold.
If it had been adopted, Measure 9 would likely have been challenged in court and may have been declared to be preempted by federal law and the United States Constitution." [4]
Measure 9 was authored by former South Dakota Attorney General Mark Meierhenry.
This initiative was supported by South Dakotans for Securities Reform, chaired by State Representative Hal Wick (R-Sioux Falls).
"South Dakotans for Securities Reform consists of stockholders and concerned citizens who want to help protect South Dakota companies, stockholders and taxpayers from the harms of stock manipulation through naked short selling and failure-to-delivers." [5]
Mark V. Meierhenry of Danforth & Meierhenry and Tim Mooney of Arno Political Consultants wrote the "pro" arguments for the state Ballot Question Pamphlet:
This ballot measure was opposed by South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds. "In a July letter to the industry association, South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds said promoters might have good intentions, but the proposed initiative would unduly burden and obstruct interstate commerce." [8]
Travis Larson, spokesman for the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, was quoted as saying: "The SEC has been given control of our financial market regulations so that we have one single set of rules and regulations for our financial markets," Larson said. "And if every state were to pass its own rules _ some of which may run counter to the SEC _ the patchwork quilt of resulting rules and regulations would tie up our financial markets and slow them, hurting our competitiveness." [9]
The State Bar Association, South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Directors for the South Dakota retirement system were all opposed to the measure. [10] [11]
Gail Sheppick Director of the South Dakota Division of Securities wrote the "con" arguments for the state Ballot Question Pamphlet:
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is a large independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market manipulation.
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock market launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment banks, who also arrange for the shares to be listed on one or more stock exchanges. Through this process, colloquially known as floating, or going public, a privately held company is transformed into a public company. Initial public offerings can be used to raise new equity capital for companies, to monetize the investments of private shareholders such as company founders or private equity investors, and to enable easy trading of existing holdings or future capital raising by becoming publicly traded.
In finance, being short in an asset means investing in such a way that the investor will profit if the value of the asset falls. This is the opposite of a more conventional "long" position, where the investor will profit if the value of the asset rises.
A stockbroker, share holderregistered representative, trading representative, or more broadly, an investment broker, investment adviser, financial adviser, wealth manager, or investment professional is a regulated broker, broker-dealer, or registered investment adviser who may provide financial advisory and investment management services and execute transactions such as the purchase or sale of stocks and other investments to financial market participants in return for a commission, markup, or fee, which could be based on a flat rate, percentage of assets, or hourly rate. The term also refers to financial companies, offering such services.
The Australian Securities Exchange thing is Australia's secondary securities exchange. It is owned and operated by ASX Limited, with the exchange also commonly referred to as the ASX. While the exchange and the operating companies are separate, they are often considered synonymous due to the complex interrelated nature.
"Pump and dump" (P&D) is a form of securities fraud that involves artificially inflating the price of an owned stock through false and misleading positive statements, in order to sell the cheaply purchased stock at a higher price. Once the operators of the scheme "dump" (sell) their overvalued shares, the price falls and investors lose their money. This is most common with small cap cryptocurrencies and very small corporations, i.e. "microcaps".
The mutual fund scandal of 2003 was the result of the discovery of illegal late trading and market timing practices on the part of certain hedge fund and mutual fund companies.
Charles Christopher Cox is an American business leader and former Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a 17-year Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, and member of the White House staff in the Reagan Administration. Prior to his Washington service he was a practicing attorney, teacher, and entrepreneur. Following his retirement from government in 2009, he returned to law practice and currently serves as a director, trustee, and advisor to several for-profit and nonprofit organizations.
In the politics of the United States, the process of initiatives and referendums allow citizens of many U.S. states to place new legislation, or to place legislation that has recently been passed by a legislature on a ballot for a popular vote. Initiatives and referendums, along with recall elections and popular primary elections, are signature reforms of the Progressive Era; they are written into several state constitutions, particularly in the West. It is a form of direct democracy.
In finance, securities lending or stock lending refers to the lending of securities by one party to another.
A financial adviser or financial advisor is a professional who provides financial services to clients based on their financial situation. In many countries, financial advisors must complete specific training and be registered with a regulatory body in order to provide advice.
Naked short selling, or naked shorting, is the practice of short-selling a tradable asset of any kind without first borrowing the asset from someone else or ensuring that it can be borrowed. When the seller does not obtain the asset and deliver it to the buyer within the required time frame, the result is known as a "failure to deliver" (FTD). The transaction generally remains open until the asset is acquired and delivered by the seller, or the seller's broker settles the trade on their behalf.
Market manipulation is a type of market abuse where there is a deliberate attempt to interfere with the free and fair operation of the market; the most blatant of cases involve creating false or misleading appearances with respect to the price of, or market for, a product, security or commodity.
Stock is all of the shares into which ownership of a corporation is divided. In American English, the shares are collectively known as "stock". A single share of the stock represents fractional ownership of the corporation in proportion to the total number of shares. This typically entitles the stockholder to that fraction of the company's earnings, proceeds from liquidation of assets, or voting power, often dividing these up in proportion to the amount of money each stockholder has invested. Not all stock is necessarily equal, as certain classes of stock may be issued for example without voting rights, with enhanced voting rights, or with a certain priority to receive profits or liquidation proceeds before or after other classes of shareholders.
The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is a program of the United States government to purchase toxic assets and equity from financial institutions to strengthen its financial sector that was passed by Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 3, 2008. It was a component of the government's measures in 2008 to address the subprime mortgage crisis.
The South Dakota Open and Clean Government Act, or Initiated Measure 10, was a South Dakota initiative that would ban taxpayer-funded lobbying, stop the exchange of campaign donations for state contracts, and open a website with information on state contracts. The Open and Clean Government Act was proposed as a citizen-initiated state statute and appeared on the November 4, 2008 ballot.
Cannabis in South Dakota will be legal for medical use on July 1, 2021, having been legalized by a ballot initiative on November 3, 2020. Prior to then, cannabis was fully illegal, with South Dakota being the only U.S. state which outlawed ingestion of controlled substances. Testing positive for cannabis can be a misdemeanor offense. South Dakota would have become the first state in US history to legalize recreational and medical cannabis simultaneously, but an amendment legalizing recreational marijuana that was approved in the same election was struck down as unconstitutional the following February. The challenge claimed the amendment violated Amendment Z, the "Single-Subject Rule". This decision was appealed to the South Dakota Supreme Court with both sides making their case on April 28, 2021.
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. v. Manning, 578 U.S. ___ (2016), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held, 8–0, that the jurisdictional test established by §27 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is the same as 28 U.S.C. § 1331's test for deciding if a case "arises under" a federal law.
Mark V. Meierhenry was an American attorney from South Dakota. He was most notable for his service as the 26th Attorney General of South Dakota from 1979 to 1987.
South Dakota Constitutional Amendment A, the Marijuana Legalization Initiative, was a cannabis legalization initiative that appeared on the November 3, 2020 South Dakota general election ballot. Passing with 54% of the vote, the measure would have legalized recreational marijuana in South Dakota effective July 1, 2021. Additionally, Amendment A required the South Dakota State Legislature to establish a medical marijuana program and legal hemp sales by April 1, 2022.
